'This is just horrific': Meteorologist becomes emotional while providing Hurricane Milton update

A seasoned American meteorologist became emotional on air as he gave an update on a major hurricane, later suggesting the reason behind his strong reaction.

"It is just an incredible, incredible, incredible hurricane," John Morales said as he presented the update on Hurricane Milton on WTVJ NBC6-TV in Miami on Monday.

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"It has dropped," Morales, an atmospheric and environmental scientist, said. The Florida meteorologist paused, sighed and looked down, appearing like he was near tears. "It has dropped 50 millibars in 10 hours ... I apologize, this is just horrific."

He said maximum sustained winds are 160 mph (257 km/h). The hurricane is gaining strength in the Gulf of Mexico where the seas "are just so incredibly, incredibly hot, a record hot," he said. "You know what's driving that, I don't need to tell you: global warming, climate change."

His colleague Chris Hush, a South Florida anchor and reporter, shared a video of Morales's weather segment Monday, which drew at least 3.5 million views.

In a post on X Monday after his video segment was widely shared, Morales said people should be as "shaken" as he is, and encouraged them to demand climate action.