Weather Channel Reporter Narrowly Misses Getting Hit by Lightning During Hurricane Ian on Live TV

By Brian Jones

A Weather Channel reporter nearly escape a dangerous situation while reporting in Florida. Jim Cantore was reporting on Hurricane Ian in Punta Gorda on Wednesday and seemed to be close to a lightning strike or something that cause a large booming sound. On live television, Cantore jumped and began to walk away to end his report. 

Cantore has put himself in danger a few times while reporting on Hurricane Ian. The 58-year-old meteorologist was struck by a flying branch shortly after the lightning incident. Additionally, Cantore was nearly blown away when he was trying to show viewers the strength of Hurricane Ian winds. Cantore is known for attracting bad storms whenever he comes to town. When speaking to The Morning Call in 2020, Cantore sets the record straight on the eye of the storm finding him. 

"I like to think I find it," Cantore said. "The funniest thing was when I was working with NBC Sports, Al Michaels handed me a present one day while we were doing the Olympics. It was a Dr. Doom hat. It was so funny, and I still have it. That pretty much sums it up. But here's the deal: Especially in a hurricane or tornado situation, if it helps people get the word, get them prepared, then it's a win-win. I love doing snow more than all of it, because typically if you stay off the roads and you don't go outside and freeze to death, snow is happy to me. Kids are playing in it, you get an off day from school. Even the virtual learning is going to be suspended here tomorrow. It's something that makes you smile."

According to NBC News, more than 2.5 million customers across Florida were without power Thursday morning after Hurricane Ian, now a tropical storm hit the state. President Joe Biden declared a major disaster in Florida on Thursday and order federal aid to supplement state and local recovery efforts. 

Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis praised Biden for his efforts to support Florida. "We all need to work together regardless of party lines," DeSantis said, per Newsweek. "The Biden administration has approved our request for a pre-landfall declaration and did that very quickly. So we're thankful for that."

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