Mike Seidel | |
|---|---|
| Born | Michael Phillip Seidel (1956-01-18)January 18, 1956 (age 70) |
| Alma mater | Salisbury State College (B.S., Mathematics, 1979) Pennsylvania State University (M.S., Meteorology, 1983) |
| Occupations | Meteorologist,Fox Weather |
| Known for | Live Coverage Of Breaking Weather |
| Spouse | Christine Schroder |
Michael Phillip Seidel (born January 18, 1956) is an Americanmeteorologist best known for appearing onThe 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 was live on The Weather Channel in 46 states, DC and Puerto Rico, plus Canada, Mexico, Jamaica, and Cuba and has done over 25,000 live shots.[3]
Seidel's interest in weather started at the age of six when he began measuring snowfall in his hometown ofSalisbury, 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 inSalisbury, WDMV-AM inPocomoke City and WKHI-FM inOcean City (all three inMaryland), as well as WSUX-FM inSeaford, Delaware. After graduating from Wicomico Senior High School, nowWicomico High School, Seidel attendedSalisbury State College and earned aBachelor of Science degree, double majoring inmathematics and geography, in 1979.[5] Seidel is also a 1979 student initiate of theOmicron Delta Kappa Circle andPhi Kappa Phi Honor Society at Salisbury State College.
Immediately after his graduation, Seidel began his television career withWMDT-TV, from 1980 to 1982, in Salisbury.[1] Seidel also enteredgraduate school, and he earned hisMaster's degree inMeteorology atPennsylvania State University. Seidel wrote his master's thesis under the direction ofDr. Greg Forbes, The Weather Channel's retired severe weather expert. During his graduate studies, Seidel appeared onWeather World on the Pennsylvania Public Television Network.
Seidel's first full-time broadcasting position was atWYFF-TV inGreenville, South Carolina, where he worked from 1983 through 1989.[1] He next returned to Salisbury in 1989 to work as the meteorologist forWBOC-TV. Seidel remained there until March 1992, when he left forThe Weather Channel.
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Seidel covered his first storm,Hurricane Edouard, onLabor Day Weekend in 1996 onCape Cod.[1] Since then he has covered 104[citation needed] tropical storms and hurricanes,nor'easters, numerous snow and ice storms, and tornado outbreaks. He has also reported live from thePGA Tour, theBaseball All-Star Game, theWorld Series, and theIndianapolis 500 automobile race. From 2002 to 2012, Seidel hosted theNational Football League "Kickoff Forecast" segments every Sunday morning from NFL venues.
While at The Weather Channel, Seidel appeared on numerous network news programs, including NBC'sToday andNightly News, CBS'sThe Early Show,CBS MorningsThe CBS Evening News andCBS Sunday Morning, and ABC'sGood Morning America,World News Tonight,Nightline andWorld News Now. Seidel has also reported live from breaking weather onCNN,Fox News, andMSNBC. Seidel filled in forTony Perkins on ABC'sGood Morning America in 2003 and forAl Roker onToday 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 coveringHurricane Idalia aftermath inTampa, Florida.[8]
While reporting from North Carolina duringHurricane 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 onTwitter 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] In August 2024, Seidel moved toFox Weather, debuting during coverage ofHurricane Debby.[12]
Seidel was born inSalisbury, Maryland, the son of Marilyn "Lynn" (née Cahall), a nurse,[13] andSamuel W. Seidel, an insurance executive.[14] Seidel has been married to Christine Schroder since 1994.[1][15] They have two children.[16]