Frustrated sports journalist goes viral after being sent into blizzard to cover weather

Sports reporter Mark Woodley has gone viral after he candidly expressed his feelings about being asked to go outside to cover the weather in the midst of a blizzard.

The Iowa-based journalist took to Twitter on Thursday night to share the footage of himself in the snowstorm, as he was doing a weather report for KWWL-TV, a news station in Waterloo. Speaking to the camera, he explained why he was tasked to report on the topic, which he doesn’t usually cover.

“I normally do sports, everything is cancelled here for the next couple of days,” he explained. “So what better time to ask the sports guy to come in about five hours earlier than he would normally wake up. Go stand out in the wind and the snow and the cold and tell other people not to do the same?”

Woodley joked about not being an early riser, explaining: “I didn’t even realise that there was a 3:30 also in the morning, until today.”

He sarcastically expressed how “fantastic” he was doing, before emphasising that doing outdoor weather reports was not one of his usual responsibilities.

“I’m used to these evening shows that are only 30 minutes, and generally on those shows I’m inside,” he said. “So this is a really long show, tune in for the next couple of hours to watch me progressively get crankier and crankier.”

Woodley explained why he felt like his co-worker, Clint, got “the better end of the deal” with his “storm chaser seven duty”. He noted that Clint got to travel in a vehicle that’s “heated” when covering the weather, as opposed to standing outside.

The sports reporter shared the pros and cons of reporting on the weather, adding: “I’ve got good news, and I’ve got bad news,” he said. “The good news is that I can still feel my face right now. The bad news is I kind of wish I couldn’t.”

He then joked that the news station asked him to be outside in order to “torture” him.

“Can I go back to my regular job?” Woodley asked. “I’m pretty sure you guys added an extra hour to this show just because somebody likes torturing me. Because compared to two and a half hours ago, it is just getting colder and colder.”

As of 23 December, the video has more than 22m views, with people in the comments praising Woodley for his amusing weather segment.

“Big mistake, Woodley. You shouldn’t have been so good at this,” one wrote.

“Perhaps sadly for you, you have now become far and away my favourite weather reporter,” another added, while a third person said: “This is a masterpiece. Welcome to your new job.”

Other sports journalists poked fun at Woodley’s weather report and how it’s gone viral.

“Mark, you have no idea how hard you’re making the rest of our jobs. Now every news director wants their sports reporter to go out into the cold, in hopes of going viral.”

Iowa-based Radio host Todd Brommelkamp also praised the video, writing: “You don’t get to be a 1-time Iowa Sportscaster of the Year by staying in your lane.”

Woodley reshared the tweet and responded: “This was my wife’s favourite so far. Good on you @ToddBrommelkamp!”

KKWL also shared an article about Woodley’s “weather rant,” where the publication joked that “no Woodley’s were harmed in the making of the morning newscast”.