Terrifying moment weatherman stops live report to warn his kids about oncoming tornado

An NBC weatherman interrupted his live broadcast to warn his children about an incoming tornado.

Doug Kammerer - NBC Washington's chief meteorologist - was reporting on a tornado warning for northern Washington when he realised his house was in the red area of where the storm was going to hit.

The father decided to stop his own broadcast to pick up the phone to his family - still live on air - to warn them of the incoming tornado.

The 'powerful' footage saw an influx of viewers flood to social media in praise of the dad. Prepare for a tense few minutes:

In the video - shared to Instagram by NBC - Kammerer tracks the tornado, soon realising it's going to go 'right over [his] house' in the Chevy Chase area in Maryland.

The weatherman then decides to pick up the phone to one of his children, telling them: "I want you to get down in the basement, we've got a tornado warning.

"I want to make sure you and Cally get downstairs as soon as you can, okay?"

The father urges his children to get into the bedroom in their basement for '10 to 15 minutes'.

Later on he addresses viewers, noting he 'had to warn [his] kids'.

"I know what my kids are doing right now, they're probably online gaming and they're not seeing this," he adds.

NBC

Kammerer was praised for acting so quickly and interrupting his live reporting to protect his family.

One X - formerly known as Twitter - user wrote: "Powerful and powerful. Family first and protection of the kids."

"He has his priorities straight," another added.

A third commented: "Now that's how it's done. Glad everyone is safe."

NBC

The dad later told NBC's TODAY show: "This was a scary moment for me. As I am zooming in on the radar, I noticed my house is right in the path of the tornado.

"My kids were home alone, and I knew they would not be paying attention to the warning.

"As I was live on air, I was debating in my head if I should call them while I was on TV, and I soon realized I had to make that call. I had to protect my kids.

"Thank goodness no one was injured as a result of that tornado. We are all safe."