Jim Cantore remains one of the most trusted authority figures when a storm strikes. The fearless meteorologist for The Weather Channel became known to broadcast from impact zones over almost four decades. Even at 61, the popular network fixture still feels passionate for forecasting and hurricane hunting. 

It’s his driving force that motivates him to continue to go out in the field to bring viewers in like only he can. Despite his longevity, that doesn’t mean the job has gotten any easier. We sat down with Cantore, who opens up about what is coming up to be 40 years at The Weather Channel and his future. 

Have you had any pinch me moments off the clock or someone you were particularly excited to meet? 

Jim Cantore: I’m not one of those people that gets too thrilled about meeting other human beings. If I met Tiger Woods, obviously, I would respect him for being a great golfer. Bobby Labonte was a friend of mine when he was a great NASCAR racer and won the cup. Mike Trout is a good friend of mine. I just sent him a text the other day about his 400th homer. Mike likes to talk about the weather. It’s more of our weather relationship we have. Mike wants a blizzard. He is dying for one. When the potential comes around he is like, “Cantore, what do you think?” I love talking to him about it. If he didn’t play baseball and wasn’t so damn good, he’d be a meteorologist. There is no question at all. 

Heading into 2026, it will mark your 40th year with The Weather Channel. What does that milestone mean to you? 

To stay in one place for 40 years, who can say that? I’m blessed The Weather Channel has given me the opportunity to do that. Certainly, seeing so many changes with how we broadcast. From maps we make on a computer into a paint box individually with numbers to having now these fancy walls where we can literally immerse ourselves in storm surge or a tornado .It’s absolutely incredible how real we can broadcast and create the weather. Though nothing beats going out in the field. Let’s face it. That is the real storm. You’re in it. You’re a part of it. You tell the story. That too with technology increasing to live view cameras, where you don’t have to bring down a satellite dish like we did with Katrina. 

I was trying to tell people the other day when I went back to the Armed Forces Retirement Home what that broadcast would have been like if we had that live view back then. They would have seen us participating in getting our vets upstairs out of the water, which was encompassing the first floor of the Armed Forces Retirement Home 20 years ago. Now we still would have been doing that, but they could have watched me do it and seen this is a serious situation here. It’s so much different now because now we are the whole story. Instead of coming to us at tops, quarters and bottoms [of the hour] or being shut down at the height of the storm, you can literally take the audience through the storm as long as we have cell phone service. It’s amazing how that has all changed. Now that has made my job a little harder, but it certainly keeps you in the moment. 

The Weather Channel

What was the first hurricane you covered? 

I did the second landfall of Andrew in Louisiana. I was in Baton Rouge in 1992. That was the first one. Then 115 storms later was Milton. 

Is there anything you do to mark these to keep track? 

It’s all kind of up here. I’m not a collector. I’m blessed I just got to do this job. I’m thrilled I can keep on doing it. I probably have a few more years in me to do this. There is no way I could do the kind of coverage I did for Katrina today. We started in Florida and drove all the way to Mississippi. We did coverage morning and night and then had to evacuate and find new places to stay it seemed like every day. It was really crazy. That just beats you up. One of the things I can’t do is just walk on the air to do the weather. I have to look at it myself. I have to feel it myself. That’s the most important thing. I have to get an idea of what is going on. A lot of times I’ll tell my producer, “Steve, just get me something at dinner. I have to spend some time looking at this.” It’s really important that I’m in the know. Even if I do start this weekend by not being in the field, I will be looking at it just to get up to speed just in case so I’m not caught off guard. 

What’s a must-have item you have to have on your travels? 

My laptop. I have to be in the know. Stuff to keep my electronics dry like my cell phone, a Ziploc bag even. That works as good as anything to keep my stuff dry. Just some minor things. Now that I’m older I get colder and easier, so I like to have a neoprene top if I’m out in a summer storm. If it’s one of these hybrid storms where you have cold dry air, staying in that for six hours you start getting a little hypothermic. You have to figure out if you want to wear a dry suit or wet suit. If I’m out standing in the middle of it, body armor. I don’t want to get impaled by something. I never want to be the story. Who will come get me? Who should, especially when I’m telling people to stay out of harm’s way. So, I have to do everything I can to broadcast, do my mission if you will and not get hurt. It’s never a panacea but helmet especially and body armor for my upper body is huge. 

A couple of months ago there were people saying you were retiring. You’ve set the record straight since, branding it “fake news“, but what keeps you going? When is the time you would feel would be the time to step back? 

I don’t know if I see the light at the end of the tunnel for that yet. I really love talking about the weather and different solutions. In the end, I put a lot of time into my X posts. If you want to know what I’m thinking about a particular storm, it’s usually right there. That’s where I lay it on the line. It has been a wonderful platform for me to get up in the morning, look at the weather, post something and then come in and put it out on the air. I hope people remember me as a decent forecaster rather than the swashbuckling meteorologist out there laying it all on the line. The adrenaline rush in my 20s, 30s and even 40s is a little less robust these days. But I still get a little pump. I won’t lie, It’s still fun to be out in the middle of it.