TV Meteorologist Continues Live Report As Tornado Hits Building

By Paul Greeley

Demonstrating once again that courageous TV journalism can be found all over the United States in markets large and small, a meteorologist in Alabama stayed on the air even as a tornado he was tracking was hitting the station’s building.

It happened on May 25 on WDHN, the ABC affiliate in Dothan, Alabama, according to Adam Buckman at Media Post.

Dothan — located in the southeast corner of Alabama — is ranked 170th in market size in the U.S. with an estimated 108,770 TV households.

As the tornado struck the station, meteorologist Jordan Ambrose stayed live on the air as colleagues off-camera kept the broadcast going.

They did so while glass was heard shattering someplace else in the building, and the facility was sustaining damage to the roof.

Fortunately, no one was injured, but the tornado’s 105-mph winds were forceful enough to destroy part of the station’s sign outside and completely rip off an aluminum awning and throw it hundreds of yards away.

Ambrose, 25, has been a meteorologist for three years, having graduated from Jackson State University in Jackson, Mississippi, in 2023 with a Bachelor in the Science of Meteorology degree. He joined WDHN in 2025 as chief meteorologist.

“I said a quick little prayer in my head and said, OK, I know this is not going to be my last situation, but if I handle this well, this can help other people to prepare,” Ambrose said.

“The main thing I’m going to take away is … now that I’ve actually been in a tornado, I can communicate to viewers [that] your meteorologist is not lying to you. This is something I have personally experienced,” he said.

Paul Greeley is the manager and a writer for News Blues.

He can be reached at Paul@NewsBlues.com or 817-578-6324.