Saturday, July 21, 2012

TV station hit by lightning during live weather report

A lightning strike briefly knocked out power to the building housing WBZ-TV and WBZ NewsRadio 1030 in Boston.

Both stations were on the air as thunder rocked the building. WBZ-TV Chief Meteorologist Todd Gutner was forced to finish his forecast in the dark.


YouTube link.

About 19 seconds into the video, the microphone suddenly cuts out with a quick burst of static, as the lights in the studio go out. Gutner’s audio returns a short time later, but only his weather map remains lit.

“We just took a potent lightning strike, probably right to the rooftop or to our transmitter,” Gutner said as he attempted to continue his forecast. WBZ-TV anchor Jack Williams said it was the first time he can remember in his 37-year tenure that the station was knocked off the air by lightning during a live newscast.

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