Weather reporter hit by tree branch during ‘extreme’ live coverage of Hurricane Ian in Florida-Sabrina Barr-Entertainment – Metro

A weather reporter became caught up in a gust of dangerously fast-blowing wind while reporting on Hurricane Ian in Florida, being hit by a tree branch live on air.

Jim Cantore, a meteorologist who works on The Weather Channel in the US, was reporting in Florida city of Punta Gorda when he experienced the true might of the hurricane firsthand.

The devastating floods caused by the hurricane have resulted in entire homes being destroyed and roads being ripped apart, leaving areas looking completely unrecognisable.

While being filmed for the report, Cantore experienced the 110mph gusts of wind, remarking: ‘Yeah, this is extreme,’ while standing in the middle of the street.

Then out of nowhere, a tree branch flew in the air and hit him, sparking concern from those standing near the camera as they gasped over what they were witnessing.

The reporter used a street sign to try and steady himself, admitting that it was difficult to stand up without the wind knocking him over again.

The camera crew filmed as the tree branch collided with the reporter (Picture: Joel Franco/Storyful)

Having finally made it back to his team, Cantore said he was just going to ‘stand behind this wall a little bit’ while the crew examined their coverage.

Once he was off camera, the meteorologist remarked that the weather ‘took my wind’, stating that it was ‘definitely our strongest gust’.

The meteorologist held onto a post to try and steady himself (Picture: Joel Franco/Storyful)

Several people admitted how worried they felt for Cantore’s safety and questioned why he was reporting from the middle of a storm in the first place.

‘I just don’t understand this. I don’t need to see somebody blow away to recognize what the wind is like,’ one person tweeted.

The gusts of wind were blowing terrifyingly fast (Picture: Joel Franco/Storyful)

‘I was just watching this. Jim please clock out for the rest of the day,’ someone else said, while another quipped: ‘Who knew standing in the street, during a hurricane, is dangerous.’

While speaking at a news conference this week, Governor of Florida Ron DeSantis said ‘we’ve never seen storm surge of this magnitude’.

‘The amount of water that’s been rising, and will likely continue to rise today even as the storm is passing, is basically a 500-year flooding event,’ he said.

On Thursday, it was reported that a 72-year-old man had died after going outside in Deltona, Florida during the hurricane to drain his pool.

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