Video: Meteorologist's Eyes Cross, She Slumps, Then Breaks Desk as She Passes Out Live on Air
Editor’s Note: Our readers responded strongly to this story when it originally ran; we’re reposting it here in case you missed it.
A Los Angeles meteorologist fainted and fell to the floor during a disturbing, on-air weather report March 18.
A video of the incident showed the moment KCAL-TV meteorologist Alissa Carlson suffered the unexpected medical emergency.
It begins with KCAL anchors Nichelle Medina and Rachel Kim welcoming viewers to the show and then turning over to Carlson to discuss the weather.
“Who is ready for some sunshine? I know I am,” Medina says as Kim raises her hand.
The chirpy, morning-news atmosphere turns dark quickly.
CBS News meteorologist suddenly collapses live on air pic.twitter.com/yZu3XEImGp
— George (@BehizyTweets) March 18, 2023
Immediately after Carlson is introduced, she appears faint and her eyes appear to cross. She then slumps forward onto her desk, which collapses as she disappears from view.
The two anchors appeared to have a delayed reaction but then immediately cut to commercial when they realized what happened.
KCAL officials informed TMZ that emergency responders were immediately called and Carlson was taken to the hospital.
“Our colleague Alissa Carlson became ill during our 7 AM newscast this morning. I want to thank her co-workers who took immediate action to comfort Alissa and call 911. Alissa is being treated at the hospital right now,” CBS LA Vice President and News Director Mike Dello Stritto told TMZ in a statement.
“Hopefully we’ll know more shortly. In the meantime, Alissa will be in our thoughts and we’re praying for her to be feeling much better soon.”
Carlson has since announced on social media that she is recovering, saying on both Instagram and Facebook that she’s “going to be ok!”
She has not yet revealed the cause of the episode.
However, according to People magazine, Carlson was previously diagnosed with a leaky heart valve, which was discovered after she vomited at work while with another station in 2014.
“They told me that, eventually, the valve would probably have to be replaced. They didn’t know when it would wear out,” Carlson said in a 2018 interview with KGET-TV in Bakersfield, where she was a meteorologist. At the time of the interview, Carlson was competing in the Mrs. America Pageant as Mrs. California.
After the 2014 episode, Carlson and her husband, “went on to adopt an even healthier lifestyle,” the KGET interviewer said, and Carlson gave birth to a baby girl.
When her daughter was 9 months old, Carlson’s chest pains returned and she went back to the hospital to get it checked out, only to discover that her heart condition was actually improving.
“It comes back that the valve had actually started to repair itself. The stem cells from my baby had started to heal my heart,” she said in the KGET interview.
“I feel like I owe it to people, and everybody, and to God, to give back, and to spread the story. And help people. And realize that you may have something you don’t even know that you have.”
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