A weather forecaster went viral after Hurricane Idalia knocked out power in part of Chiefland, Florida while he was broadcasting live.
On Tuesday night, WTXL-TV’s Forrest Saunders was doing a live weather report ahead of Hurricane Idalia making landfall when his cameraman encountered an incredible sight.
Saunders was talking to his studio colleagues and audience members about dangerous storm surges and increasing wind speeds when Idalia, a Category 4 hurricane at the time, caused the night shoot to go unexpectedly dark.
In the middle of a sentence, the journalist exclaimed: “We just lost power!” Saunders added: “You’ve just seen the power go out. If you can’t see me, I’m sorry, but it just happened.”
The only light source visible in his vicinity as he continued were the headlights of a passing car. In the distance, a few street lights and what looked like a gas station could be seen – a drastic change from the well-lit area he was standing in just moments before.
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“Actually, I’m seeing some alerts going off in other parts of the city here,” Saunders explained as he continued to provide real-time updates to those watching the live stream. “We’ve definitely lost power in this block of Chiefland, and that’s again because the wind is so strong,” he explained after noting the traffic lights were still running.
Elizabeth Copeland, a meteorologist at the news station, later shared a clip of the footage. “One of the best timed live shots I’ve seen #HurricaneIdalia #Idalia #power outage This is our Capital reporter covering the stormy conditions in Chiefland,” she tweeted Twitternow known as X, early Wednesday morning.
Saunders later shared a tweet on his X page with a video of the lights going off and on at Florida Gov. Ron DeSantis’ press conference about Idalia’s arrival.
“And it’s going to be very, very dangerous,” DeSantis, 44, said on the phone when the power went out. After a short pause, he added, “And here we are with our power.” A few seconds later, the lights came back on.
DeSantis also answered questions from reporters about a large tree that fell on the governor’s mansion while his wife, Casey DeSantis, and their three children were home. He said his family is fine after receiving confirmation from Casey.
“[Casey] he called me probably about 45 minutes ago and he told me, he said, I guess, There’s a really old oak tree that split in half and part of it fell,” DeSantis explained.
He then clarified: “I don’t know that it fell on the residence, per se.” I think it was a bit sideways, so that will be clarified.” The governor added that if the entire oak tree has to be cut down and cleared, “it will just be more space for my kids to play baseball.”
One weather-related death was reported in Florida after Hurricane Idalia made landfall in the state. The first reported fatality was a 59-year-old Gainesville man who was driving in “extremely wet conditions” on State Route 20. Around 6 a.m., the victim reportedly struck a tree after veering into a ditch near Southeast 60th Terrace, Florida Patrol on the highway, she told ABC affiliate WCJR-TV, The Orlando Sentinel and Fox affiliate WOFL-TV.
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The second is believed to have happened about 15 minutes later when a 40-year-old man hit a tree on St. Joe in Pasco County after driving “too fast for conditions,” FHP told WOFL-TV, Sentineland NBC News.
However, EMS Director Andy Fossa later told NBC News that the victim of the Pasco County crash would not be classified as a storm fatality.
“The weather wasn’t that bad while the gentleman was driving,” Fossa said of the outlet. “He was driving on a very winding road, the roads were slippery. Unfortunately, he hit a tree and lost his life. The first emergency services were able to reach him immediately, so we will not classify it as a fatal storm, but only as a traffic fatality.”
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Source: HIS Education