Beaufort Battled by Tropical Storm Debby, Weather Channel’s Justin Michaels Documents Impact
BEAUFORT – As Tropical Storm Debby swept through the Southeast from Florida to North Carolina, residents were left bracing for the storm’s devastating impact. Correspondents from The Weather Channel, including famed weatherman Jim Cantore, were deployed to the frontline of the storm, reporting from the affected area stretching from the Lowcountry to the Grand Strand.
In Beaufort, national correspondent Justin Michaels drew on his eight years of experience covering weather events across the nation to document and share the lived experiences of those affected by Debby. He mentioned that while predicting the path of the storm and its potential impact is crucial, sharing the human-impact stories is equally important.
Michaels has a unique approach to curating these stories. Often, he interacts with locals at gas stations, restaurants, or even by knocking on doors. Without assuming the role of a reporter, Michaels builds connections based on empathy, capturing the genuine accounts of people enduring the storm’s wrath.
Stationed nightly at the Henry C. Chambers Waterfront Park in downtown Beaufort, Michaels keenly monitored the unusually high levels of the Beaufort River caused by Debby’s rain and tides. Reporting during natural disasters involves interacting with people during what might be the worst experience of their lives, he explained. He underlined the vital necessity to handle such interactions with care, dignity, and empathy, focusing on their stories rather than on capturing a headline.
Michaels’ journey in journalism began as an intern at a local Tampa, Florida area station. He later worked in Lubbock, Texas, where he reported on a house fire that subsequently ignited his passion for reporting on real people’s stories during disasters. He went on to cover weather in Toledo, Ohio, Cleveland, and eventually New England before joining The Weather Channel in 2016.
With Debby still in full force, Michaels noted on August 5 that the storm’s story was not yet fully written as he prepared to continue his coverage in Florence. The flooding induced by the storm poses a significant risk to residents, he said, emphasizing the importance of telling the story of Tropical Storm Debby and those affected.
