Meteorologists That Were Nearly Blown Away On Live TV

While we're all sitting in the comfort of our homes, cuddled up on our couches as a storm starts rolling in, meteorologists are out in the field preparing their forecasts. Without them, we really wouldn't know a thing about the weather. Yet, there have been many instances where meteorologists have been sent into not-so-safe circumstances to show all of us how dangerous these natural disasters really can be. "There is a strong argument to be made that standing in a storm is not a smart thing to do," CNN reporter Chris Cuomo even said while he was covering Hurricane Irma in 2017, so why do they even do it?

Crazy enough, it's a controversial topic for those who work in the field. On one hand, many meteorologists dedicate a majority of their lives to reporting dangerous weather. When a devastating hurricane pops up and the rest of us are hunkering down, they head out into it, because "this is our Super Bowl," CNN's weather expert Chad Myers told The Hollywood Reporter. These forecasters expose us all to the awful winds on television so no one else has the urge to go out and experience it themselves. Also, this type of television is a lot more entertaining than many of us care to admit.

Here are just a few of the many meteorologists that were nearly blown away on live TV.

Poor Al Roker. This Today show weatherman we all know and love had a rough experience while reporting on Hurricane Wilma in 2005. He was standing out on a balcony telling viewers all about the roaring winds. However, it looked pretty obvious to us all already. In order to keep Roker from being blown over, a cameraman had attached himself to the weatherman's legs. "Our truck operator, Tom, said, 'Don't you wish you had your weight back?'" He even said, and with those very words, he seemed to jinx it. Roker was swept up by the wind and fell flat onto the ground.

Luckily, he and his crew were okay and decided to head back inside. "That's a good idea," anchor Matt Lauer responded. Off camera, viewers can even hear his anchor Katie Couric reply with something we were all thinking as we watched at home: "Wouldn't it be easier if he just–" And then, unfortunately, her co-host cut her off. Yes, Katie, it would have been much easier if he just stayed inside.

It became clear to us all after Roker's report that he's dedicated to delivering news about any natural disaster in any neck of the woods. His sole purpose is to keep people safe and informed in the midst of dangerous weather. "We have to remember that this is not sport, it's not entertainment, that we're reporting a story," he later told NBC's Eric Hinton. 

Irish reporter Teresa Mannion made more of a statement during her weather report than she anticipated. While standing in the middle of a storm in 2015, Mannion begged viewers to stay home until the high winds were over. "And don't swim in the sea!" she shouted, because apparently people with no common sense were doing that in the middle of the storm. "Galway City Council say their actions are idiotic!" she screamed. Mannion never realized how loud she was really being until she saw her report being turned into a meme on social media.

Everything from t-shirts to funny tweets were made about Mannion. Some fans even went as far as recreating her report and even remixing it so she looked like she was rapping. One viral video made Mannion look like she was hit by a stop sign at the end, which many viewers thought was real. "Now that I'm a global superstar, all these people in all these different languages are saying, 'Are you okay?'" She later explained on The Late Late Show.

Yes, she's okay. She's even better now that she's become a social media sensation. "You haven't heard the last of me," she told CNN.

Meteorologist Mike Bettes has battled some serious weather on more than one occasion. As a regular on the Weather Channel since 2003, reporting on dangerous weather has become his routine. One hilarious moment happened while covering Hurricane Ike in 2008. Bettes was knocked off his feet into a nearby bush. "Hold on!" He told viewers as he tried to regain himself to finish his report. Luckily, he wasn't injured, and he even laughed at himself as he got up off the ground.

On the other hand, Bettes has bet his life on some other incredibly scary moments. In 2013, he wasn't sure if he even wanted to report on the weather anymore. As he was chasing a tornado with his colleagues, his car was thrown into the air. "I just saw my wife's face and I thought, you know, that's my life, I don't want to give that up just yet," he told Today.  

However, Bettes seems to have balanced his professional and personal life pretty well. He still continues to battle weather on-screen to keep those of us at home informed. However, he's a bit more cautious now that he's seen so much of what these storms can do. "If the winds got so intense that I couldn't stand anymore or if there was a lot of flying debris nearby, I would absolutely duck for cover," he later told We Love Weather.

Kerry Sanders' couldn't even get a word out during his live report on Hurricane Michael in 2018. He began reporting at the same time the storm grew into a category 4 hurricane with winds up to 155 miles per hour (via WFLA-TV). He even had to wear a helmet, and it's a good thing he did, as he was nearly thrown into a concrete pillar on live television. "A batter helmet prevented a concussion," this NBC reporter later tweeted to his followers, but the helmet wasn't the only thing that saved him from the storm.

Meteorologist Jim Cantore from the Weather Channel stepped in as soon as he saw the winds taking Sanders away. As the two safely made their way to a nearby column, Sanders' helmet flew off too, so he was lucky to have the helping hand. "Thank you my friend," Sanders also said in his tweet, adding, "You've taught me again, back-up support always needed."

It's too bad that his hero didn't have his own back-up himself. Cantore was nearly knocked out by a flying projectile during his own dangerous report on the storm. However, that didn't stop him. He simply put on his own helmet and continued with his live shot (via Twitter). Now that's what we call dedication — or insanity.

CNN correspondent Sara Sidner was sent out into a pretty bad storm back in 2017. Hurricane Irma had just made its way on land, and Sidner was seen reporting on the roof of a hotel building. It was worse when she got up there too. "No one here was expecting the wind to be this strong," she said, as she held onto a concrete wall for dear life. "They were not forecasted to necessarily get this high."

At 85 miles an hour, viewers could even see the skin on her face being pushed with each gust of wind that went by. There was even a point where she groaned as she wrestled with the wind in order to finish up her report. "It's an incredible amount of wind for a human being to stand up in," she said. "I am a strong, big lady, and it's definitely hard to stand straight up here."

During a separate report on the storm, Sidner once again commented on her size. "I am not a small woman, as you know, Don [Lemon]," she told the anchor who was sitting safely in the studio (via Yahoo!). "I am a chunky girl, and it is blowing me around when the gusts come really, really hard." Little did she know, her weather report would quickly turn into a lesson on self-image. "You're a beautiful woman no matter what size you are," Lemon replied. "There's nothing wrong with having a little curve."