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'You just can't stand up' | Jim Cantore hit by tree branch while covering Hurricane Ian

During a live report in Punta Gorda, The Weather Channel meteorologist was hit by a blowing branch and then struggles to stay standing in the wind.
Credit: Brian Gomsak/AP Images for The Weather Channel
The Weather Channel's Jim Cantore covers severe weather on Friday, May 8th, 2015 in Wrightsville Beach, NC.

PUNTA GORDA, Fla. — When Hurricane Ian made landfall in southwest Florida, it brought with it a devastating storm surge, brutal winds and flying tree branches. 

During a live broadcast from Punta Gorda, Weather Channel meteorologist Jim Cantore was smacked in the legs by one of those branches. He didn't appear to be injured.

Cantore is well known for reporting in extreme weather conditions.

In the report, Cantore is heard saying, "Alrighty, you know what, think I'm just going to come in here for a second," while he struggles against the wind to move from the street to the sidewalk. 

He then holds onto a street sign while struggling to remain upright the winds that were recording gusting at 110 mph. 

"I'm fine," he says. "You just can't stand up."

Hurricane Ian reached the shores of southwest Florida on Wednesday and made landfall as one of the strongest storms on record to hit the state.

According to the National Hurricane Center, the storm made its official landfall just after 3 p.m. near Cayo Costa, bringing with it devastating storm surge flooding and maximum sustained winds of 150 mph.

That made it a Category 4 hurricane — one of just a few of that strength to reach Florida in modern times, with Ian's 150 mph winds stronger than all but a few storms in the state's recorded history. 

10 Tampa Bay is keeping you ahead of the storm: Download our free mobile app for real-time storm information and breaking alerts, and download 10 Tampa Bay+ on your Fire TV or Roku devices to stream live coverage. 

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