Mike Seidel, a meteorologist and reporter from the Weather Channel, has come in for a fair bit of a mockery recently after being painted as overly "dramatic" during his coverage of Hurricane Florence.
A video of Seidel went viral last week apparently showing the reporter struggling against strong winds, while two guys seemed to walk past nonchalantly in the background.
But Laura Tobin, a weather presenter on ITV1 breakfast show Good Morning Britain, has leapt to the defence of Seidel, saying that there might have been a more complicated, scientific reason for his battle against the wind.
Tobin's theory is that Seidel could have been standing downwind of a building, which would mean that he could have been caught in eddies, causing turbulence, making the wind much stronger and more unpredictable where he was standing than where the two men strolled by.
It would make sense, of course – if it indeed is true.
In a statement, the Weather Channel also defended the reporter, saying:
"It’s important to note that the two individuals in the background are walking on concrete, and Mike Seidel is trying to maintain his footing on wet grass, after reporting on-air until 1:00 a.m. ET this morning and is undoubtedly exhausted.”
Whatever the reason, maybe we should all just go easier on people risking their lives in the midst of hurricanes.
Good Morning Britain airs weekday mornings on ITV1 from 6am to 8:30am
