The COVID-19 pandemic has closed most businesses and forced us all to work from home.
Depending on your job, that can be an interesting transition—not every job can be so easily done from your living room, and it takes a little creativity.
But one TV weatherman has found a hilarious way to give an at-home forecast… with the help of one adorable co-anchor.
Jeff Lyons is the Chief Meteorologist on WFIE 14 News, serving the tri-state of Indiana, Kentucky and Illinois. With everyone working from home, he set up a green screen and camera equipment in his living room.
The set-up worked well, letting Lyons continue to provide the weather on TV all from his own home.
“It’s nice to have a 30-second commute after the late news,” he told Bored Panda.
But Lyons would soon go viral, thanks to an unexpected cameo by one of his housemates: during one weather report, his cat Betty wandered in.
“The director asked to see her, so I held her up for the camera,” Lyons explained. “We just had the final 30-second weather to do, so I kept her in my arms just for fun… little did I know!”
Clearly, a star was born. Audiences loved Betty, and Lyons gave them what they wanted, bringing her back on for another broadcast.
Although it seems she’s not always camera-ready:
Betty quickly became known as “Betty the Weather Cat.”
Lyons, who adopted Betty after she arrived at his house as a stray 11 years ago, was taken by surprise by the cat’s viral fame.
“The outpouring for this silly cat has been crazy,” he told Bored Panda. “I’ve spent 34 years in local TV as a meteorologist, so I am used to being known around this area (southern Indiana), but this is something that has really thrown me for a loop!”
But Lyons has been happy to share the spotlight with his lovable cat. The two even did a live Q&A session on Facebook:
In these dark times with so much bad news going on, sometimes you just need your weather reported by a cat. Share this funny story!