South Florida is probably the most vulnerable state in the U.S.A when hurricanes hit the shore, and Max Mayfield may be the most qualified hurricane specialist in Florida, and possibly the entire nation.
Television viewers all over the country are interested in the weather. Presenting accurate and timely weather information may be the best service that television provides in both national and local markets.
And viewers come to feel as though they know their local weather reporter, especially when they have credentials like Max Mayfield of Local 10 WPLG in Miami.
A former United States Air Force weather forecaster, Max continued to developed his trade upon leaving active duty in 1972. After joining the National Weather Service in 1972, he eventually earned his master’s degree in meteorology from Florida State University in 1987. Max had earned his undergraduate degree in mathematics at the University of Oklahoma before entering the military in 1970. Oklahoma is his home state, but he has lived in southern Florida for 40 years.
Max Mayfield is former director of the National Hurricane Center, serving from January 2000 until January 2007, before stepping down to eventually take his position at Local 10 in Miami on April 1, 2007. Max was honored by The Weather Channel for his meritorious service with a scholarship in his name upon retiring from the National Hurricane Center directorship. He is also currently the Chairman of the World Meteorology Organization’s Regional Association-IV.
Max has also been honored for his proactive notification to government officials of the intensity of Hurricane Katrina that eventually struck New Orleans and the southern Gulf Coast, along with his in-depth reporting in southern Florida during Hurricane Andrew. For his analysis and communication during Hurricane Katrina, Max was named the Communicator of the Year by the National Association of Government Communicators.
Max now serves as a hurricane specialist for WPLG, providing expert professional coverage of devastating weather common to the state of Florida. Understanding the dynamics of intense weather can be difficult for the common television viewer, but Max’s dedicated career service has helped save an untold number of lives in the southern region of the United States. Though he may not necessarily be well-known to rest of the nation, Max is clearly a south Florida weather hero.
