Meteorologist John Morales, who went viral for getting emotional on air while reporting on the incoming threat of Hurricane Milton, explained why he was choked up over the storm.
“At that moment on television yesterday … I can tell you that it’s angst over the multiplication of extreme weather events and their severity,” Morales, a hurricane specialist for Miami’s NBC 6, told People magazine.
“It’s empathy for future victims, because these hurricanes really wreck lives and take lives,” he added.
While speaking about Milton, which rapidly gained intensity over the Gulf of Mexico, Morales’s voice cracked on air.
“I apologize,” he said, “but this is just horrific.”
Milton, the second major storm in two weeks, is barreling toward Central Florida as a Category 5 hurricane and is expected to be the worst storm to hit the Tampa area in more than a century. It’s expected to make landfall late Wednesday into early Thursday and bring a life-threatening storm surge estimated to be 10-15 feet high.
Mandatory evacuations have been ordered for more than 3.3 million residents in the area and officials warn that anyone who does not leave is risking death.
Morales said climate change and global warming are driving the storm’s intensity.
“You know what’s driving that, I don’t have to tell you … global warming, climate change leading to this and becoming an increasing threat,” he said.
Forecasters had originally predicted the storm would be a Category 3, but it intensified greatly Monday and is heading toward the coast with huge force.
President Biden urged the area’s residents to follow evacuation orders and listen to warnings. On Tuesday, he said to evacuate the area “now, now, now,” because it is a “matter of life and death.”
Highways have been packed as people leave town, and the demand for gas has left stations without fuel.