Live from Hurricane Ian, TikTok creators find traction

It was 5 a.m. ET, just hours before Hurricane Ian would make landfall in Florida, when TJ McCormack, 44, prepared to head south from Venice Beach — not to escape the coming storm, but to meet it head-on.

He lives in Denver and had traveled to Florida to chase the storm, though he’s not a meteorologist or a journalist. He’s a roofer by trade but a burgeoning influencer, as well, one who has amassed more than 280,000 followers on TikTok, where he posts videos of whatever he thinks people might...