Meteorologist Michelle Rotella joined the Newswatch 16 team in September, 2011. She comes to us from WOKV in Jacksonville, FL, where she was formerly the afternoon news producer.
Michelle was born in Gaithersburg, MD and grew up in Frederick, MD. Her love and passion for weather started when she was a child watching the Weather Channel with her mother. After graduating from high school at the age of 16, Michelle decided to attend Frederick Community College. She obtained her A.A. degree in Arts and Sciences at the age of 18 and made her way to Tallahassee, FL and attended Florida State University where she pursued her dream career in meteorology. While attending school, she participated in the student-run weather show that was broadcasted live Monday through Friday throughout Tallahassee and Panama City, FL. After her three years at FSU, Michelle graduated with her B.S. in Meteorology and a minor in math in May of 2009.
While living in Tallahassee, Michelle interned at both the ABC and CBS stations, WTXL and WCTV. In December, 2009 she joined the weather team at WeatherBug in Germantown, MD. She forecasted the weather for the entire nation and produced weather graphics and web content. Michelle made her next big move back to Florida in October, 2010 where she then joined WOKV Newstalk Radio. She became the afternoon news producer and anchored live newscasts during the week nights. In September, 2011, she was given the opportunity to be the weekend meteorologist and weekday reporter for WNEP in Moosic, PA.
Michelle is thrilled to be back in the northeast and working in NEPA. Her passion for the weather can be seen through her forecasts and hopes to be informative and entertaining for her viewers.
During her down time Michelle likes to watch movies, play video games, entertain her friends and go storm chasing when the opportunity strikes. She is also excited to return to the slopes and try skiing and snow boarding again.
