ORLANDO, Fla. – If you’ve been watching News 6 mornings the past few weekends, you may have noticed a new face forecasting the weather.
News 6 added a new member to its Pinpoint Accurate Weather Team to help better start your day. Her name is Michelle Morgan and she’s no stranger to Central Florida.
She grew up in Lake County and said she’s excited to be closer to family, and enjoying her favorite hobby, skating.
“Skating is therapeutic for me, just like exercising for some, arts and crafts for others,” Morgan said. “It clears my mind. Especially after having a hectic day at work.”
Morgan said she picked up the hobby as a child when her parents bought her her first quad skates.
“When I’m out skating, people recognize me and they’re like, ‘You skate, too?’ I’m like, ‘Yeah, I do other things than just forecast the weather,’” she said.
Morgan’s career has taken her family cross-country and back home to Central Florida, where she was raised in Clermont.
“I went from Montana to Virginia to New Orleans back to Central Florida. A lot of people don’t know that when we’re in this business, a lot of time we’re away from family chasing a dream, so for me to be forecasting for my home and raise my child around their grandparents is a dream come true,” she said.
Michelle, her husband Andy and their 5-year-old son Jacob are settling into their new home.
“I’m thankful. I’m grateful. I’m so happy to be back home with my family and it’s an overwhelming feeling,” Morgan said. “It’s also nice being able to have a lot of babysitters.”
So how did Michelle get into meteorology? It started at a young age.
“Since I was a child, I’ve always been interested in science. I knew I wanted to have a job doing something science related,” Morgan said.
It was the weather that always kept her on her toes throughout her life.
“I’ve experienced all modes of weather from tornadoes, hurricanes, flooding and hail. I was born in New York and experienced blizzards and intense heat. I just knew, growing up, that I really wanted to keep people safe,” Morgan said.
She would go on to earn a degree in meteorology from Embry-Riddle Aeronautical University.
That’s where she met a familiar face—News 6 meteorologist Samara Cokinos.
“Samara and I went to college together so I’ve known her for years. Ten years of friendship,” Morgan said. “It was such a warm welcome and I felt comfortable knowing someone. But I grew up watching Tom (Sorrells) and Troy (Bridges) on TV, so coming here, I already felt like I knew everyone.”
Morgan said at first, she wanted to be behind-the-scenes when it came to forecasting weather.
“The funny thing is, I didn’t want to become a broadcast meteorologist because I was so shy, and meeting me now, you wouldn’t believe I was shy,” Morgan said.
After giving it a shot with her first on-air job, she never looked back. But there were some interesting moments.
“The most embarrassing TV moment I’ve ever had happened when I worked in Richmond, Virginia. The weather office was separate from the studio. I would have to run down the hall to get into the studio to do the weather hit. One day, I was running down the hall and my heel broke while I was running in front of the weather wall. It wasn’t graceful. I fell on camera in front of thousands of people. I sat there for a second trying to take it all in. I was a little embarrassed, but I got back up and pretended nothing happened,” Morgan said.
Whether it’s skating, or forecasting the weather, she said it’s one piece of wisdom she uses everyday that anyone can learn from.
“If you don’t fall, you don’t learn. I fall a lot and it’s OK,” Morgan said. “As long as you get back up.”
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