A significant storm that spawned several tornadoes in Missouri over the weekend also wreaked havoc on a local television station’s ability to transmit its over-the-air signal.
The station, KSDK-TV (Channel 5, NBC) in St. Louis, said its transmitter was damaged by severe weather last Friday, which required engineers to power down its over-the-air signal from Saturday until early Monday morning.
Viewers who access KSDK through an antenna or by DirecTV were unable to watch local and network programming throughout much of the weekend until power to the transmitter was restored Monday afternoon. Those who receive KSDK through cable TV systems, on Dish Network and over most streaming platforms were not affected.
KSDK said its local newscasts were still available to viewers by the station’s dedicated streaming app for phones, tablets and some smart TVs.
Missouri was one of several states afflicted by a series of intense storms, with at least 13 tornadoes reported in the state alone, including nine in the St. Louis metropolitan region.
A spokesperson for the Missouri State Emergency Management Agency said officials are still working to determine where tornadoes touched down throughout the state. Missouri Governor Mike Kehoe is in the process of requesting a federal disaster declaration, which would pave the way for Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) crews to conduct disaster relief operations there.
KSDK-TV is owned by TEGNA.
