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Mike Seidel

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Mike Seidel
Born
Michael Phillip Seidel

(1956-01-18) January 18, 1956 (age 68)
Salisbury, Maryland
Alma materSalisbury State College (B.S., Mathematics, 1979)
Pennsylvania State University (M.S., Meteorology, 1983)
Occupation(s)Meteorologist, Fox Weather
SpouseChristine Schroder

Michael Phillip Seidel (born January 18, 1956) is an American meteorologist best known for appearing on The Weather Channel from 1992 to 2024.[1][2] He is noted for his field reporting from breaking weather including severe weather, hurricanes, and snowstorms. He's been live on The Weather Channel in 46 states, DC and Puerto Rico, plus Canada, Mexico, Jamaica, and Cuba and had done over 25,000 live shots. [3]

Early career

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Seidel's interest in weather started at the age of six when he began measuring snowfall in his hometown of Salisbury, Maryland.[4][1] While he was in the eighth grade in school, Seidel installed a weather station on the roof of his house.[5] He worked for four local radio stations during his high school and college years, including WJDY-AM in Salisbury, WDMV-AM in Pocomoke City and WKHI-FM in Ocean City (all three in Maryland), as well as WSUX-FM in Seaford, Delaware. After graduating from Wicomico Senior High School, now Wicomico High School, Seidel attended Salisbury State College and earned a Bachelor of Science degree, double majoring in mathematics and geography, in 1979.[5] Seidel is also a 1979 student initiate of the Omicron Delta Kappa Circle and Phi Kappa Phi Honor Society at Salisbury State College.

Immediately after his graduation, Seidel began his television career with WMDT-TV, from 1980 to 1982, in Salisbury.[1] Seidel also entered graduate school, and he earned his Master's degree in Meteorology at Pennsylvania State University. Seidel wrote his master's thesis under the direction of Dr. Greg Forbes, The Weather Channel's retired severe weather expert. During his graduate studies, Seidel appeared on Weather World on the Pennsylvania Public Television Network.

Seidel's first full-time broadcasting position was at WYFF-TV in Greenville, South Carolina, where he worked from 1983 through 1989.[1] He next returned to Salisbury in 1989 to work as the meteorologist for WBOC-TV. Seidel remained there until March 1992, when he left for The Weather Channel.

The Weather Channel

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Seidel covered his first storm, Hurricane Edouard, on Labor Day Weekend in 1996 on Cape Cod.[1] Since then he has covered 99[citation needed] tropical storms and hurricanes, nor'easters, numerous snow and ice storms, and tornado outbreaks. He has also reported live from the PGA Tour, the Baseball All-Star Game, the World Series, and the Indianapolis 500 automobile race. From 2002 to 2012, Seidel hosted the National Football League "Kickoff Forecast" segments every Sunday morning from NFL venues.

While at The Weather Channel, Seidel has appeared on numerous network news programs, including NBC-TV's Today Show and NBC Nightly News, CBS-TV's The Early Show, CBS Mornings The CBS Evening News and CBS Sunday Morning, and ABC-TV's Good Morning America, World News Tonight, Nightline and World News Now. Seidel has also reported live from breaking weather on MSNBC, the Cable News Network and Fox News Channel. Seidel filled in for Tony Perkins on ABC's Good Morning America in 2003 and for Al Roker on NBC's The Today Show in 2009. He became the first Weather Channel and U.S. meteorologist to report live from Cuba during coverage of Tropical Storm Isaac August 24–26, 2012.[6] On January 12, 2018, Seidel did his 20,000th live shot during a snowstorm in Rochester, NY.[7] On August 31, 2023, Seidel did his 25,000th live shot covering Hurricane Idalia aftermath in Tampa, Florida.[8]

While reporting from North Carolina during Hurricane Florence in 2018, Seidel received some media attention after a video was published showing him bracing his feet against the wind while two men casually walked by in the background. Observers on Twitter and some comedic news headlines suggested that Seidel was exaggerating the severity of the winds. In response, The Weather Channel stated, "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."[9][10]

Seidel was laid off on April 29, 2024, as part of broader cuts by the channel's parent company.[11] As of August 3, 2024, Seidel is a Storm Specialist with Fox Weather.[12]

Personal life

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Seidel was born in Salisbury, Maryland, the son of Marilyn "Lynn" (née Cahall), a nurse,[13] and Samuel W. Seidel, an insurance executive.[14] Seidel has been married to Christine Schroder since 1994.[1][15]

References

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  1. ^ a b c d e f Canfora, Susan (May 17, 2017). "Mike Seidel still at the center of the weather". Salisbury Independent. Retrieved October 8, 2017.
  2. ^ Canfora, Susan (July 21, 2018). "Weather Channel's Mike Seidel gets own bobblehead". Salisbury Independent. Retrieved July 30, 2018.
  3. ^ Seidel, Mike (November 10, 2023). "Mike Seidel 25,000 Live Shots Tampa, FL 8-31-2023". YouTube. Retrieved November 10, 2023.[self-published source]
  4. ^ Lewis, Monique (October 28, 2006). "Mike Seidel-Local Meteorologist". The Daily Times. Salisbury, Maryland. ProQuest 440304118.
  5. ^ a b Robinson, Bill (December 13, 2009). "Dedicated to the weather". The Daily Times. Archived from the original on November 2, 2014. Retrieved December 13, 2009.
  6. ^ "Seidel Reports Live from Cuba -- a TWC First". The Weather Channel. August 25, 2012. Archived from the original on August 25, 2012. Retrieved November 15, 2012.
  7. ^ Craig, Gary (January 13, 2018). "Rochester's snowfall brings The Weather Channel's Mike Seidel for 20,000th live shot". Democrat and Chronicle.
  8. ^ Seidel, Mike (November 10, 2023). "Mike Seidel 25,000 Live Shots Tampa, FL 8-31-2023". YouTube. Retrieved November 10, 2023.[self-published source]
  9. ^ Moye, David (September 14, 2018). "Weatherman Braces For Hurricane Florence While 2 Guys Walk By As If Nothing's Wrong". Huffington Post. Retrieved September 15, 2018.
  10. ^ Wise, Justin (September 14, 2018). "Weather Channel defends reporter seen in viral Hurricane Florence video". The Hill. Retrieved September 15, 2018.
  11. ^ Ho, Rodney (May 2, 2024). "Byron Allen's media company cuts staff at The Weather Channel, TheGrio". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved May 3, 2024.
  12. ^ "Mike Seidel Moves to Fox Weather From The Weather Channel". www.adweek.com. August 5, 2024. Retrieved August 5, 2024.
  13. ^ Canfora, Susan (August 25, 2015). "Lynn Seidel remembered for service, community support". Salisbury Independent. Retrieved September 4, 2019.
  14. ^ Rasmussen, Frederick N. (July 23, 2001). "Samuel Seidel, 78, Salisbury insurance executive". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved September 4, 2019.
  15. ^ Pitts, Jonathan (September 6, 2004). "Foul Weather Friend". The Baltimore Sun. Retrieved June 28, 2020.
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  • YouTube Mike Seidel's YouTube Channel
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