Broadcasters continue storm coverage through frightening severe weather moment
By
Adriana Navarro, AccuWeather staff writer
Updated Mar 19, 2021 12:59 AM EST
Hail, damaging winds and isolated tornadoes associated with the same system that caused destruction in Alabama moved into the Carolinas on Thursday, prompting tornado warnings.
As the severe weather that plagued the Southern U.S. on Wednesday moved northeastward, the storms got a little too close for comfort for one newsroom covering the outbreak.
A brief power outage interrupted FOX8 WGHP Chief Meteorologist Van Denton's live coverage of the storm in High Point, North Carolina, on Thursday evening.
"It's over us. This is not the room we need to be in," Denton said, referring to the rotation of a possible tornado before the creaking of the studio building could be heard in the audio.
High Point, North Carolina, where the studio is located, had been issued a tornado warning just before 5 p.m., when the building began to shake and shudder.
Denton and the two anchors, Neill McNeill and Katie Nordeen, quickly evacuated from the studio, ducking into the makeup room -- an area deemed safe due to being tucked away as an interior room in the building.
"That circulation is right over the TV station and we could feel and hear the wind outside the building and we lost power for a second," Denton continued to report from the makeup room, having brought his microphone along.
"In my 37 years working at FOX8, I have never experienced anything like that," McNeill said. "I have never heard the roof rattle like that and we have never had to leave the studio in a broadcast like we just did."
After the storm passed, McNeill posted on Facebook that everyone was safe, the building had remained structurally sound and they were still on air.
"Our coverage continues," he ended the post after describing the "pretty frightening" event.
Even as damage assessments continued to pour in from tornadoes on Wednesday across the South, new tornado warnings were issued throughout Thursday as the storm trekked toward the Carolinas.
Tornado sirens could be heard wailing in Fort Mill, South Carolina, on Thursday as tornado warnings were issued in the region.
By the evening hours, only one potential tornado was noted by the National Weather Service's Storm Prediction Center. The report was located in Pierce County, Georgia, noted to have downed at least four trees just before 2 p.m. EDT.
The SPC does note strong winds in Archdale in Guilford County, North Carolina, the same county as High Point. The report notes that trees and power lines were downed on the South side of High Point and structural damage was reported in the area of I-85.
The NWS office in Raleigh, North Carolina, noted damage from the severe weather in a few areas outside of both High Point and Burlington.
One Twitter user snapped a photo of this cloud formation on Thursday, March 18, near Burlington, North Carolina. (Twitter/@ImaOfTwo)
In Wyoming County, West Virginia, hail up to 2 inches in diameter was reportedly measured in Saulsville, damaging cars and roofs.
A preliminary damage assessment found that an EF-1 tornado may have also touched down around Century in Lee County, Georgia, on Thursday morning. In the NWS SPC, strong winds were reported in the area around 9 a.m. EDT.
By 10 p.m. EDT, the SPC had issued around 30 reports involving potential tornadoes, hail and intense winds.
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News / Severe Weather
Broadcasters continue storm coverage through frightening severe weather moment
By Adriana Navarro, AccuWeather staff writer
Updated Mar 19, 2021 12:59 AM EST
Hail, damaging winds and isolated tornadoes associated with the same system that caused destruction in Alabama moved into the Carolinas on Thursday, prompting tornado warnings.
As the severe weather that plagued the Southern U.S. on Wednesday moved northeastward, the storms got a little too close for comfort for one newsroom covering the outbreak.
A brief power outage interrupted FOX8 WGHP Chief Meteorologist Van Denton's live coverage of the storm in High Point, North Carolina, on Thursday evening.
"It's over us. This is not the room we need to be in," Denton said, referring to the rotation of a possible tornado before the creaking of the studio building could be heard in the audio.
High Point, North Carolina, where the studio is located, had been issued a tornado warning just before 5 p.m., when the building began to shake and shudder.
Denton and the two anchors, Neill McNeill and Katie Nordeen, quickly evacuated from the studio, ducking into the makeup room -- an area deemed safe due to being tucked away as an interior room in the building.
"That circulation is right over the TV station and we could feel and hear the wind outside the building and we lost power for a second," Denton continued to report from the makeup room, having brought his microphone along.
"In my 37 years working at FOX8, I have never experienced anything like that," McNeill said. "I have never heard the roof rattle like that and we have never had to leave the studio in a broadcast like we just did."
After the storm passed, McNeill posted on Facebook that everyone was safe, the building had remained structurally sound and they were still on air.
"Our coverage continues," he ended the post after describing the "pretty frightening" event.
Even as damage assessments continued to pour in from tornadoes on Wednesday across the South, new tornado warnings were issued throughout Thursday as the storm trekked toward the Carolinas.
Tornado sirens could be heard wailing in Fort Mill, South Carolina, on Thursday as tornado warnings were issued in the region.
By the evening hours, only one potential tornado was noted by the National Weather Service's Storm Prediction Center. The report was located in Pierce County, Georgia, noted to have downed at least four trees just before 2 p.m. EDT.
The SPC does note strong winds in Archdale in Guilford County, North Carolina, the same county as High Point. The report notes that trees and power lines were downed on the South side of High Point and structural damage was reported in the area of I-85.
The NWS office in Raleigh, North Carolina, noted damage from the severe weather in a few areas outside of both High Point and Burlington.
One Twitter user snapped a photo of this cloud formation on Thursday, March 18, near Burlington, North Carolina. (Twitter/@ImaOfTwo)
In Wyoming County, West Virginia, hail up to 2 inches in diameter was reportedly measured in Saulsville, damaging cars and roofs.
A preliminary damage assessment found that an EF-1 tornado may have also touched down around Century in Lee County, Georgia, on Thursday morning. In the NWS SPC, strong winds were reported in the area around 9 a.m. EDT.
By 10 p.m. EDT, the SPC had issued around 30 reports involving potential tornadoes, hail and intense winds.
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