TV meteorologist stops live broadcast to make important phone call
A possible tornado was bearing down on the Washington, D.C., area -- and one local forecaster "was freaking out inside" but knew he had to make a call because the person on the other end of the line was not watching him.
By
Jesse Ferrell, AccuWeather meteorologist and senior weather editor
Published Apr 1, 2022 4:38 PM EST
|
Updated Nov 2, 2022 11:14 AM EST
Doug Kammerer, a TV meteorologist for NBC4 in Washington, D.C., made a phone call home to warn his family about an approaching tornado.
NBC 4
NEWS4 chief meteorologist Doug Kammerer was live on the air covering severe weather in the Washington, D.C., metro area Thursday night when the unthinkable happened. The National Weather Service (NWS) issued a tornado warning for the D.C. suburbs, where his house is located -- and his kids were home alone.
While still broadcasting, Kammerer grabbed his cell phone and said, "I'm tracking this so closely now ... this is going to go right over... my house, so very close to my house."
Explaining exactly what neighborhoods were threatened by the tornado warning, including his own, he quickly dialed a number and, after his son answered, put the phone to his ear "You there, buddy? Hey man, want you to get down in the basement. We've got a tornado warning and you ... need to get to the basement now."
The tail end of the conversation was recorded by a Twitter user. Kammerer can be heard saying, "Get downstairs as soon as you can, OK? Yeah, get down there right now. Get in that bath -- in the, get in that bedroom down there. Just wait for 10 or 15 minutes, OK? Do it right now. OK, thanks, buddy."
Turning back to the camera, Kammerer explained, "Alright. So, that was just -- I've got to warn my kids, because I know what my kids are doing right now, and they are probably online gaming, and they are not seeing this."
Kammerer told AccuWeather: "We have had tornado warnings before, but I was always able to text my wife or call them off-air. This was the first time I had to make the call live. My wife was not home, so my kids were home alone and I knew they would not be paying attention. Fortunately, we were all safe and no one was injured by this tornado."
He forwarded the moment that the Twitter user captured, saying "Yes, had to warn my family! Kids were home alone and I knew they were not watching me on TV! They are safe. Thank you! Scary moment for me though, I was freaking out inside a bit."
Replies to his Twitter post showed positive reactions to his unexpected phone call. Robin Grant replied on Twitter, "Once again reminding us that while it is important to know what the current weather is doing, it is forecasting that keeps us alive and out of disaster relief shelters."
"You are clearly a pro, at meteorology and at parenting. Thanks for being both professional and human. You set a fine example of both," tweeted @Nevhodzrcalo. Twitter user @novarift remarked, "We need to normalize this behavior! Family comes first, like you said the kids aren't watching the news, I hope other parents in the station called their kids too."
Friday afternoon, the National Weather Service confirmed an EF0 tornado struck Tyson's Corner, Virginia, Thursday night, just about 10 miles west of the nation's capitol. The twister lifted up a gas station canopy on Chain Bridge Road, and blew out a garage door at a service station.
The tense moment that unfolded on live television called to mind a similar incident that occurred almost one year ago. James Spann, the chief meteorologist at ABC 33/40 in Birmingham, Alabama, was engrossed in wall-to-wall coverage as a long-track tornado tore through in northern Alabama.
At one point, the legendary meteorologist stepped off camera. When he returned, he informed viewers that his own home had been hit by a tornado. "My wife is OK," Spann said at the time, "but the tornado came right through there and it's not good, it's bad. It's bad."
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News / Severe Weather
TV meteorologist stops live broadcast to make important phone call
A possible tornado was bearing down on the Washington, D.C., area -- and one local forecaster "was freaking out inside" but knew he had to make a call because the person on the other end of the line was not watching him.
By Jesse Ferrell, AccuWeather meteorologist and senior weather editor
Published Apr 1, 2022 4:38 PM EST | Updated Nov 2, 2022 11:14 AM EST
Doug Kammerer, a TV meteorologist for NBC4 in Washington, D.C., made a phone call home to warn his family about an approaching tornado.
NEWS4 chief meteorologist Doug Kammerer was live on the air covering severe weather in the Washington, D.C., metro area Thursday night when the unthinkable happened. The National Weather Service (NWS) issued a tornado warning for the D.C. suburbs, where his house is located -- and his kids were home alone.
While still broadcasting, Kammerer grabbed his cell phone and said, "I'm tracking this so closely now ... this is going to go right over... my house, so very close to my house."
Explaining exactly what neighborhoods were threatened by the tornado warning, including his own, he quickly dialed a number and, after his son answered, put the phone to his ear "You there, buddy? Hey man, want you to get down in the basement. We've got a tornado warning and you ... need to get to the basement now."
The tail end of the conversation was recorded by a Twitter user. Kammerer can be heard saying, "Get downstairs as soon as you can, OK? Yeah, get down there right now. Get in that bath -- in the, get in that bedroom down there. Just wait for 10 or 15 minutes, OK? Do it right now. OK, thanks, buddy."
Turning back to the camera, Kammerer explained, "Alright. So, that was just -- I've got to warn my kids, because I know what my kids are doing right now, and they are probably online gaming, and they are not seeing this."
Kammerer told AccuWeather: "We have had tornado warnings before, but I was always able to text my wife or call them off-air. This was the first time I had to make the call live. My wife was not home, so my kids were home alone and I knew they would not be paying attention. Fortunately, we were all safe and no one was injured by this tornado."
He forwarded the moment that the Twitter user captured, saying "Yes, had to warn my family! Kids were home alone and I knew they were not watching me on TV! They are safe. Thank you! Scary moment for me though, I was freaking out inside a bit."
Replies to his Twitter post showed positive reactions to his unexpected phone call. Robin Grant replied on Twitter, "Once again reminding us that while it is important to know what the current weather is doing, it is forecasting that keeps us alive and out of disaster relief shelters."
"You are clearly a pro, at meteorology and at parenting. Thanks for being both professional and human. You set a fine example of both," tweeted @Nevhodzrcalo. Twitter user @novarift remarked, "We need to normalize this behavior! Family comes first, like you said the kids aren't watching the news, I hope other parents in the station called their kids too."
Friday afternoon, the National Weather Service confirmed an EF0 tornado struck Tyson's Corner, Virginia, Thursday night, just about 10 miles west of the nation's capitol. The twister lifted up a gas station canopy on Chain Bridge Road, and blew out a garage door at a service station.
The tense moment that unfolded on live television called to mind a similar incident that occurred almost one year ago. James Spann, the chief meteorologist at ABC 33/40 in Birmingham, Alabama, was engrossed in wall-to-wall coverage as a long-track tornado tore through in northern Alabama.
At one point, the legendary meteorologist stepped off camera. When he returned, he informed viewers that his own home had been hit by a tornado. "My wife is OK," Spann said at the time, "but the tornado came right through there and it's not good, it's bad. It's bad."
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