My Climate Job is a new series about careers in fields that fight climate disruption or are impacted by the climate crisis.
Jeff Berardelli, chief meteorologist at WFLA TV, the NBC affiliate station in Tampa, Florida, has another official title: climate specialist. With more than 25 years of experience as a TV meteorologist, Jeff is known for his willingness to tackle challenging questions about climate change and report how the warming planet impacts extreme weather. Here’s how Jeff landed this climate job—and why reporting on climate change is so critically important to him.
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How did you decide on this career?
I have wanted to be a weatherman since I was three years old. Growing up in New York City, I loved snowstorms and was fascinated by them. There’s never really been a day when I wasn’t trying to become a weatherman. In third grade, I remember drawing the five-day forecast instead of listening to my teacher.
Describe your job.
My main job is to make sure that I’m delivering the forecast that people in my area can use on a daily basis, especially during hurricane season when weather becomes a danger and actually can be life or death. What I’ve added is telling viewers how extreme weather is changing as a result of a warming climate.
I also produce a minute-long segment about extreme weather, the Berardelli Bonus, which often has a climate change angle because you really can’t talk about extreme weather without talking about climate change if you want to give people the full story.
Beyond television, I go to schools and community events to teach about weather and climate, and I host a weekly digital show called Jeff’s Climate Classroom.
How did you get started covering climate change during your weather segments?
I was living in West Palm Beach, and I noticed that the national media wasn’t doing any climate coverage. I figured the best way to get the media to change is to be on the inside, so my wife and I moved to New York, where I got my Master’s degree in climate from Columbia. From there, I worked for CBS News as the news meteorologist and climate specialist before coming back to Florida.
Have you been personally impacted by extreme weather in a way that influences your work?
I was in South Beach, Miami, during extreme flooding. My property was vulnerable, and at times, I had to drive through one to one and a half feet of water. I was watching sea-level rise, seeing South Beach disappear with my own eyes. I was living in ground zero for climate change in the United States.
What are the benefits of covering climate?
In an age when you don’t need to watch a local weather person because you can get the forecast from [an] app, meteorologists add value to local newscasts, employers, their community, and their careers by covering climate. Adding climate communication to the mix is a whole new layer of expertise that only local meteorologists can bring. Although climate scientists are the experts, meteorologists add their expertise in the actual communication of difficult scientific information.
What drives you?
What’s right and wrong. I’m insistent on integrity, morals, and ethics, and I think that what we’re doing is wrong. Communicating climate change is more than anything a moral issue. I think that I happen to be the right person to tell the story. I have a platform, I have the science background, so I look at it as an obligation that I do it. If you want change in this world, then you have to be the change maker.
Climate somehow remains a touchy issue with some audiences. How is your approach different from what other meteorologists are doing?
Since I am already talking about climate change, I can give other local meteorologists the cover they need to talk about it or provide them a little bit of safety if they are concerned that they shouldn’t be talking about the issue. Not many meteorologists are willing to go as far as I am. I don’t go further than just telling people the honest science. I’m not getting into politics.
Have you had any pushback about being bold about climate?
Of course, I get negative comments. But the network supports me. They never say, “Don’t do this.” I think they realize there’s a benefit even if it does alienate some viewers. My obligation as a scientist and a journalist is to tell people the news in truth. My only consideration is, Am I doing the right thing? Am I being morally sound? Am I telling you the truth? Those are the only things I care about. Anything else to me is noise.
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Jeff’s career path highlights how meteorology as a field is evolving—not just in Florida but far beyond—to include not only the weather forecast, but also the climate science driving weather. As extreme weather events become more frequent as a result of our changing climate, Jeff’s style and his dedication to explaining climate science will inevitably become even more valuable. So will local news stations specifically hiring and supporting climate specialists who want to tell the truth about extreme weather.
No matter where you live, you can follow Jeff’s reporting on X @WeatherProf and Instagram @weatherprofjeff.
Learn about Moms’ work on extreme weather.
Tell Congress: Commit to Climate Investments and Clean Air Progress