Longtime Birmingham Meteorologist's Home Damaged In Tornado While On-Air

A popular longtime Birmingham meteorologist found himself in a frightening situation during live coverage of local tornadoes.

ABC 33/40 Chief Meteorologist James Spann announced his house sustained damage during the severe tornado storm on Thursday (March 25) afternoon.

“What I’m doing is texting my wife to be sure she’s in the shelter,” Spann said as he was off camera during ABC 33/40's live stream.

Spann's colleague, ABC 33/40 meteorologist Taylor Sarallo, took over as he made contact with his wife who, thankfully, was OK, but confirmed their home experienced significant damage.

“The reason I had to step out, we had major damage at my house,” Spann said when he returned to the ABC 33/40 broadcast. “My wife is OK, but the tornado came right through there and it’s not good, it’s bad. It’s bad.”

Spann is an award-winning meteorologist who joined ABC 33/40 in 1996 and has worked in the Birmingham market since 1989, having previously served as the chief meteorologist at WBRC, according to his LinkedIn account.

ChaserWx's Brandon Copic shared a video of the large, violent tornado on Thursday (March 25) afternoon, which included "flinging debris."

A tornado warning remains in effect for southern Sumter County until 4:30 p.m. on Thursday.

Photo: National Weather Service