Houston station broadcasts in the dark — and later with a tablet standing in for WX graphics

Houston station KTRK didn’t let power issues thanks to Hurricane Beryl stop the show.

During its morning newscast July 8, 2024, the station’s studio found itself having issues with its power supply.

While the on-set video walls and screens as well as integrated accent lighting and chin fills remained on, it appeared that most or all of the grid-mounted lighting was out during part of the newscast.

The station didn’t stop broadcasting — despite also be knocked off the air for a period due to the storm — and kept right on informing viewers of the latest Beryl news.

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At one point, chief meteorologist Travis Hertzog used a tablet to broadcast a weather update captured via mobile phone from a completely dark studio.

In an Instagram post showing Hertzog addressing the mobile device used in place of a camera, the entire set appears to be dark, with Hertzog illuminated by some type of battery operated light.

The station later noted it does, like most stations, have a backup generator that was activated, but experienced some technical issues during the switchover.