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The Weather Channel has always had a knack for making the Earth's natural events seem stunningly compelling.

It brings high TV ratings and lots of eyeballs to its website, which can be monetized by the owner, Entertainment Studios.

But now, one of its star reporters, Mike Seidel, is being lampooned over social media for his coverage of Hurricane Florence.

In the tweet below, you can see Seidel swaying back and forth as he reports on Hurricane Florence.

But behind him, two people walk by who seem quite unaffected by the winds.

The social-media uproar has presented a corporate problem for the Weather Channel.

It's because Seidel is a key part of the franchise, with 2.63 million Twitter followers.

That puts him ahead of crooner Michael Bublé, not to mention most of the major U.S. TV news personalities, including Lester Holt, George Stephanopolous, and Don Lemon.

In the wake of the social-media flap, the Weather Channel rushed to defend Seidel in a statement published by the Washington Post.

“It’s important to note that the two individuals in the background are walking on concrete, and Mike Seidel is trying to maintain his footing on wet grass, after reporting on-air until 1:00 a.m. ET this morning and is undoubtedly exhausted.”

Wet grass. You read that correctly.

Seidel has some defenders on social media, with one referring to him as a "patriot".