News with an ironic twister.
A Florida TV station was rocked by a tornado in the middle of a weather broadcast about the possibility of a tornado, shocking live footage shows.
Meteorologist Brooks Garner, from the Orlando-based WOFL Fox 35, was giving an update on the severe weather in the Sunshine State on Monday when he became aware that a tornado was heading directly for the television studio.
“Take shelter. Everybody in the Fox 35 building get to your safe space,” Garner called out as a camera on the building’s roof showed the torrential rains and winds roll in, video of the live broadcast shows.
“Get under your desks guys. Anchors, under the desks,” Garner said frantically as the storm spun its way across the building, which is off Interstate 4 in Seminole County, Florida.
The camera feed goes entirely gray as Garner alerts viewers — and sheltering staffers —- that the building was in the midst of the tornado’s debris field.
“We just had debris hit the building. We heard it on the roof. Trees, branches, who knows what,” he said as debris swirled above the roof in the footage.
“National Weather Service if you’re listening this is a tornado,” Garner said as the storm raged, adding later, “Not radar confirmed, we confirmed, I can tell you, myself, that this is a real tornado.”
Power flickered in the studio, and one outdoor camera froze briefly, but the twister never interrupted the local Fox affiliate state’s live broadcast as the weather anchor “thank[ed] goodness,” for the station’s apt facilities.
“I’ve been in this business 25 years and I’ve never in my career had a tornado hit the studio. This is a very, very significant situation,” Garner said, catching his breath.
After the system passed, the meteorologist continued reporting on the tornado’s path and warning Orlando residents about its potential danger. He noted the tornado was not too powerful, with traffic on the interstate proceeding uninterrupted and no reports of widespread damage.
The storm caused at least one home in the affected area to collapse, but two occupants in the house were uninjured, according to the Seminole County Fire Department.
Florida has an average of 46 tornadoes per year from 2003 to 2022, according to Weather.com.
