Meteorologist calls his kids during live broadcast to warn them of tornado: "I was freaking out"

NBC Washington chief meteorologist Doug Kammerer called his kids during Thursday's live broadcast to warn them of a possible nearby tornado. He briefly paused his live segment after realizing their Maryland home was in the tornado's path. "I’m tracking this so closely now. This is going to go right over my house. So, very close to my house,” Kammerer said as he was showing that the Chevy Chase area of Maryland was under a tornado warning, according to NBC News.

Kammerer pulled out his phone, calling his son while he was still in front of the map. "Kent, you there buddy? Hey man, I want you to get down in the basement. We got a tornado warning," he said. "I want to make sure you and Cally get downstairs as soon as you can." "Right now?" his son could be heard responding on the other end, as the meteorologist affirmed: "Get down there right now. Get in the bedroom down there and just wait 10-15 minutes, okay? Do it now. Thanks, buddy." After the call, Kammerer returned to the broadcast. "I gotta warn my kids, because I know what my kids are doing right now, they're probably online gaming, and they're not seeing this," he said.

Fortunately, no one was hurt as a result of the tornado. “This was a scary moment for me,” the father-of-two said on NBC's TODAY show. “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. Thank goodness no one was injured as a result of that tornado. We are all safe," he added.

He recounted the incident on Twitter, saying, As I was talking about the Tornado warning and zooming in on street level, I saw that it was going very close to my house and I knew I had to warn my kids. Mom wasn't home at the time. They are safe, thank goodness! Thanks for the concern everyone. He also tweeted: Yes, had to warn my family! Kids were home alone and I knew they were not watching me on TV! They are safe. Thank you! Scary moment for me though, I was freaking out inside a bit. NBC4 Washington shared the clip on social media, which earned praise from Internet users. Many commended and praised Kammerer for keeping a cool head while protecting his family.