The Weather Channel voiced support for one of its reporters on Friday after a video of him reporting during Hurricane Florence went viral online. The…
The Weather Channel voiced support for one of its reporters on Friday after a video of him reporting during Hurricane Florence went viral online.
The video clip posted to Twitter appeared to mock the reporter’s hurricane coverage, suggesting he was exaggerating the storm’s force.
The video shows longtime Weather Channel meteorologist and reporter Mike Seidel as he tried to gain his footing as the storm’s winds bore down on him.
“This is about as nasty as its been,” Seidel, who was reporting from Wilmington, N. C., says in the clip while bracing against the wind.
The camera then pans over to a pair of figures casually walking on a road behind the reporter.
“So dramatic!” one Twitter user wrote with the video clip. “Dude from the weather channel bracing for his life, as 2 dudes just stroll past. ”
The video had been viewed more than 3.6 million times and had received almost 60,000 retweets as of Friday evening. It also led many people to mock the reporter for his demeanor reporting on the storm.
The Weather Channel noted in a statement to The Hill that the reporter was standing on wet grass and was “undoubtedly exhausted.”
“It’s important to note that the two individuals in the background are walking on concrete, and Mike Seidel is trying to maintain his footing on wet grass, after reporting on-air until 1:00 a.m. ET this morning and is undoubtedly exhausted,” the network said.
Hurricane Florence made landfall on Friday morning near Wrightsville Beach, N. C., according to the National Hurricane Center. Florence was downgraded to a Category 1 storm and further downgraded to a tropic storm on Friday evening.
Still, officials have continued to urge residents to heed local evacuation orders and have preparations for the storm.
Several deaths linked to the storm have been reported, including a mother and infant who police in Wilmington said were killed when a tree fell on their house.
