Updated: 2:47 PM PDT, March 26, 2021
Video of James Spann, an Alabama weatherman, went viral when, after hours into reporting on a deadly tornado watch, he texted his wife mid-broadcast when he realized that his home was in the storm’s path, AL.com reported.
“This is urgent. This is an urgent situation,” said the chief meteorologist for ABC 33/40, who works out of Birmingham, said. “I am texting my wife to make sure she is in the shelter.”
“We had major damage at my house,” Spann continued. “I had to be sure — my wife is okay, but the tornado came right through there and it’s not good. It’s bad. It’s bad.”
He regrouped after 15 minutes, saying his home was struck by several tornados during a storm that killed at least six people, The New York Times reported.
Fellow reporters admired Spann’s ability to remain calm while on air.
“The composure he’s managed to maintain is unreal” Pat Calvin, a Florida meteorologist, wrote on Twitter.
Spann thanked everyone who showed support and reached out to him, adding that his wife, who sought refuge at their in-home shelter, was unharmed and the house was “intact.”
The storms reached parts of western Georgia by Friday morning and near Atlanta, the National Weather Service said.
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