Florida meteorologist applauded for getting emotional in live coverage of Hurricane Milton
People are finding John Morales' genuine empathy refreshing, and very much needed.
“I apologize — this is just horrific,” said John Morales during live coverage of Hurricane Milton.
Venerated meteorologist John Morales couldn’t help but get choked up during his report on the potentially devastating impact of Hurricane Milton closing in on Florida—a mere two weeks after being pummeled by Hurricane Helene.
“It’s just an incredible, incredible, incredible hurricane,” Morales began, the weather forecast map almost completely in red.
Tears welled up in his eyes as Morales tried to notify viewers that “it has dropped 50 millibars in 10 hours.”
To most of us, those wouldn’t mean anything. But the anguish in Morales’s voice says it all.
Trying to gain composure, Morales quickly said, “I apologize — this is just horrific,” and continued with his broadcast offscreen, showing just the water map. His voice was still noticeably shaken.
We live in a 24-hour new cycle, which has made us aware of so many global catastrophes and also desensitized to them. But when moments like this happen, when even our ever-stoic messengers are so moved that it also touches us on an emotional level, we are reminded that what happens to one of us, happens to all of us.
- YouTubewww.youtube.com
That's probably why so many people commented to commend Morales for showing a bit of humanity—which they found particularly refreshing for a news anchor.
"Please don't apologize. Showing some empathy shows you care and aren't fear mongering. <3 We appreciate it."
"No apology is ever needed for being human and showing what we see so little of these days: genuine empathy. Thank you, sir."
"Your kindness and humanity are not a weakness, but the strength that we all need right now. Thank you."
"No apologies needed sir...for someone to show real emotions for other people...is real concern, real caring."
"He showed a vanishingly rare moment of authenticity and actual empathy, in an incredibly cynical and ugly world - a beautiful thing to see in this scary time. As someone whose family lives in the area that is about to be pummeled by this storm, I am very grateful to him for his decency and humanity in the face of this possible horror that my family are facing. He deserves SO much credit for this beautiful display of transparency and empathy - though he obviously didn't do it for the credit but rather, out of empathy."
"I debated whether to share this. I did apologize on the air," Morales would later post on X.
He also urged folks to read his coverage of the relationships between climate change and extreme weather on The Bulletin, calling these recent hurricanes are “harbingers of the future.”
Global warming has changed me. Frankly, YOU should be shaken too," he wrote.
If a professional of 35 years is saying this…yikes.
- Adorable Golden Retriever interrupts meteorologist's weather forecast and he deserves all the treats ›
- A meteorologist's cat bombed his at-home forecast. Now Betty is his beloved co-host. ›
- Meteorologist pauses to pray for people in the path of a deadly tornado during live report ›
- Appalachian husband saves wife's breastmilk from flood waters - Upworthy ›
