Waterloo reporter gets schlepper again for storm coverage

They say sequels don’t necessarily live up to the hype of their predecessors. In that case, the whole country was eagerly waiting to see if the sequel was as funny as the original.

That was the question heard throughout eastern Iowa on the morning of Thursday, January 19.

“What are we doing here, man?”

Late last year, a Waterloo sportswriter went viral for his hilarious (and completely honest) coverage of the blizzard.

After wintry weather swept through the Cedar Valley in December, KWWL seemed to lack the personnel to cover it. So they decided to send a sportscaster/reporter Mark Woodley.

Not only did he have to get up five hours earlier than usual, but he had to stand out in sub-zero temperatures to share weather updates. Throughout all of his live hits, Woodley would give his own sarcastic take on what was going on.

“I normally do sports and everything is canceled for the next two days. So what better time to ask the sportsman to come around 5 hours earlier than he would normally wake up, go out and stand out in the wind and snow and the cold and tell others not to do the same?”

You can read more on the original video here!

This video has become such a phenomenon that some of your favorite local businesses have teamed up with it! RAYGUN released Mark Woodley shirts with some of their most hilarious quotes from the video, and Hurt Donuts made a limited number of Woodley donuts!

You’ve reached the top of the Midwest when you get a RAYGUN and Hurts Donut shirt made in your honor.

Earlier this week, meteorologists predicted that some sort of winter storm would once again pass through the region. So… guess who they decided to send?

You guessed it! Poor Mark Woodley.

On the afternoon of Wednesday January 18, a winter storm system moved into eastern Iowa. Parts of northeast Iowa received several inches of snow. Waterloo received about four inches of snow overnight.

Woodley helped out one of the station’s fellow weathermen with some of his coverage, but of course the viral sensation was sent in to make his own hits.

“The sequel is never as good as the original,” the journalist said during his liveshot, “…for every The Empire Strikes Back a hundred ago shopping cart 2! I think that’s the day everyone finds out I’m not that funny.”

This time he seemed much more confident in his cover.

It’s probably because it wasn’t -30 degrees this time!

You can watch the video below!

Woodley is from eastern Iowa and grew up in Dike. As a sportscaster, he has covered coverage games, NCAA tournaments, NFL football, and the Stanley Cup playoffs.