Mark McGinnis
I grew up in the western suburbs of Philadelphia, Pa and attended school in Chestnut Hill. I was very active as a child and spent as much time as possible outside. A rainy day seriously impacted my social plans – baseball, basketball, football and running around with friends. Of course, snow meant a day off from school and spending all day sledding. And there were some really good nor' easters in the ‘70s and 80's that clobbered Philadelphia. I soon became fascinated with snowstorms and thunderstorms - really any type of weather that kept me indoors. Around the dinner table, I would give weather forecasts to my family and to my teachers at school. In 6th grade, I bet Mr. Lasick, my teacher, that school would be canceled because we would get more than 6 inches of snow. That forecast won me a Meatball Hoagie for lunch.
By High School, I knew I wanted to become a Meteorologist. During my senior year of High School, I interned at WCAU in Philadelphia and was exposed to Broadcast Meteorology and television news.
I attended the University of North Carolina- Asheville in beautiful western North Carolina and graduated with a degree in Atmospheric Sciences. I spent my last two years interning at WJHL in Johnson City, TN.
After graduation, I cut my teeth at WCTI in New Bern, NC working weekends. There I experienced Hurricanes Bertha and Fran. Those hurricanes taught me the importance of communicating life saving information to the public.
In 1997, I moved to Wilmington, NC and worked at WWAY as the Morning Meteorologist. In 2001, I was promoted to Chief Meteorologist. I covered tornadoes, ice storms and Hurricanes Bonnie, Dennis, Floyd, Irene, Isabel and Charley.
In 2005, I moved my family to Wisconsin and began working in the First Alert Storm Center. I am a member of the AMS and NWA and hold the CBM Seal. I won the AP award for Best Weather in 2001, 2002, 2003 and 2004 and the WBA for Best Weathercast 2008. When I am not at CBS 58, I am frequently in classrooms or spending family time with my wife two sons and black lab.
Join me for your First Alert Forecast Monday through Friday at Noon and 5:00pm. Feel free to say hello at [email protected] or on Facebook/meteorologistmarkmcginnis.