Leigh Spann (BS '01) served as the morning meteorologist for WFLA, Tampa Bay’s NBC affiliate, for the last 17 years. Over that time, she and her community weathered sunny days and severe storms like Hurricane Milton, which packed 100+ MPH winds and a possible storm surge of more than 15 feet:
A storm like Milton could wipe out large portions of a metro area that numbers 3 million residents.
“I try to keep that thought in my head when I’m talking about severe weather,” Spann says. “I know it’s scary. I know it’s not what you want to hear, but we are going to get through it.”
In the hours before Milton made landfall, Spann stayed on 24-hour call and didn’t leave the station. Heeding the warnings delivered by Spann and other meteorologists, millions of Floridians evacuated before the storm hit. In the aftermath, while property damage in Florida was massive, there was very little loss of life.
It’s not hyperbole to credit Spann’s work, and that of other area meteorologists, with saving lives. After the storm made landfall south of the area and passed out of the state, Spann finally left work and returned home. The neighborhood was spared. She unpacked her Rubbermaid.
Clear Skies Ahead
Spann grew up in Hazlehurst, Georgia, a town in the southeastern part of the state with a population around 4,000. She was the valedictorian of her high school class of about 120, and the University of Georgia was the only place she wanted to go. What to study was another matter.
Starting in fifth grade, she competed in—and won—public speaking contests. She also loved math and science. So, after she took a weather and climate class at UGA, Spann realized that a meteorology career might be ideal. She majored in geography and completed the atmospheric sciences certificate program, interned as a meteorologist at WMAZ in Macon during her senior year, and took a full-time job at the station the following spring.
Good luck to Leigh as she embarks on the next leg of her career.
Image: Leigh Spann has delivering the morning forecast for WFLA, the NBC affiliate in Tampa-St. Petersburg.