Legendary TV meteorologist, James Spann at ABC 33/40 in Birmingham, Alabama, faced a forecaster’s worst nightmare.
The following written content by Maura Kelly
One of the worst aspects of covering severe weather as an on-air meteorologist became a reality on Thursday, March 25, as one forecaster covered a tornado-warned storm tracking over his home.
James Spann, the chief meteorologist at ABC 33/40 in Birmingham, Alabama, was in wall-to-wall coverage on the last Thursday of March tracking the path of a long-track tornado in northern Alabama.
Spann is well-known and trusted in Alabama for his tireless coverage of severe weather events, which has also gained him national attention. One such event was the Super Outbreak of April 2011 where Spann spent 10 consecutive hours in front of the camera out of the 18 hours ABC 33/40 covered the event.
While Spann’s marathon television broadcast almost certainly saved lives that day, he said he wasn’t ready to celebrate that in an interview with AccuWeather in 2019.
“You know these [events] happen about every 40 years, but like I always say, all it takes is one. If there’s one tornado and it comes down your street, that’s your April 27th, so I think the lessons we learn will help us be better for the future.”
In the hours of Spann’s severe weather coverage on March 25, there came a moment he had to briefly step off camera.
“The reason I had to step out, we had major damage at my house,” Spann said upon returning to the broadcast a few minutes later. “My wife is OK, but the tornado came right through there and it’s not good, it’s bad. It’s bad.”
Knowing the tornado had tracked over his neighborhood and anticipating damage, the newsroom called Spann’s wife after the storm had passed, ABC 33/40 shared.
While on the phone, she confirmed their fears, stating there was damage everywhere as she walked through the home and looked out the windows.
“Oh, it’s a miracle,” she reportedly said, “A huge tree just missed our house!”
The newsroom alerted Spann that his wife was unharmed, and after tossing the coverage over to meteorologist Taylor Sarallo, he was able to step away and call his wife. Read more from AccuWeather
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