John Wendel
Meteorologist
John Wendel joined the Newschannel 36 First Warn Storm Team back in December 2000. John earned his Bachelor‘s of Science degree in Meteorology and Speech Communications minor from Northern Illinois University in 1981 and been working in the weather-media business since 1981.
WSAU-TV in Wausau, WI was John’s first stop out of college with his career taking him to Eau Claire WI, Kalamazoo MI, Winston Salem NC and now Charlotte NC.
Weather and sports have always played in part of John’s childhood while growing up in the Chicago area. In second grade, he would draw maps of the United State adding clouds, fronts and other weather elements. John would then pretend he was a TV weather guy and explain the forecast to anyone will to listen.
John has experienced several memorable weather events while living in the Carolinas. In 1996, John reported from the eye of Hurricane Bertha as winds whipped around at 100mph. He has also reported from the top of Sugar Mountain with snow in the air, winds at 60mph and wind chill reading close to 30 degrees below zero. John says, reporting in the extreme weather events is one of the best and most interesting parts of the job.
John has been married to his wife Cathy for 28 years and they have two children together. His daughter Stephanie is a graduate of UNC-Chapel Hill and works in the geography field. His son Daniel has an interest in cars and attends the NASCAR Technical Institute in Moorseville. John’s favorite activities include fishing, hiking and just spending time with his family.
