James D. Cantore (born February 16, 1964) is an American

meteorologist A meteorologist is a scientist who studies and works in the field of meteorology aiming to understand or predict Earth's atmospheric phenomena including the weather. Those who study meteorological phenomena are meteorologists in research, while t ...

. He is best known as an on-air personality for

The Weather Channel The Weather Channel (TWC) is an American pay television channel owned by Weather Group, LLC, a subsidiary of Allen Media Group. The channel's headquarters are in Atlanta, Georgia. Launched on May 2, 1982, the channel broadcasts weather foreca ...

Career

A native of

Beacon Falls, Connecticut Beacon Falls is a town in western New Haven County, Connecticut, United States. It lies in the southwestern part of the state, and is bisected by the Naugatuck River. The population was 6,000 at the 2020 census, down from 6,049 at the 2010 ...

, who was raised in

White River Junction, Vermont White River Junction is an unincorporated village and census-designated place (CDP) in the town of Hartford in Windsor County, Vermont, United States. The population was 2,528 at the 2020 census, up from 2,286 in 2010, making it the largest c ...

, Cantore graduated from

Lyndon State College Lyndon State College was a public liberal arts college at Lyndon, Vermont. In 2018, it merged with Johnson State College to create Northern Vermont University; the former campus of Lyndon State College is now the university's Lyndon campus. ...

in 1986.

gave him his first job out of college in July of that year and he has worked there ever since. Cantore has become one of the best-known meteorologists on television. Algis Laukaitis of the Lincoln (Nebraska) Journal Star referred to Cantore as the "rock star of meteorologists". Cantore has been lauded for his ability to "break down" complicated weather events into terms the average viewer can understand. Cantore is often selected to go to report on severe weather events. Since the ratings for the Weather Channel increase during these events, Cantore has become a recognizable figure. In particular, viewers' association of Cantore's presence with incoming or in-progress severe weather events became so strong that the Weather Channel lampooned it in a one-minute 2011 commercial spot in which Cantore goes on a beach vacation, panicking nearby beachgoers and locals who take his presence as an ominous sign. Though he is best known for his live field coverage of major weather events (such as

Hurricanes A tropical cyclone is a rapidly rotating storm system characterized by a low-pressure center, a closed low-level atmospheric circulation, strong winds, and a spiral arrangement of thunderstorms that produce heavy rain and squalls. Depend ...

Ike Ike or IKE may refer to: People * Ike (given name), a list of people with the name or nickname * Dwight D. Eisenhower (1890–1969), Supreme Commander of the Allied forces in Europe during World War II and President of the United States Surname ...

Gustav Gustav, Gustaf or Gustave may refer to: *Gustav (name), a male given name of Old Swedish origin Art, entertainment, and media * ''Primeval'' (film), a 2007 American horror film * ''Gustav'' (film series), a Hungarian series of animated short cart ...

, Katrina,

Isabel Isabel is a female name of Spanish origin. Isabelle is a name that is similar, but it is of French origin. It originates as the medieval Spanish form of '' Elisabeth'' (ultimately Hebrew ''Elisheva''), Arising in the 12th century, it became popul ...

Rita Rita may refer to: People * Rita (given name) * Rita (Indian singer) (born 1984) * Rita (Israeli singer) (born 1962) * Rita (Japanese singer) * Eliza Humphreys (1850–1938), wrote under the pseudonym Rita Places * Djarrit, also known as Rita, ...

Andrew Andrew is the English form of a given name common in many countries. In the 1990s, it was among the top ten most popular names given to boys in List of countries where English is an official language, English-speaking countries. "Andrew" is freq ...

, Floyd,

Mitch Mitch is a short form of the masculine given name Mitchell. It is also sometimes a nickname, usually for a person with the surname Mitchell. It may refer to: People * Mitch Altman (born 1956), hacker and inventor * Mitch Apau (born 1990), Dutc ...

Bonnie Bonnie, is a Scottish given name and is sometimes used as a descriptive reference, as in the Scottish folk song, My Bonnie Lies over the Ocean. It comes from the Scots language word "bonnie" (pretty, attractive), or the French bonne (good). That ...

, Irene, Sandy, Matthew, Irma, Dorian, Laura, and

Ian Ian or Iain is a name of Scottish Gaelic origin, derived from the Hebrew given name (Yohanan, ') and corresponding to the English name John. The spelling Ian is an Anglicization of the Scottish Gaelic forename ''Iain''. It is a popular name in Sc ...

), his contributions go well beyond severe weather field reporting. His early work at TWC included developing the audience favorite Fall Foliage Forecast. He has reported on events such as the Space Shuttle Discovery launch, the "Winter X Games," PGA tournaments, NFL games and more. Jim is a member of both the

National Weather Association The National Weather Association (NWA), founded in 1975, is an American professional association with a mission to support and promote excellence in operational meteorology and related activities. Background The National Weather Association is, ...

and the

American Meteorological Society The American Meteorological Society (AMS) is the premier scientific and professional organization in the United States promoting and disseminating information about the atmospheric, oceanic, and hydrologic sciences. Its mission is to advance th ...

. He holds the AMS Television Seal of Approval. He also received the NOAA-David S. Johnson Award in 2003 for his innovative use of environmental satellite technology. Aside from live reporting for TWC, Cantore also serves as the narrator on the TWC series ''

Storm Stories ''Storm Stories'' is an American non-fiction television series that airs on The Weather Channel (TWC) and Zone Reality. It is hosted and narrated by meteorologist and storm tracker Jim Cantore. ''Storm Stories'' showcases various types of severe ...

''. He also narrates Local On The 8s (excluding the national version). He was featured in the beginning of the ECHL's

Stockton Thunder The Stockton Thunder were a minor league professional ice hockey team that was based in Stockton, California, and a member of the ECHL. The Stockton Arena was their home ice, with a capacity of 9,737. The team was an affiliate team of the New Yo ...

entrance video saying "Hello, this is meteorologist Jim Cantore from the Weather Channel; a special weather advisory has been issued for the Central Valley—a 100% chance of thunder." After

NBCUniversal NBCUniversal Media, LLC is an American multinational mass media and entertainment conglomerate corporation owned by Comcast and headquartered at 30 Rockefeller Plaza in Midtown Manhattan, New York City, United States. NBCUniversal is primaril ...

's acquisition of The Weather Channel in 2008, Cantore has occasionally filled in for

Al Roker Albert Lincoln Roker Jr. (born August 20, 1954) is an American weather presenter, journalist, television personality, and author. He is the current weather anchor on NBC's '' Today'', and occasionally co-hosts '' 3rd Hour Today''. He has an in ...

on The Today Show. He was also in London hosting weather segments for NBC during the 2012 Summer Olympics.

Viral videos

On January 28, 2014, while doing a live on-location report at the

College of Charleston The College of Charleston (CofC or Charleston) is a public university in Charleston, South Carolina. Founded in 1770 and chartered in 1785, it is the oldest university in South Carolina, the 13th oldest institution of higher learning in the Unit ...

in Charleston, South Carolina, Cantore was charged by a student named Colin Marcelli. Cantore noticed the charge, and kneed Marcelli in the groin. Marcelli immediately ran off. Cantore never broke his train of thought nor appeared frazzled during the incident. A recording of the shot has gained upwards of two million views on YouTube. On February 14, 2015, while covering the impacts of Winter Storm Neptune along the South Shore of

Massachusetts Massachusetts (Massachusett: ''Muhsachuweesut Massachusett_writing_systems.html" ;"title="nowiki/> məhswatʃəwiːsət.html" ;"title="Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət">Massachusett writing systems">məhswatʃəwiːsət'' En ...

, an intense band of

thundersnow Thundersnow, also known as a winter thunderstorm or a thundersnowstorm, is a kind of thunderstorm with snow falling as the primary precipitation instead of rain. It is considered a rare and unusual phenomenon. It typically falls in regions of s ...

struck the area, causing Cantore to react excitedly to the presence of the ultra-rare phenomenon. The video of his reaction now has over 5,000,000 views on YouTube. On October 10, 2018, while covering landfall of

Hurricane Michael Hurricane Michael was a very powerful and destructive tropical cyclone that became the first Category 5 hurricane to make landfall in the contiguous United States since Andrew in 1992. It was the third-most intense Atlantic hurricane to m ...

in Panama City Beach,

Florida Florida is a state located in the Southeastern region of the United States. Florida is bordered to the west by the Gulf of Mexico, to the northwest by Alabama, to the north by Georgia, to the east by the Bahamas and Atlantic Ocean, and to ...

, Cantore was forced to quickly dodge a flying piece of lumber while reporting live. Video of the incident was viewed on Twitter more than 500,000 times in the hour after its occurrence. On September 28, 2022, while covering Category 4 Hurricane Ian, Cantore was hit by a flying tree branch in the eyewall of the storm at Punta Gorda, Florida. The video has gone viral on Twitter with millions of views in under 24 hours.

Personal life

Cantore's children have Fragile X syndrome. Cantore does charitable work for FRAXA, the Fragile X Research Foundation, and the Parkinson’s Unity Walk. He also contributes his time to Make-a-Wish Foundation events around the country and he has also served as a celebrity cabinet member with the American Red Cross.

Narratives

* IntelliStar 2 * IntelliStar 2 Jr.

References

External links

Jim Cantore's biography
at Weather.com * * {{DEFAULTSORT:Cantore, Jim People from Windsor County, Vermont American television meteorologists The Weather Channel people Lyndon State College alumni 1964 births Living people Storm chasers People from Beacon Falls, Connecticut