Footage shows the moment a meteorologist calls his kids live on air to tell them to get to the safety of their basement.
NBC Washington's Doug Kammerer was forced to think on his feet on Thursday after realising a tornado was headed for his home.
The D.C. region was hit with severe weather on Thursday (31 March), with thunderstorms, gusty winds and a tornado moving across the area.
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Kammerer was tracking the storm live on air when he noticed it was travelling towards his house in Chevy Chase where his two kids were.
“I’m tracking this so closely now, this is going to go right over my house,” he says as he zooms in to get a closer look at the storm’s path.
At the same time, the forecaster pulls out his phone to dial through to his kids, adding: “So very close to my house, which again is in the Chevy Chase area, Bethesda area. This is along Wisconsin Avenue as well so heads up if you live along Massachusetts or Wisconsin Avenue.”
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When Kammerer’s son answers the phone, he says: “Kent, you there, buddy? Hey man, I want you to get down in the basement. We got a tornado warning. I want to make sure you and Cally get downstairs as soon as you can.”
Kent then asks: “Right now?” to which the dad-of-two says: “Yeah, get down there right now, get in the bedroom down there and just wait 10 to 15 minutes, OK? Do it now, thanks buddy.”
Despite the urgency of the situation, Kammerer keeps his cool, even cracking the following joke straight after hanging up the phone: “Got to warn my kids, because I know what my kids are doing right now, they're probably online gaming and they're not seeing this.”
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NBC4 Washington shared the clip on Twitter, writing: “When a tornado warning sounded last night, Storm Team4 Chief Meteorologist @dougkammerer was working to keep you informed and safe – just like his own family.”
Kammerer has since spoken about the moment on his Facebook page while reassuring his followers that luckily no one was injured when the tornado touched down in Fairfax county.
“This was a scary moment,” he wrote. “I was tracking this tornado warning and saw it heading right towards my house. My heart sank as I was on air. My kids were home alone and I knew they weren't paying attention. I had to make the call on LIVE TV.
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“I have never done anything like that before. They were safe thank goodness and even though the Tornado did touch down in Fairfax county, there were no injuries. Thanks for staying with me everyone!”
The post has received hundreds of comments from people sharing their praise for the quick-thinking weatherman, with one writing: “You absolutely did the right thing Doug. Family first!!”
Another said: “You absolutely did the right thing!! Thank you for setting the strong example of loving your family."
A third added: “I was watching last night and thought that not only were you making sure your kids were safe, you were an example to others to take tornado warnings seriously. I'm glad everyone is OK!”
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Daisy Phillipson