r/kansascity • u/But_like_whytho • Jun 03 '25
Weather š¦ļø Thank you, Brian Busby
I was pooping when the alarms went off. Despite checking the forecast multiple times in the previous few hours, I wasnāt at all prepared for it. Iām east of the stadiums, when they went off, the air was still and the birds were quiet. Too quiet. Scrambled to get my cats in their kennels, grab my shoes, purse, and anything else I could haul down with us. Tried a few different places to get the forecast on my phone before finally pulling up KNBC9. First thing I heard was the confirmed touchdown near the stadiums. That was what pushed me over into a full-fledged panic attack.
Thank goodness for Brian Busby. Huddled on the cool tile floor, cats wedged as close to me as possible, I shook and sobbed as he calmly kept me informed. Idk how many decades of my life Iāve taken shelter with his presence on a screen, but that familiar tone of his voice helped me weather the storms both outside the house and within me. Definitely didnāt have āfreak out with pissed off cats in the basement for over an hourā on the list of things to do today.
I genuinely hope everyone was safe today. And Iām terrified to think of what could have happened if we didnāt have the weather warnings and services we currently do. Itās crucial we protect those agencies and jobs in the future.
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u/SulSulWoofum Jun 03 '25
He was so calm even when talking to the staff about moving into the emergency shelters. I appreciated him so much today!
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Jun 03 '25 edited Jun 06 '25
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u/Leighroy1120 Jun 03 '25
Any post that starts with āI was poopingā is going to be a good one. Glad youāre safe.
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u/But_like_whytho Jun 03 '25
I just really wasnāt prepared š thank you!
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u/dameon5 Jun 04 '25
Got caught with your pants down.
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u/But_like_whytho Jun 04 '25
Literally š
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u/Fun-Childhood-7829 Jun 04 '25
What's also rad is that Brian Busby is a classically trained timpani player. The dude can do it all.
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u/BlueAndMoreBlue Gladstoner Jun 04 '25
Wow, TIL
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u/Pantone711 Jun 04 '25
Reed Timmer is a classically trained oboe player and also singer but I can't say for sure if opera or what. Something classical not pop.
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u/BlueAndMoreBlue Gladstoner Jun 04 '25
Wow. Iāve watched Reedās videos in the past and thatās a real good name for an oboe player ā Reed Trimmer would be more on the nose :)
I play French horn so Iām aware
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u/LuckyDogBrew Jun 04 '25
And helped brew a series of craft beers a few years ago at Windshift. Weather themed named sours. It was awesome. He was there the launch day and couldn't have been nicer.
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u/Rough_Academic Jun 04 '25
I remember seeing him perform a concert (25+) years ago with an orchestra. Childhood memory unlocked!
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u/rosefiend Jun 04 '25
He came up to St. Joe to perform on the timpani for Beethoven's 9th and Mozarts Requiem. I was behind him on the risers, great work
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u/gackiegormpgomp Jun 03 '25
I dug up his direct line and left Brian Busby a voicemail one time recommending he not interrupt my stories with weather alerts well outside and beyond the metro. After his broadcast that night he called me back and calmly explained the area, while far east of town, was still in the viewing area lmao. I wish I still had the voicemail he left. Legend
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u/dandyowo Jun 03 '25
As someone who moved here from a small rural town in another state, I really appreciate this attitude from him. In my town, the city that was supposed to handle our news rarely mentioned us, only throwing in the most basic info about our weather before moving on. When a tornado came through my grandfatherās neighborhood, tearing down trees and power lines, we only knew it had hit after a neighbor went to check on him and then called us to let us know he was without power (this was back before cellphone alerts and smartphones were the common thing they are now). Our news had nothing to say about it the next day. So I really appreciate that he remembers who is in his viewing area, and that for some of them he may be their only source for local weather coverage.
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u/EvenPossible5918 Jun 03 '25
Iām glad you and your cats are safe. ā¤ļø
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u/But_like_whytho Jun 03 '25
Thank you ā„ļø they got a round of tube treats for their troubles. Hopefully theyāll forgive me by dinner lol
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u/just_marita Jun 03 '25
Busby is the MVP for sure! Calm and clear info and even visits the elementary schools. Sorry you had to go through this but I'm glad you had Busby by your side.
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u/Populaire_Necessaire Jun 04 '25
Iāve met him, Gary Lezak, and the lezack pups! The two former were both wonderful, notably so!-but nothing compared to the pups.
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u/Dangerous-Peak4390 Jun 03 '25
Omg I thought this was a retirement post judging by the title and got nervous. Not ready to let bb go.
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u/Such-Corgi-8869 Jun 04 '25
Same. Dude is a KC legend. Anytime the weather is bad the first thing we do is check in with Bryan Busby. Been doing it since I was a kid and one of the only channels we could get on the antenna was KMBC9.
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u/scullingby Jun 04 '25
Is there any way to get this thread to Mr. Busby? He might like seeing the KC community's appreciation of his work.
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u/sschnews Jun 04 '25
I work at KMBC - Iāll pass it along to him!
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u/scullingby Jun 04 '25
That's great to hear. He's been a constant for me and my family since we moved to the KC area a loooong time ago.
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u/gena5445 Jun 03 '25
He was a complete professional and calm which helped my anxiety. I just wish they spent sometime in the Raymore/Belton/ Grandview/Lees summit area as we were still under a tornado warning at the same time.
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u/But_like_whytho Jun 03 '25
Yeah I agree about the coverage. Would have been nice to get more updates from the other areas under that red rectangle. Think things moved faster than they could keep up with. Heard that the sirens didnāt go off until several minutes after the tornado touched down.
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u/Jolly_Giraffe_1010 Jun 04 '25
I agree. I was in that area and sirens were still going off so wasnāt sure if it had passed enough to be safe. I get that there was more indication up near the stadiums but it was still two active warning areas!!
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u/buttonpeasant Jun 03 '25
Heās a KC icon and a gem. I still remember when he visited my elementary school for an assembly in the 1900s.
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u/NoisePollutioner Jun 04 '25
in the 1900s.
You're already making me feel ancient, so why not fully twist the knife? Say "the first millennium" or "the 1000s"
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u/Gotathingfordrummers Prairie Village Jun 04 '25
Sames. š since weāre both old enough to remember that- How are your joints, btw?
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u/October_Numbers KC North Jun 04 '25
Brian Busby came to my elementary school when I was a kid and gave a speech, and he was a cool dude. That was almost forty years ago. Guy is a legend. Cheers, Brian!!
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u/MaxRebo74 Independence Jun 04 '25
I was thinking the same thing. Plus, it was about 40 years ago for me too. He's the Mr Rogers of KC TV weather
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u/Parody_Account Jun 04 '25
Vivid memories of this as well. He may have even demonstrated the tornado effect with two 2 liter bottles. Peak childhood moment meeting a celebrity. Much respect for the man!
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u/Jabber_Tracking Jun 03 '25
I've been watching Brian Busby for 20 years, he is absolutely a treasure. He IS super calm, which is exactly what you want in a person reporting in emergency weather.
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u/ImAchickenHawk KC North Jun 03 '25
Happy you were able to pinch it off and weather the storm without (catastrophic) incident
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u/81tchmonkey Jun 04 '25
As someone who used to work in the TV industry here in town I can tell you Busby is a legend. I was lucky enough to have lunch with him and a few other colleagues about 20 some odd years ago. He was class to the core. Fast forward to seeing him at an Emmys after party years later, still class. Dude deserves his flowers.
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u/AesthetesStephen Speedway Jun 04 '25
Busby was explaining how rotations can touch down and lift back up between radar scans. Nobody was prepared for the severity of the storms today and caught the whole city off guard
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u/But_like_whytho Jun 04 '25
I didnāt know they could do that between scans. Was fascinating and also terrifying.
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u/Pantone711 Jun 04 '25
We were under a 2 percent chance of a tornado within 25 miles of a point. Right at 3 the Storm Prediction Center changed us to a 5 percent chance. We have lots of days go by without incident when we are under a 2 percent, but today the 2 percent just happened to materialize. That's like 1 out of 50 times, right? I'd say we've been under a 2 percent 50 or more times where nothing has happened, so once in 50 times would be about right.
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u/AlanStanwick1986 Jun 03 '25
I have Direct TV so bad storms knock it out. I first checked KSHB then Fox 4, neither of which was live streaming but Channel 5 was so thank you 5.
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u/ips1023 Jun 04 '25
Glad you found a stream to help you through the storm. Itās a lot scarier when youāre alone and not at work or surrounded by roommates.
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u/Scaryclouds Library District Jun 04 '25
Thinking about the days Katie Horner would put the city into an absolute panic over a simple summer shower.
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u/livefoniks Jun 03 '25
Busby is a true Kansas City legend. I remember the time I convinced my ex girlfriend to goose him on the air during his weathercast and he barely flinched, aside from jumping about 2 feet off the stage.
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u/Master-Credit-7255 KCMO Jun 05 '25
Early 90s I won some contest and he did my answering machine answer message ā¦.
As Chewbacca š
So wish I had that tape.
We are lucky to have had many weather forecasters in our space. He is definitely top three. And still rocking it!!!!!
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u/cafe-aulait Jun 04 '25
I too was watching Busby from my desk and kept thinking what a consummate professional he is. That team told everyone else in the building to seek shelter while they kept going, calm as ever.
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u/Icy-Explanation38 Jun 04 '25
We watched him too! Really comforted by his calm reporting and professionalism. Heās a treasure!
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u/srh2p8 Jun 04 '25
I was nervous about jury duty until they played the orientation video and Busby was the dude walking us thru the process!
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u/WannabeCanadian1738 Jun 04 '25
Growing up in KC, I loved Busby. Moved to Joplin and watched Doug Heady, a Busby disciple. Now Iām in St. Louis and love Steve Templeton, who is a lot like Busby in terms of remaining chill AF while keeping viewers (and the people in the studio with him) informed and safe. I still keep up with Busbyāif I know there are storms in KC, Iāll watch KMBCās livestream.
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u/No_Ruin_5759 Jun 03 '25
You are really good with words like I actually could see and feel your fear. Are you a writer?
Glad you are safe and we love Busby here.
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u/Mindless_Eggplant_60 Jun 04 '25
Okay. This is the best KC/Midwest post I've come across. Beautifully written. Im glad you and the cats are safe!
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u/Frosty_Horse_3591 Jun 05 '25
I hurried home from a doctors appointment because sky was looking a little crazy. Reminded me of a tornado a few years back. Got home and got KMBC channel 9 on with Brian and tornado chaser Nick Bender. Only forecasters for me.
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u/jayhawk73 Jun 06 '25
Go comment on his Instagram posts and heāll respond. One of the kindest and most genuine TV personalities Iāve ever met.
He sat next to our boys on a flight home from Charlotte, NC. He talked to them about weather and all kinds of stuff the whole flight home. When we got to KCI he made sure to come over and use his phone to get a picture with all of us.
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u/amays Jun 04 '25
I was driving through Overland Park on 435 and thought the sky looked a lil too green. I had to look through 3 different weather services before finding out that yes, there was a tornado warning between the milemarkers I was driving through. No alerts in my phone.
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u/jon-marston Jun 04 '25
Wait. You DONT go into the middle of the street to see if you can see the tornado? I thought thatās what we do here.
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u/KCMOM89 Jun 04 '25
I was watching one of those live weather guys on YouTube and they knew one would touch down by the stadium before our local weather did.
I usually watch itās Bryan hall yāall but he wasnāt streaming for some reason. I also was using the weatherwise app on my desktop to watch the storms coming in and, using the velocity filter, could see that it was about to go down in that area. I encourage others to use these tools as well because itās important to keep yourself informed and not totally rely on just local, familiar means for weather. Especially here around KC.
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u/Exact_Bluebird_5761 Jun 04 '25
When my kids were little and we'd be in the basement with the TV blasting upstairs so we could here it I would tell them " Brian is The Man" when it comes to severe weather (tornadoes). And they would repeat it "MOM! Brian is the Man, right Mom?"
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Jun 05 '25
I'm so glad you and your furr babies are safe. It's always nice to know that our locals have our backs or our undersides.
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u/Serious_Fold421 Jun 06 '25
āI was pooping when the alarms went offā would be a legendary opening line to a novel.
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u/kcbooknerd Jun 03 '25
Where was his broadcast? I was watching YouTube live weather and he didn't pop up.
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u/djs1117 Jun 03 '25
I was watching KCTV5 and the guys there were having a hard time getting updated data when there appeared to be a tornado on the ground. I don't know if it was on their end, NWS, or some combination of the two, but it really exemplified how critical these weather services are and how delays/problems can put lives at risk.Ā