CBS Meteorologist Blacks out Live On-Air

CBS Los Angeles meteorologist Alissa Carlson suffered a scary moment back in March during a weekend morning broadcast, blacking out live on the air. According to TMZ, Carlson was prepped to give the weather report on Los Angeles’ upcoming rain, but then things went awry and ended with Carlson on the floor. WARNING: Disturbing video embedded in this post ahead.

Before she could start her weather segment, Carlson started to roll her eyes and then fell unconscious, leaning on the desk before falling to the ground. While she was on the set with her co-anchors, the pair were in a different area and initially didn’t realize what happened. Soon after, they cut to commercial and never returned to air before NCAA coverage.

According to TMZ, Carlson is fine and checked in on Facebook to let fans know she is doing just fine. While the station was on pre-recorded content immediately after the event, the situation didn’t derail the network or indicate something worse. She sat with CBS This Morning after the incident and teased explaining what had happened. “Hi guys, I’ve been resting! But this morning, I put myself together for a LIVE interview with CBS This Morning. I share more about what caused Saturday’s fainting episode on the KCAL News,” she wrote on Instagram.

And as the outlet adds, the culprit is a leaky heart valve and this isn’t the first time Carlson has been affected on TV. A similar incident happened back in 2014, back when she was first diagnosed with the affliction. This wasn’t confirmed, but CBS Los Angeles Vice President and News Director Mike Dello Stritto did provide an update in a statement.

“Our colleague Alissa Carlson became ill during our 7 AM newscast this morning. I want to thank her co-workers who took immediate action to comfort Alissa and call 911,” the statement reads. “Alissa is being treated at the hospital right now. Hopefully we’ll know more shortly. In the meantime, Alissa will be in our thoughts and we’re praying for her to be feeling much better soon.”

Carlson also posted a message thanking fans and noting she was going to be OK despite the scary moment. It joins plenty of other scary live news moments from the past decade. The internet has helped these moments go viral or spread easier than ever before, for better and for worse. We’ve seen heinous shootings on live TV while also getting a live stream from the shooter on Facebook. We’ve also seen scary moments with health emergencies, like Serene Branson’s on-air incident 10 years ago and the recent on-field incident with Buffalo Bills star Damar Hamlin.