As powerful storms swept across Central Florida on Monday morning, an Orlando television station’s weather camera captured a possible tornado hitting the station.
“Take shelter!” a Fox 35 morning meteorologist, Brooks Garner, shouted on the air, warning co-workers to get under their desks — the designated safe spaces for such occurrences.
He had been delivering updates on tornado warnings for Volusia and Seminole counties when rainy and windy conditions rapidly worsened, turning images into a blurry gray on the monitor.
“We’re catching debris right now on the roof,” Mr. Garner said. “Seek shelter immediately,” he added. “Get under your desks, guys. Anchors, under your desks!”
He described debris flying across Interstate 4 just north of Orlando, into the neighborhood of Lake Mary and into Sanford, Fla.
“This is a confirmed tornado,’’ Mr. Garner announced to viewers as power to the station flickered out. “This is a very serious situation. This is a real, live tornado. It just hit our station.”
The whole episode was brief, lasting about a minute or so, and staff members continued to work and assess damage to the area — and to their own studio.
One Fox employee shared a photo of damage to vehicles in the station’s parking lot from the severe weather.
Pictures from the Seminole Fire Department showed a home that had collapsed just before 10 a.m. on Monday.
“Due to the weather impact, there is a collapsed home on the 2100 block of Blue Iris in Longwood and another damaged home,” the department said in an email. “Residents are currently safe from the collapsed home.” Two people inside the home were uninjured.
The Fire Department also shared photos of firefighters with saws working to remove toppled trees that blocked roadways. It said it was working with the Seminole County Sheriff’s Office and Emergency Management to assess any further damage to the area.
The National Weather Service, which had been warning of tornadoes throughout Monday morning, will conduct a survey of the area over the next few hours to determine whether it actually was a tornado and what its strength was.
After warning his colleagues on the air, Mr. Garner turned to his local viewers with the same urgency as the storm moved across the area.
“Get to the ground level, an interior room away from the windows,” he said, adding, “I have been doing this a long time, and that’s the first time a tornado has hit me while I am doing the weather.”
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