#Big weather girl full#
#Big weather girl tv#

Unfortunately, the COVID-19 pandemic exploded not long after her arrival, making for some major adjustments, including broadcasting from home. The transition was not an easy one, though. I haven’t had a team experience like this with a bunch of enthusiastic meteorologists.” They had an opening and it just fell into place. “I figured there would be another station in between. “I did not think it was going to happen this quickly,” Kuffel said about working in Milwaukee. Chief meteorologist Drew Burgoyne tabbed the Kenosha native to join his versatile and knowledgeable team, which includes Michael Schlesinger, Rebecca Schuld and Justin Thompson-Gee. A job opening at CBS 58 was too good to pass up. In the summer of 2019, Kuffel was beckoned back to the big city. “That’s just because I’ve always loved severe weather,” she said.ĬBS 58 meteorologist Sam Kuffel reporting on her home turf. 1 goal - one she has had since she was a little girl. Working for the National Weather Service, which operates 122 weather forecast offices in six regions (including one in Sullivan), remains her No. I kind of just took a leap of faith and it worked out. “You are not going to find that in meteorology in the state you want to be in, too. The job at WAOW just kind of popped up - a Monday to Friday gig with banker’s hours? I’ll take it. “I did the internship with John Malan one night a week. “Honestly, when I was in college, I wasn’t even planning on going into TV,” Kuffel said. She also worked for the weather forecasting and consulting company Great Lakes Weather Service. Out of college, Kuffel took a job at WAOW in Wausau and spent three and a half years as the midday meteorologist.

She also interned for Milwaukee television news meteorology legend John Malan at TMJ4 for two years. While in college, Kuffel worked for Innovative Weather, a private forecasting company that provides more specific forecasts for clients like WE Energies, Summerfest and the Milwaukee Brewers. “I’m kind of like every other weather nut and was into it since I was a kid.” – Sam Kuffel, CBS 58 meteorologist It really heightened my love for the lake-effect and winter version of severe weather.” I sound like my grandparents when I say this, but I had to put on my boots and walk down to 22nd Avenue for somebody to pick me up so I could go to basketball practice. On the second day, we didn’t have school, but we still had basketball practice. “Living by the lake, we were outside shoveling for hours. “I just remember that was insane,” Kuffel said. 1, 2021, marked the storm’s 10-year anniversary. The second big-weather event occurred three years later - the infamous Groundhog Day blizzard that dumped anywhere from 21 to 26 inches of snow on the area overnight.

#Big weather girl full#

It all kind of weirdly came full circle.” That is when I started watching local news.

#Big weather girl tv#

That is kind of what got me into TV because my aunt and uncle were interviewed afterward by TMJ4. “There’s always a couple of severe-weather or big-weather events that kind of cement it. “I’m kind of like every other weather nut and was into it since I was a kid,” Kuffel said. The second tornado was just north of her family home on the north side of Kenosha. The Wheatland tornado went through the backyard of the home of Kuffel’s aunt and uncle, Sue and Bruce Lash. The curiosity of ‘Why did this happen in January?’ really piqued my interest.” “Just to see that damage firsthand was eye-opening. “That day sticks in my mind, even to this day,” Kuffel said about Jan.

She went on to receive a degree in Atmospheric Science from UW-Milwaukee and has been a member of the CBS 58 weather team in Milwaukee since December of 2019. Those unusual January weather occurrences had a profound effect on Kuffel. At the time, it was the first confirmed tornado in Kenosha County since 2001 and only the second and third in Wisconsin history in January.