Meteorologist Doug Kammerer stops report to call children on air to warn them of incoming tornado

A METEOROLOGIST paused his live broadcast to warn his children of an incoming tornado while on air on Thursday.

Doug Kammerer was recorded on the phone with his children saying “Gotta warn my kids, cause they’re probably online gaming and not seeing this.”

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The chief meteorologist for NBC Washington was on air yesterday evening doing a weather report when the National Weather Service issued tornado warnings.

Kammerer was holding his cell phone as he noted that the tornado’s path would take it “right over my house.”

While standing in front of the weather map, he called home to warn his children.

“Get downstairs as soon as you can, OK?” Kammerer told his son while on air.

Someone tweeted video of the moment, and Kammerer responded on Twitter saying, “Yes, had to warn my family! Kids were home alone and I knew they were not watching me on TV!”

“They are safe. Scary moment for me though, I was freaking out inside a bit.”

Twitter users commented on the posts and recognized the call as an impressive moment for Kammerer.

“Doug you are the best in our area!” one user commented.

“Thanks for your hard work. Glad your family was safe.”

Others hailed him as “such a good father” and praised his concern, saying family will always be top priority.

“There is nothing wrong with warning your kids of danger,” one person said.

“Good job dad, for looking out for our families and yours too.”

“We need to normalize this behavior! Family comes first, like you said the kids aren’t watching the news, I hope other parents in the station called their kids too,” another user added.

James Morrow, a meteorologist who works for the National Weather Service, told NPR that Kammerer made a sound judgment call for deciding to inform his children.

“The decision to cut in is not easy for stations to do, and for meteorologists to ask permission to do,” Morrow said.

“But as a consumer of their feed, and a scientist who understands the strong tornadic storms like this, it was heartening to see this type of coverage for what could’ve turned into a very serious situation.”

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