Christmas eve, 2008 in Lake Mary, Florida, 25 miles north of Orlando. Tropical storm Olga is racing across the state from out of the Gulf of Mexico at 45+ mph at 5:00 am. Just before it reaches the freeway on the west side of town, it stalls a little and drops a funnel. The local tv news was watching it, NOAA weather radio was monitoring it, but by the time the word got back and got broadcast, the darned things was already 2/3 of the way through town and nearly over with.

The only thing keeping up with that storm was the Emergency Response center, who were getting live updates from field observers and patrolmen on station. The only way anyone would've had enough warning of the funnel was if they were listening on a scanner to the observers and the dispatch coordinating of services.

Nothing beats live feed.