Meteorologist Who Broke Down on Air During Hurricane Milton Says People 'Thanked Me for Showing Humanity'

A Florida meteorologist who broke down while covering Hurricane Milton has written an op-ed about his experience for The New York Times.

Published on Wednesday, Oct. 23, John Morales reflected on the public response he got after breaking down on air during an NBC affiliate WTVJ telecast on Monday, Oct. 7.

" ‘It is an incredible, incredible, incredible hurricane. It has dropped,’ I said, my voice quivering,” Morales recalled. “ ‘50 millibars in 10 hours!’ I knew it meant it was going to continue growing in strength, and rival some of the strongest hurricanes ever recorded. I paused, lowered my head and apologized for losing my composure.”

At the time, he added, "This is just horrific."

Never miss a story — sign up for PEOPLE's free daily newsletter to stay up-to-date on the best of what PEOPLE has to offer, from juicy celebrity news to compelling human interest stories.

In his op-ed, Morales shared that he was surprised to see the positive public response to his candid reaction to the hurricane.

The PEOPLE Puzzler crossword is here! How quickly can you solve it? Play now!

“The unplanned moment went viral,” he wrote. “From Gen Z on TikTok to boomers on Facebook, the reactions were overwhelmingly supportive. People thanked me for showing humanity, for being emotional about increasingly dangerous weather extremes.”

He added, “So many people understood and identified with what I expressed. The moment revealed a shared experience of climate anxiety across generations. It’s time that we channel that into action.”

A topic that hits close to home, Morales — who grew up in Puerto Rico —  wrote about climate change’s impact on some of his favorite locations.

Explaining that he no longer sees “the color palette” in the sea when he returns to Puerto Rico to snorkel, he wrote, “The corals are mostly bleached white or a dead shade of gray, and there aren’t as many varieties of underwater creatures.”

He went on to urge people to normalize talking about climate change with their friends and family. "If we can have more conversations about climate change and how it’s making us feel, we can share the burden and prioritize action," Morales added.

Morales' op-ed comes after he spoke to PEOPLE earlier this month about why he was overcome with emotion when reporting on the hurricane.

“I can tell you that it's angst over the multiplication of extreme weather events and their severity,” he said. “It's empathy for future victims because these hurricanes really wreck lives and take lives.”