2025’s “Top” Losses: Gary England (#7)

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Oh, no, not another meteorologist! Go back to the baseball players, hillbilly! Yep, it’s time for another meteorologist…and one you may have seen in a movie! This man was a giant in advances in keeping people safe during severe weather. #7: Gary England There were drinking games surrounding this man, not to mention “bingo” games. That’s how legendary Gary England’s severe weather coverage was in Oklahoma. When you live in a state where the state bird is a tornado, you need a meteorologist like that! If you need to see why this man was so revered, not only in Oklahoma but throughout the country, watch his coverage of the 1999 Moore tornado. One of the darkest days in Oklahoma weather history, and he was on it like hair on a gorilla. (Then he had to do the same thing again in 2013. No wonder he retired right after that.) England saw the benefit of Doppler radar and was one of the first TV weathermen in America to use it. He was also the first to utter the words “tornado emergency” when he saw that monster heading toward Moore in 1999. Oh, AND he was the first meteorologist to broadcast on-air “ground truth” of a tornado actually occurring. Oh, and Gary England was in the movie Twister. They used some of his archival footage of tornado coverage in the movie. Gary England was totally devoted to his state (he never worked outside of Oklahoma), his craft, and his family (he was married for 63 years). His death is a gaping hole in the world of meteorology. Thankfully, we have all of the knowledge he left us. Gary England Born Gary Alan England, October 3, 1939, Seiling, Oklahoma Died June 10, 2025, Oklahoma City, Oklahoma (stroke) (age 85) HALLS OF FAME: Oklahoma, 2013; Oklahoma Association of Broadcasters, 2002 Gary’s school presentation for severe weather safety: