A tornado hit a TV station today near Orlando, Florida, during a live weather broadcast.
WOFL-TV meteorologist Brooks Garner was warning people in the path of the storm to take shelter when he realized the tornado was coming right toward the TV studio. While still on air, Garner told everyone in the building to take cover.
“Get to your safe space under your desk. We’re catching debris right now on the roof,” he said.
“This is a tornado.”
Garner stayed on the air as power flickered.
“This is a very serious situation,” he told viewers. “This is a real live tornado.”
Garner continued on air telling viewers where the tornado was headed next.
About 90 seconds later, once it was all over, he stopped to catch his breath.
“I’ve been doing this for a very long time. That’s the first time a tornado has hit me while I’m doing the weather,” Garner said.
WOFL is a Fox network station with studios in Lake Mary, Florida, about 16 miles northeast of Orlando. That station is known locally as Fox 35.
The weather is part of a broader system hitting parts of the South.
A low-pressure system tracking across the Southeast today has been mainly a rainmaker,” weather.com senior meteorologist Chris Dolce said. “But enough unstable air ahead of it has created an environment that can produce isolated severe storms in central Florida, including damaging wind gusts and the chance of a brief tornado.”
Garner said the tornado that passed over the studio appeared to be weak, and there were no reports of widespread damage.
The National Weather Service in Melbourne, Florida, said the tornado also impacted the nearby community of Longwood. The NWS plans to conduct a storm survey today to determine the track, length and intensity of the twister.
Florida sees about 46 tornadoes a year on average, according to data from 2003 to 2022. The state with the most average annual tornadoes during that time was Texas, with 124.
Hurricane Milton last year spawned a record number of tornadoes in Florida, with 46 spinning up over two days. One of them killed six people in St. Lucie County on the state’s East Coast.
MORE ON WEATHER.COM
–Tornado Watch Vs. Warning: What’s The Difference?
–Simple Steps You Need To Be Prepared For Severe Weather
Weather.com senior writer Jan Childs covers breaking news and features related to weather, space, climate change, the environment and everything in between.
