WMEO Weekend Edition

WMEO 9 news desk featuring two cat anchors seated behind a curved desk. An orange tabby cat wearing a blue bow tie sits beside a black cat, with a microphone and small stuffed bear and mouse on the desk between them. Behind the desk, a large monitor displays a green iguana and the headline “BREAKING NEWS: FALLING IGUANAS.” A lower-third graphic reads “WMEO 9 - We Meow, You Listen

BREAKING NEWS: LOOK UP! FLORIDA ISSUES SEASONAL FALLING IGUANA ALERT

This Is WEMO 9 We Meow- You Listen

Banner: Good morning, everyone, and welcome to WMEO’s Weekend Edition.

Today is November 1st, which in New England means the cold weather is either here… or standing just outside the door waiting to come in.

Balboa: And speaking of cold, we have breaking news from the Sunshine State. Florida officials are once again reminding residents about a very unusual winter hazard: falling iguanas.

That’s right. Not snow or ice. Not even falling tree branches.

Falling. Iguanas.

Banner: As strange as it sounds, this is actually a real phenomenon. Green iguanas can become cold-stunned when temperatures drop below 40 degrees Fahrenheit. They become sluggish, lose their grip, and sometimes fall right out of trees.

Balboa: Imagine walking to get your morning coffee and having a lizard the size of a loaf of bread drop from the sky.

Banner: Experts stress that these cold-stunned iguanas are often still alive. They simply become temporarily immobile and usually recover as temperatures warm.

Balboa: Which means that what appears to be a reptile statue could suddenly become a reptile with opinions.

Banner: For more on this developing situation, we go live to WMEO field reporter Pumpkin Spice in South Florida.

Pumpkin, how are conditions there?

LIVE IN SOUTH FLORIDA

"Sunny South Florida promenade lined with palm trees and tropical landscaping. A pedestrian walks beneath the trees, highlighting locations where falling cold-stunned iguanas can pose a seasonal hazard."

Pumpkin Spice: Good morning, Banner.

Good morning, Balboa.

Pumpkin Spice reporting live from South Florida, where local residents are once again being reminded that gravity remains fully operational and iguanas continue to underestimate its effects.

Behind me you can see several palm trees, which appear peaceful and harmless.

Experts assure me they are neither.

Banner: Pumpkin, should residents be concerned?

Pumpkin Spice: Authorities advise residents to watch for cold-stunned reptiles.

WMEO advises residents to watch for cold-stunned reptiles directly above them.

Balboa: Pumpkin, I hate to interrupt, but there’s an iguana in the tree over your head.

Pumpkin Spice: Thank you, Balboa, but temperatures today are expected to remain comfortably warm. The likelihood of an iguana falling from that particular tree is extremely low.

Balboa: No, seriously. Right above you.

Pumpkin Spice: While caution is always advised, there is absolutely no reason to believe that any iguana is about to…

Balboa: PUMPKIN!

Pumpkin Spice: …fall from that tree at this exact mome-

A large iguana falls from the palm tree and lands squarely on Pumpkin Spice’s press hat.

Pumpkin Spice, WMEO's orange field reporter cat, stands in a palm grove wearing a black press hat and camera harness while holding a WMEO News microphone. Several green iguanas perch and leap from palm trees overhead during a special report on South Florida's falling iguana season.