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STORM
TRACKER
ESM
TALKS WITH THE WEATHER CHANNEL'S JIM CANTORE
By Chris Towery
Sitting
inside Jim Cantore's SUV, the smell is impossible to ignore.
Even he acknowledges the foul odor, warning me that it's
"kind of funky in here." But it's a smell that many Right
Coast surfers are familiar with: a dank mixture of soggy
seat cushions and mildewed floor mats that comes only
from years of chasing hurricanes. While we follow tropical
systems for our own aquatic delight, Cantore--The Weather
Channel's most charismatic field reporter--has been tracking
the same storms in his 18-year career as a weatherman.
And throughout this lengthy tenure, surfers have come
to know and love the Vermont native for his on-the-spot
storm coverage and highly dependable forecasts. When hurricane
season rolls around, we faithfully tune in every 51 minutes
past the hour for "the Tropical Update" to watch as he
fearlessly places himself directly in the path of the
planet's most catastrophic tempests to report live--even
when the proverbial shingles start hitting the fan. So
during the peak of Hurricane Frances, when we realized
that Cantore was broadcasting in Palm Bay, FL, which is
just a few miles down the road from ESM headquarters,
we fled the safe confines of our plywood barricades and
braved his malodorous automobile to see exactly what it's
like to weather a ferocious 'cane alongside a true meteorological
master.
ESM:
So how did you initially get into meteorology?
JC:
It was all about my dad. He'd say, "Son, what're you going
to do with your life? Why don't you go study the weather?
You're always telling everybody when it's going to snow..."
And I thought, "You know, that's not a bad idea." So I
went to Linden State College in Linden, Vermont, and after
that, I began working at The Weather Channel in '86.
ESM:
Did The Weather Channel immediately start you out doing
broadcasts?
JC:
Yep. They put me right out there. There I was with my
cheap suits, worn-out sport coats, long hair, and all
that sort of stuff.
ESM:
Training to be a meteorologist, you probably didn't get
a whole lot of television journalism experience. Is that
something you just kind of learned off the hip?
JC:
I learned a lot off the hip. I can't even begin to tell
you the wealth of information I picked up at The Weather
Channel. I had guys, like my mentor John Hope, coming
up to me and saying, "You know, Mr. Cantore, your Tropical
Updates really suck. They need a lot of work."
ESM:
He actually said they "sucked?"
JC:
Oh yeah, and with someone like him saying that... dude,
you might as well have kicked me in the balls. From then
on, I vowed to beef up my knowledge of the tropics and
go out there and really make an impact. And later, when
Hope told me, "That was a good job, Mr. Cantore," I felt
like I had really done well. He was funny because no matter
how long I knew him, he always called me "Mr. Cantore."
[laughs]
ESM:
Last time ESM spoke with you was during Hurricane Floyd
in '99. What's the craziest weather experience you've
had since then?
JC:
It has to be last year's May outbreak of tornadoes. I
actually begged to go out and chase those storms. It turned
into a solid week of nothing but beef jerky and Red Bull.
I mean, we were literally sleeping in our cars every night,
and when we'd do live shots, we'd drive right into the
middle of the destruction. After a week of that, I was
physically exhausted.
JC:
Ah, dude, this is the longest friggin' storm. I go to
bed, and there are hurricane-force winds in my face from
the northeast. I wake up in the morning, and there are
hurricane-force winds in my face from the southeast. It's
been just relentless, and there's going to be a lot of
damage. It's certainly the worst hit this area has taken
since Donna in 1960.
ESM:
The Weather Channel has about a half-dozen reporters out
in the field in different locations for this storm. How
do you all determine who goes where? Do you get to pick
where you go or are you assigned?
JC: I'm first out, because I host "Evening Edition" from the field. I started doing that this Wednesday night. But first out doesn't necessarily mean you're going to be in the worst of it. ESM:
Yeah, I was wondering why you're out here by Interstate
95 rather than on the beach? Are you wussing out on us,
Jim?
JC:
Man, I'm not wussing out on you. There are a couple
people in our crew with some health issues, and they didn't
want to be stuck on the beach. But believe me, I'd be
totally out there if not for that. Trust me, I was so
bummed when I couldn't get on the beach, you could probably
see it in me when I was reporting. If I'm not in the worst
of it, I'm pissed. I want to be right at ground zero.
I like to see how bad it can get. I want to see what I
can take and how much we can broadcast before we lose
the signal.
ESM: Do you lose the signal a lot? JC:
Yeah, we have lost the signal. But look at where the truck
is now (parked in the path of the wind). We tried to park
right next to the building where it's safer, but all of
a sudden the truck went [makes sinking noise]. It sank
right down in the mud. It's made to withstand 75-mph winds,
and we were close to taking it (the satellite dish) down
last night, but we never did. The key is to protect the
satellite dish. If you've got an area where you can get
the dish protected, then you can broadcast in the worst
damn weather.
ESM: Have you guys ever had anyone hurt or injured during a broadcast? JC:
It's kind of interesting you ask that. One of the
stations we're currently working with in the Bahamas was
doing a broadcast, and apparently a piece of roof flew
off and nailed the reporter, Julia Chaves, in the arm.
I don't know what her injury was, but you could see her
icing her elbow later in the broadcast. It was pretty
nasty.
ESM:
With all the mayhem, don't you think the National Weather
Service ought to come up with more macho-sounding hurricane
names. I mean, you're out here trying to make a storm
with a sissy name like Frances sound menacing...
JC:
Well, so far this year we've had Charley, which is kind
of aristocratic. Now we have Frances, which is sort of,
uh, astute. Hopefully, Ivan will have a little more oomph
to it.
ESM:
Like Ivan the Terrible...
JC:
Yeah, that Czar feeling--a world domination thing.
ESM:
On that note, are you bummed Frances is not as strong
as originally predicted?
JC:
No, I'm never bummed because I've got to look people in
the face when they lose their homes. This lady came in
today, and she was completely hysterical. She'd just heard
that her subdivision was blown away, and she couldn't
get back to it. I love the ratings, I love being out,
I love preparing people, but, like with Floyd, I'm happy
to see a storm turn away. That's what we all want. The
Weather Channel doesn't want to see a place get slammed
by a hurricane. I mean, we want and we need ratings to
pay the bills, so if a hurricane comes, great. But if
it turns away without damage, that's the perfect scenario.
Get the ratings without any loss of life.
JC:
I don't hype the weather--it hypes itself. When it
looked like I was getting blown around today, I was getting
blown around. I didn't have to lean to one side and fake
it. I think people know that, and they listen to me and
take me seriously. And we learn something new with every
storm. Even though we evacuated 2.8 million people with
Frances, as compared to 1.3 million with Floyd, you can
ask anyone who evacuated, and they'll tell you that it
went a hell of a lot smoother than in 1999. Traffic was
slow this time, but it was always moving, unlike Floyd
where it was complete gridlock. After Floyd, we learned
how to evacuate the coast a lot more efficiently.
ESM: On the subject of ratings and paying bills, isn't it true that Home Depot and TWC are secretly in cahoots? JC:
Oh, absolutely. We're getting paid from Lowes, Ace Hardware,
True Value, and Home Depot. All these businesses regularly
monitor the weather, and if they see that an area is going
to get hammered, they ship down extra supplies.
ESM: I know you're married, but do some of your fellow weathermen ever use their title as a "Storm Chaser" to pick up chicks? JC:
The title is actually "Storm Tracker," and yes, it works
every time with the ladies. I have to live my single life
through others at this point, but it's still pretty fun
[laughs]. But really, everybody is so genuine. One of
the neatest things I found today was that even though
all the local stations are covering the hurricane, when
we walked into the hotel, everyone was watching The Weather
Channel. Obviously, we don't have the local feel, but
that just spoke volumes for our credibility.
ESM: During this storm, some of the local stations have been making surfers look really bad. When we're out during a hurricane, the news media makes us look like we're a bunch of whacked-out daredevils, despite the fact that the waves aren't nearly as big or dangerous as they are in, say California or Hawaii. What's your take on this? JC:
Surfers really get a bum rap. Everyone thinks when surfers
go out in bad weather they're being stupid or endangering
themselves. ABC (News) actually did an interview with
me today about this, and I said, "If a surfer knows what
he or she's doing and knows what to expect from the waves
in an approaching hurricane, I don't have a problem with
that. But if someone is inexperienced, such as a tourist,
and has no idea what to expect from these kinds of waves,
that's when it's foolish. There's a difference." I wouldn't
slam surfers. The day after Hurricane Alex this year,
there were 200 surfers out at Wrightsville Beach, NC,
and they were having a blast. To me, as a snow skier,
it was like a powder day out west. You know, you get an
excuse not to go to work that day, so you can go out and
grab a few hours. Those surfers knew what they were doing.
They weren't endangering anyone. That's what you live
for, and you have to take advantage of those moments because
they don't come around that often.
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