Beaufort Weather Sharply Covered by Justin Michaels During Tropical Storm Debby
When the fury of Tropical Storm Debby struck Beaufort, Justin Michaels from The Weather Channel was right there working the front lines. Responsible for covering the storm’s blow-by-blow, Michaels has been digging into the heart of bad weather for the past eight years, often in the thick of deadly and destructive events, telling the story of the folks caught up in it.
“Meteorology is one thing, the predictions, the forecasts, they’re essential for getting out that life-saving info,” the 44-year-old shared with us. “But what’s just as vital is telling the human-impact stories, the tales of what people are living through.”
Finding The Stories in Struggle
So, how does Justin find those compelling stories? It’s not as straightforward as you might think. Often, it involves venturing into weather-impacted communities, hitting up gas stations, cafes, or even just listening into conversations around him. Sometimes, he’s knocking on doors. His approach is based not in the role of a reporter, but in sharing empathy with the folks he meets.
Enlisting in the Henry C. Chambers Waterfront Park in downtown Beaufort for the week, Michaels kept a firm eye on the exceptionally high tides and rainfall levels in the Beaufort River.
Not Just a Story – A Responsibility
Justin is no casual observer. These natural disasters aren’t simply ‘newsworthy,’ they’re often the worst times in these people’s lives. Worse than divorce, sometimes even worse than death. “Interacting with them with care, dignity, empathy, focusing on actually helping them, not just trying to grab a story. That’s the true goal. We’re here to try and help,” he affirmed.
Michaels’ journey into weather reporting started simply, with an internship at a local station in Tampa, Florida. During a stint at a station in Lubbock, Texas, he encountered a house fire story that sparked his passion for telling real people’s stories. After seeing the outpouring of support and grief from folks who weren’t even inhabitants of the old, historic property that burned down, he realized the profound importance of these locations within their communities.
“People were openly weeping for this house they didn’t even live in,” he remembered. “It meant that much to the people here.”
Chasing Stories Across the Country
From Lubbock, Michaels moved to increasingly important beats. His journey took him to the Toledo area in Ohio, later Cleveland, and ultimately to New England before landing the gig at The Weather Channel in 2016.
During his Debby coverage, he began in Bluffton before moving north of the Broad River to Beaufort. Michaels wasn’t a stranger to the area, his parents have been residents of Hardeeville for over 15 years. As Debby worsened, he moved on to Florence. The flooding caused by the relentless rain continued to put lives at risk.
“The full scope of Debby is still unfolding,” he mentioned as the storm began to bear down on the region. “I think we are just starting to see the tip of what’s to come.”
