Meet the CBS2 First Alert Weather team
The CBS2 weather team has a new way to keep you informed, alerting you to keep you safe.
So what is First Alert Weather? First Alert is our promise to you.
When you look at the seven day forecast, you might see a day highlighted in red or with a yellow tab. That means we're tracking some potentially inconvenient or severe weather.
Sometimes, a yellow day could turn red as the week progresses. Either way, it's something to look out for so you can plan ahead.
CBS2's Lonnie Quinn, Elise Finch, Vanessa Murdock and John Elliott, as well as our team of weather producers working diligently behind the scenes, determine First Alert Weather days based on a combination of data from multiple sources, including weather models, radar, current conditions and information from the National Weather Service, as well as their knowledge of the local climate.
Read more about the team.
Lonnie Quinn
Lonnie Quinn is the chief weathercaster of CBS2 News at 5, 6 and 11 p.m. weekdays. He also serves as the national weather anchor for "CBS Saturday Morning."
Quinn joined WCBS-TV in 2007 after a five year run at WTVJ, in Miami, Florida. Quinn's television career actually started as an actor on ABC's All My Children. That experience allowed him to develop a comfort in front of the camera which helped him to perform exceptionally in local and national broadcasting.
After changing careers from acting to broadcasting, Quinn's first newsroom job was at WVIR in Charlottesville, Virginia. He was hired as a cameraman but three months into the job, a chance to report in front of the camera solidified his new career path. Soon his duties included full time reporting and anchoring the weekend weathercasts. While in Charlottesville, Quinn covered stories related to the Thomas Jefferson/Sally Hemings controversy and the famous baby switch at the University of Virginia hospital. He also reported extensively on the rising political career of Emily Couric before her unfortunate death in October 2001.
Miami was the next stop and it was a turning point in Quinn's career. Not only was he promoted to full time weather anchor, but also allowed to develop his own, unique style. Quinn has always been a fan of the weather and he hates the idea of a boring weathercast. His goal always is to give the viewers the information they need in an engaging and entertaining way. Quinn feels that if he is excited by the weather, then the viewers should be too!
By 2005, Quinn was one of Miami's most popular on-air personalities and guided the area through the most active hurricane season in history. For five years, Quinn worked closely with Max Mayfield at the National Hurricane Center. He also joined the "Hurricane Hunters" collecting data on a Category 5 hurricane as they flew through the eye of "Isabel" off the coast of North Carolina. Quinn is a private pilot himself and holds a meteorology certification from the FAA.
Outside of the weather, Quinn loves to report a good story. His belief is every other station in town will most likely be covering the same event...you had better come up with some way to make your storytelling stand out. He is a proud winner of an Emmy Award for best on-air talent.
Quinn graduated from Boston College magna cum laude with a B.A. in speech communications. He is a huge sports fanatic and swam competitively in college. Decency in broadcasting prevents him from ever putting on a "Speedo" again. Thus...you can now find him playing racquetball weekday mornings at the Westside Y in NYC. A native of Cheshire, Connecticut, he lives in Manhattan with his wife, Sharon, and his son, Nate. He 100% totally digs this job.
Vanessa Murdock
Vanessa Murdock joined the CBS2 Weather Team in October 2011 as the weekend morning meteorologist and weekday reporter.
Murdock moved to the Big Apple from our CBS affiliate WTKR in Norfolk, Virginia.
Her meteorological adventure began at Penn State University where she earned her Master's degree in Meteorology. From PSU, Murdock traveled to Central Virginia where she began her career as a Broadcast Meteorologist at WCAV/WVAW/WAHU. Murdock worked for two years as the evening weather anchor for both the local ABC and FOX affiliates in Charlottesville and loved every minute. Her career then brought her to Norfolk, Virginia, where she spent nearly five years forecasting for communities up and down the Mid-Atlantic coastline. Murdock played an integral role in reporting on Hurricane Irene. "Covering Hurricane Irene was a reminder how we need respect the power of nature and cherish life," she says. "We were only in the early hours of dealing with Irene when we received word that a tree had fallen on a home and a child was unaccounted for. The mother escaped with only minor cuts and bruises, her son was killed. When I think of Irene I will always remember this story and my heart will ache for the mother who lost her son."
Murdock is an Emmy Nominated, Certified Broadcast Meteorologist (CBM). She is a member of both the American Meteorological Society (AMS) and the National Weather Association (NWA).
Murdock is no stranger to New York. She was born and raised on Long Island and spent most of her youth in the small town of Center Moriches on a street named after her great-grandparents. She often spent time in the city with her family and cherishes those memories. "I am thrilled to be coming home and joining the CBS2 team. Not only will I be closer to family and old friends, but I get to work in the Big Apple amongst the most talented broadcasters in the world. It's an opportunity for which I am incredibly grateful. I look forward to meeting our viewers, sharing their stories, and providing them with the most accurate forecast in town" says Murdock.
She loves spending time outdoors, running, swimming, and is hopelessly addicted to expensive lattes. She resides in North Bergen, New Jersey, with her husband, daughters and their dog Zeus.
Elise Finch
Elise Finch is an Emmy Award-winning meteorologist who joined the CBS2 weather team in April 2007. Ms. Finch came to CBS from NBC where she served as a meteorologist for the "Early Today Show," MSNBC and NBC Weather Plus.
Prior to NBC, Ms. Finch was the weekend weather anchor at the CBS affiliate in Phoenix, Arizona. Before that, she was an anchor and reporter at the CBS and FOX affiliates in Youngstown, Ohio, and the ABC affiliate in Austin, Minnesota. Finch started her career in television behind the scenes at E! Entertainment Television, where she served as a production coordinator for special projects and live events.
Finch was raised in Mount Vernon, New York, and graduated from Mount Vernon High School. She earned a Bachelor of Science degree from Georgetown University where she received one of the prestigious President's Awards. She went on to earn a Master of Science degree in Broadcast Journalism from Syracuse University. Ms. Finch completed the Broadcast Meteorology Program at Mississippi State University and holds the seal of approval from the American Meteorological Society.
Finch enjoys taking part in community events. She has emceed events for the Alzheimer's Association of Greater New Jersey, the Westchester Library System, the Mount Vernon High School Hall of Fame and also JDRF Walk for a Cure. Ms. Finch is a member of the National Association of Black Journalists and the American Meteorological Society. She lives in Westchester County.
John Elliott
John Elliott joined CBS2 in January 2007 as a meteorologist on CBS2 News This Morning and CBS2 News At Noon. He is also a co-host on Live From The Couch.
Prior to joining CBS2, Elliott worked two years at KCBS-TV in Los Angeles. Before that, he spent two years with NBC News and MSNBC, appearing weekday mornings on NBC as a weathercaster on "Early Today." He also handled a wide variety of assignments as an anchor and correspondent on MSNBC. Elliott served as a 2004 MSNBC presidential campaign correspondent in the battleground state of Iowa. He also reported from numerous bases and posts throughout the nation as troops were deployed for the war in Iraq, and spent time onboard the USS Abraham Lincoln.
Prior to joining NBC, Elliott worked for XETV-TV in San Diego, where he served as an anchor on the Fox station's morning newscasts. He was also a morning news anchor for KGET-TV, the NBC affiliate in Bakersfield, California. Elliott began working as a weathercaster, first at WRBL-TV, the CBS affiliate in Columbus, Georgia, then at KGET before making the transition to his role as a news anchor in Bakersfield.
Elliott is a recipient of the California Associated Press award for Best Weathercaster, and has received numerous honors for his news features and general assignment reporting.
Elliott received his B.A. in radio, television and film from Wayne State University in Detroit and his master's in communications from Central Missouri State University. He also studied meteorology under Mississippi State University. Before embarking on his career in broadcasting, Elliott was an advertising copywriter and producer and also taught media courses at Mott Community College in Flint, Michigan and Central Missouri State.