Weather reporter experiences technical glitch during broadcast but decides to have fun with it

Meteorologist Jennifer McDermed of Fox 9 KMSP found herself being multiplied on air due to a technical issue while providing the weather update for the Minneapolis area. The effect "took over" as she was covering some regional temps, making the signal zoom in while also leaving a bizarre trail of ghostly, repeated images. In a video now going viral, McDermed can be seen dressed in a bright yellow outfit, with the meteorological map behind her, and even the station's bug in the lower left began repeating itself, much to the delight of her and those in the studio. "Oooh, that's funky. I don't really know what's going on," Jennifer said, waving her hands to see the effect.  

It can be a rather anxious situation when something like this happens on air, and rather than trying to avoid it or ignore it entirely, Jennifer leaned right into it, taking it like a sport. "Do you guys want one Jennifer? Or two Jennifers? Or three?" she asked, funnily. Everyone on set, bemused by the situation, started playing along once Jennifer started making jokes about it. "Could you lead that chain off the screen?" the cameraperson was heard saying with Jennifer starting a parade of herself and the glitch hers across the screen. When the glitch went away, Jennifer and the others on set could not stop laughing. "I have no idea what that was. But it was brilliant. I can't even talk right now," she said. "I can't even handle myself, let alone ten of me," she said, while laughing, finishing the program in chuckles. Fox 9 anchor Randy Meier said to her, “Whatever button you pushed, don’t do it again.”

According to Jennifer's bio on Fox 9, she's been with the organization since 2018. Her enthusiasm for weather, specifically severe weather, developed when she was very young and she says that "she always wanted to be a meteorologist." And tech glitches aside, she has had quite the career. McDermed has been tracking tornadoes in Texas, Oklahoma, and Kansas over the past five years. The largest tornado Jennifer tracked in 2012 was an EF-4 close to Lyons, Kansas. Additionally, based in Minnesota now, she can anticipate both blizzards and severe weather.

The video is going viral, with many people leaving comments. u/NightBard said, "That was fantastic... brought a tear to my eye. If she was quicker she would have done the thousand hands dance." Reddit user u/Notto_Bragbutt agreed, responding, "She should have done some kicks like the Rockettes. I haven't laughed that hard in a while." 

The video was watched more than 14 million times on YouTube. YouTube users had quite a laugh but commended the anchor's attitude to steer the situation into having fun. YouTube user Heather Gee said, "This brought me pure joy. Literally brought me laughing out loud. I needed the silliness."

User AP PC commented, "Handled it like a boss. Its also such a simple example how to deal with life. If youre gonna make a big deal out of something silly its gonna become a big problem, but if you just take it lightly then no one will even get pissed. Go Jennifer 🙌"