Most of us have experienced the anxiety of listening to a report on severe weather that is heading right for our area. But we likely never consider the fact that the meteorologists we listen to are in the same boat.
Doug Kammerer, a meteorologist in the Washington, D.C. area gave viewers an all too personal reminder of the dangers of severe weather when he stopped his live broadcast to call his children and alert them that the tornado he was reporting on was headed directly for their house.
The moment occurred last Thursday evening during a bout of extremely strong thunderstorms in the Washington area. See the moment below.
The tornado warning was issued in Washington's Maryland suburbs, in the area around the cities of Bethesda and Chevy Chase, the latter of which is where Kammerer lives--as he realized while reporting on it. Examining the weather map, Kammerer said:
"So this [warning] is going to go right over... my house. So very close to my house which is in the Chevy Chase area and the Bethesda area."
Kammerer then began dialing his phone and his son picked up while he was mid-sentence. Kammerer then told his son:
"I want you to get down in the basement. We have a tornado warning so I want to make sure you and Callie get downstairs as soon as you can... Do it now."
The moment drove home the danger tornado warnings present.
According to the National Weather Service, whereas a tornado watch indicates the possibility of a tornado, a tornado warning means an actual tornado has been spotted either on the ground or on radar and there is "imminent danger" to life and property.
Though Kammerer appeared composed on-air, he admitted on Twitter that the moment had him deeply alarmed.
But while watching him on TV, you'd have never known it, and many on Twitter applauded Kammerer for keeping his cool amid a harrowing situation.
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Thankfully, Maryland escaped any tornado touchdowns on Thursday, but one did hit nearby Tysons Corner, Virginia. Seems like Kammerer definitely did the right thing by warning his kids.
