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Weatherman nearly gets impaled by a flying 2x4 while covering Hurricane Michael

Jim Cantore was recording a live report from Panama City Beach when the Category 4 storm had just begun to make landfall in the state

By Namrata Tripathi
Updated On : 12:54 PST, Oct 11, 2018
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Tags :Florida,Miami
Weatherman nearly gets impaled by a flying 2x4 while covering Hurricane Michael

Popular weatherman Jim Cantore of The Weather Channel, who is known for braving the most perilous natural disasters to report the conditions, nearly got impaled by a flying 2x4 while he was covering the disastrous Hurricane Michael striking Florida on Thursday.

Reports state that Cantore was recording a live report from Panama City Beach when the Category 4 monster storm had just begun to make landfall in the state. When Cantore was reporting the weather conditions in the region, a plank flew past him, nearly hitting him. Fortunately, the weatherman ducked out of its way in time and avoided getting injured on camera.

 

The scary incident, however, did not deter the meteorologist from doing his job as he swapped his hat with a battling helmet for better protection and ran back out immediately to continue his reporting.  

Michael, which is the third-most powerful hurricane to strike the United States in recorded history, left the Florida Panhandle in ruins, as it destroyed hundreds of homes and left at least two, including a child, dead. Reports state that the death toll is expected to rise. 

The Category 4 monster, which hit Florida packing 155 mph winds, has now been downgraded to a tropical storm as it heads towards the Carolinas.

A trash can and debris are blown down a street by Hurricane Michael on October 10, 2018 in Panama City, Florida. The hurricane made landfall on the Florida Panhandle as a category 4 storm.
A trash can and debris are blown down a street by Hurricane Michael on October 10, 2018 in Panama City, Florida. The hurricane made landfall on the Florida Panhandle as a category 4 storm.

However, the hurricane is still wreaking havoc in Florida with heavy rains and possible spinoff tornadoes, causing a storm surge, and leaving over 780,000 homes and businesses without power on Thursday. The state, which was battling with the flooding left by Hurricane Florence last month, is now witnessing dangerous levels of water surge after Hurricane Michael.

According to the National Hurricane Center in Miami, Hurricane Michael's eye, by 5 am was about 45 miles west of Augusta, Georgia, packing top winds of 50 mph (80 kph) and moving at 21 mph (33 kph) into South Carolina.

Bo Lynn's Market starts taking water in the town of Saint Marks as Hurricane Michael pushes the storm surge up the Wakulla and Saint Marks Rivers which come together here on October 10, 2018 in Saint Marks, Florida. The hurricane is forecast to hit the Florida Panhandle at a possible category 4 storm.
Bo Lynn's Market starts taking water in the town of Saint Marks as Hurricane Michael pushes the storm surge up the Wakulla and Saint Marks Rivers which come together here on October 10, 2018 in Saint Marks, Florida. The hurricane is forecast to hit the Florida Panhandle at a possible category 4 storm.

As houses and trees toppled in the wake of the monster hurricane, thousands of law enforcement officers and search and rescue teams were deployed to find survivors in the wreckage of homes, where some people defied the evacuation orders issued by the state governor. Reports state that the officials are facing difficulty in reaching the worst-hit areas and it will take some time for the residents of north Florida to take stock of the enormity of loss and disaster caused by the storm.

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