Katrina vs Cantori

Mother Nature Meets the Weatherman

Any area of the U.S. facing imminent severe weather will find residents turning to The Weather Channel for the latest weather information.  The standard programming of TWC is highlighting weather conditions in the U.S. and around the world while also carrying educational and entertatining weather related stories.

When an area is threatened with severe weather, The Weather Channel will change the programming to that regional center to highlight and report constantly on the threatening conditions.  In the Southeast U.S., this often means 24 hours coverage of approaching storms during the June 1 through Nov 30 Hurricane Season.

Weatherman Jim Cantori has spent the past several years travelling the coastline of the SE, going where the hurricanes are predicted to strike.  His easy-going news reporting style, clean cut good looks and obvious excitement about worsening weather conditions have made him a recognizable member of The Weather Channel cast and crew.

Those of us along the Coast watch as Cantori travels from one locale to another as the approaching storm changes its track slightly to the East or West.  His goal, of course, is to be at "ground zero" when the storm hits.  Time after time we've seen him leaning against the wind and pelted by rain as a hurricane came ashore.  In the background, there are usually swaying signs and debris blowing freely in the storm winds.  Yet hour after hour, Jim Cantori is out there
experiencing the storm and reporting on it.

There are, of course, other Weather Channel employees also on the Coast when a hurricane approaches.   Often, a storm will turn at the last moment  and someone other than Cantori will find themselves featured on TV as they stay out in the storm with their cameraman as long as they possibly can.

On the Coast, we joked about Cantori -- but in a friendly way as he does seem to be
a nice guy.  We heard his frustration when it becomes clear that he will not be exactly
where the storm makes landing and that it's too late or too dangerous for him to travel there.
 
One Coastal saying is that it's time to evacuate when you see Jim Cantori on your beach...

In fact, as Hurricane Katrina approached Jim Cantori remained in Mississippi.  Along
coastal Highway 90 you would occasionally see a car with a sign "Cantori, go home".

Jim didn't leave....he was positioned exactly where he wanted to be -- where Hurricane Katrina
would come ashore.  As conditions rapidly worsened, it quickly became apparent that Katrina
was not a storm that could be covered standing on the beach.  At that point,  there was no way
to leave.  Jim Cantori and the crew joined a few other people who had decided to ride out Katrina
in the huge Coast Coliseium.  Though directly across Hwy 90 from the sand beach, the
coliseum sat on relatively high land and was considered a safe structure.

For over 12 hours, the crew of TWC listened as 140+ mph winds destroyed properties around
the colisium...then watched as storm surge waters flooded in.  The noise must have been
incredible...and it went on and on and on.Inside the building,  those sheltering there saw parts
of the Coliseum giving way to the strength of the surging water.

The Coliseum survived but suffered extensive damage.  No one inside was injured.  What
a shock have awaited the Weather Channel employees when they made their way outside.
Huge casinos had been decimated, houses were piled on top of other homes....while other
homes and the row of businesses along the coast had simply disappeared altogether. 
During those 12 hours, the three counties of the Mississippi Gulf Coast had radically changed.

I didn't see Jim Cantori on the air when Hurricane Rita came flying in a short while later....
but after that I did notice that he was being featured daily on weather broadcasts from the
Weather Channel studio.  A few weeks later I was with some weather people and I asked if
Cantori "got promoted".

One of them answered "sort of" -- apparently, after years of trying to be just where the
storm was, Jim Cantori succeeded with Hurricane Katrina.  Smart man that he is....
he decided he only wanted to do it once.

To me, that shows a lot more sense than standing outside in a hurricane!