Jim Cantore, a meteorologist for The Weather Channel, reports on Hurricane Irene from Battery Park in New York on Saturday. “How could something so awful produce this?” Jim Cantore tweeted on Sunday, captioning a photo of an ethereal orange sky peeking through purple-blue clouds after Hurricane Irene had passed.
It’s not as if Cantore hasn’t seen more than anyone’s fair share of natural disaster. But this self-described “weather geek” is still fascinated by Mother Nature’s special effects.
If you were watching Irene coverage this weekend, there’s a good chance you’ve seen him. This summer marks 25 years that Cantore has been the face of nasty weather as on-air meteorologist for the Weather Channel.
And he may have just picked up a lot more fans. According to the Hollywood Reporter, in the run-up to Irene (from Sunday through Tuesday of last week), the Weather Channel grabbed the No. 1 spot in the Nielsens, beating out its TV news competitors.
Since Wednesday, Cantore has been in the field, perpetually cloaked in a parka, covering Hurricane Irene throughout the Northeast, from Manhattan to Providence, R.I. Yesterday, he was in southwestern Connecticut bound for Vermont, where he says Irene has caused more devastation than any hurricane to pass through the state.
“It’s personal, too,” says Cantore, 47, who grew up in White River Junction, Vt. The towns he sees being devastated are places where he played baseball and football as a kid.
“The one that really got me was when I saw the Vermont covered bridge washing away,” says Cantore, referring to the historic Bartonsville Bridge. “I’m like, that was brutal, to see that happening.”
In the process of following awful weather, Cantore has won the admiration of other weather geeks and casual viewers alike. At last count, he has 73,552 followers on Twitter and 22,437 "likes" on Facebook, and another 14,735 on an unofficial Jim Cantore Facebook page.
“He’s Mr. Hurricane,” says Howard Sappington, Cantore’s main producer for seven years. “He’s really recognizable because of his look … People just want to see him. They want to get to know him,” says Sappington, alluding to the not-so-secret “hunky weather guy” reputation with which Cantore has unwittingly been associated.
When big weather is on the horizon, “Jim is the one that we always tap,” says Bob Walker, executive vice president and general manager of networks and content for the Weather Channel in Atlanta. Part of the reason is Cantore’s passion, says Walker, to not just stand in front of a storm but explain why weather is doing what it’s doing.
“He strikes you as someone you want to sit down and have a have a cup of coffee with,” he says.
Cantore maintains that it’s the hurricanes and power of nature that holds the real appeal..
“It’s like a four-day movie,” says Cantore of Hurricane Irene.
“Talk about reality TV,” says Cantore. “It doesn’t get much better than that. That’s what brings people in.”
Having been in Manhattan for what was expected to be a significant impact, Cantore demurs from saying the storm’s damage was less than expected.
“You not only just had a hurricane here, but a huge, 400-mile-wide wrecking machine that produced multi-hazards,” he says, meaning not only flooding but also power outages, tree damage and wind. Cantore points out that there wasn’t one state on the East Coast that wasn’t touched by Irene in some way or another, though as the storm approached, it was impossible to come up with a definitive answer for which areas would be hit hardest.
“The problem is that we don’t have the technology yet that gives us a good idea of intensification,” says Cantore.
When he started out, Cantore’s broadcasts reached 25 million homes. “Now we’re in over 100 million,” he says. That means a lot more coverage, not limited to the Weather Channel, including NBC cable channels and New England Cable News.
“It’s been brutal,” says Cantore of the Irene weekend. “The more networks you own, the more live shots you do.” Yet even when he’s not on camera, Cantore is monitoring weather, in photos and messages from people across the country.
“In between breaks, I’m watching Twitter,” he says. He still monitors the National Weather Service, but the social media platform has been “one of the main sources of breaking information,” says Cantore. “This is the first time that I really, really witnessed the power of social media …TV’s almost too slow but it’s the only visual medium.”
Cantore says he’s nowhere near heading home to Atlanta yet, as the Irene story continues, with its aftermath flooding as much a story as its ominous arrival. That’s something Cantore is used to by now.
“We can’t control the weather,” says Cantore. “We can only be controlled by it.”
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Complete coverage of Hurricane Irene
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In the aftermath of Hurricane Irene, flooding, power outages and road closures are causing headaches
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N.J. flooding and road closures, county by county