Jesse Gunkel is an award-winning broadcast meteorologist with nearly 20 years of experience in the weather industry covering hurricanes, severe weather, historic flooding, and more.
Originally hailing from a suburb of Milwaukee, Jesse got his degree in Atmospheric Sciences from the University of Wisconsin-Madison. He started his weather career in Madison at Weather Central (now The Weather Company), before becoming the morning meteorologist and later chief meteorologist at WGMB/WVLA/KADN in Baton Rouge, Louisiana. During his time in Louisiana, Jesse won the Louisiana Association of Broadcasters Prestige Award for Best Weathercast in 2018 and 2021.
Jesse has covered over 20 hurricanes throughout his career, including most recently the historic 2020 season where Louisiana was hit with five hurricanes. In 2016, he covered the flash flood emergency in Baton Rouge, in which the city saw over 30” of rain in a three-day span and the majority of residents were evacuated from their homes.
Now, Jesse is thrilled to be back in his hometown, keeping his local community safe and informed. He treats every single viewer as a member of his own family.
When he’s not at work, you can find Jesse fishing in the Northwoods, grabbing a butter burger at Culver’s or custard at Kopp’s, cheering on the Packers (like a dedicated Wisconsinite, he’s a Packers shareholder), or spending time with his beautiful wife (who is also a meteorologist!), two children, and rescue dog, Nala.