One reporter in the DC-area is putting his job as dad first.
When a tornado warning occurred Thursday night, NBC Washington chief meteorologist Doug Kammerer was on air tracking the storm for viewers.
In the middle of the broadcast, Kammerer realized the tornado warning was right over his house in Maryland.
“As a matter of fact, I’m tracking this so closely now, this is going to go right over my house,” he said, while showing a map of cross streets in the tornado’s path and dialing a cell phone.
It turned out, Kammerer was calling his son.
“Kenton, you there buddy? Hey man, I want you to get down to the basement. We got a tornado warning,” Kammerer said on the phone. “I want to make sure you and Cally get down as soon as you can.”
“Right now?” Kenton can be heard responding to his dad.
“Get down there right now,” Kammerer responded. “Get in the bedroom down there and wait 10-15 minutes okay. Do it now.”
After hanging up the phone, Kammerer resumed his broadcast.
“I gotta warn my kids, because I know what my kids are doing right now, they’re probably online gaming,” the worried dad said. “And they’re not seeing this.”
NBC Washington shared the clip Friday morning on social channels and viewers were quick to weigh in.
“He was so calm,” one commenter wrote.
Another said, “That’s what being a good parent looks like!”
Kammerer said he was thankful no one was injured in the tornado.
“This was a scary moment for me," he said. "As I am zooming in on the radar, I noticed my house is right in the path of the tornado. My kids were home alone and I knew they would not be paying attention to the warning. As I was live on air, I was debating in my head if I should call them while I was on TV and I soon realized I had to make that call. I had to protect my kids."
He continued, "Thank goodness no one was injured as a result of that tornado. We are all safe.”
