Mike Bettes Biography
Mike Bettes (Michael Bettes) is an American television meteorologist and storm chaser currently working for The Weather Channel in Atlanta, Georgia. Bettes currently hosts Weather Underground TV.
Bettes was a co-host of AMHQ: America’s Morning Headquarters. He has been an on-camera meteorologist for TWC since 2003, and is also an occasional fill-in weather anchor on The Today Show.
From 2006–2009, Bettes hosted Abrams & Bettes Beyond the Forecast, and Your Weather Today from 2009–2012 until it was relaunched as Morning Rush which he hosted into 2014 when the program was relaunched again as America’s Morning Headquarters on March 17.
He also formerly hosted Wake Up With Al from (2009–2014). He is a field reporter for The Weather Channel and is lead field meteorologist for the annual show summarizing tornado seasons, The Great Tornado Hunt.
Bettes accompanied scientists for TWC coverage of VORTEX2. He also has reported live from Hurricane Sandy, Hurricane Katrina, and other tropical cyclones as well as floods and winter storms.
A year after Bettes’ recovery from the EF3 tornado on May 31, 2013, he and his crew returned to the Great Plains to forecast and report severe weather as part of the 2014 Tornado Track.
Mike Bettes El Reno | Mike Bettes Tornado Incident
Mike Bettes was one of several storm chasers struck by the EF3 tornado in El Reno, Oklahoma, which rolled and tossed his SUV approximately 200 yards (180 m) into a field, collapsing the roof, inflicting major injuries to his crew which included breaking several bones of the driver Austin Anderson.
In another incident, the same tornado killed TWISTEX storm chasers Tim Samaras, his son Paul, and colleague Carl Young of South Lake Tahoe, California. Storm chaser Dan Robinson of St. Louis, Missouri escaped the tornado with a few injuries. He was a few hundred meters ahead of the TWISTEX crew.
Local resident Richard Charles Henderson decided to chase the storm, but he was killed in the same area as the TWISTEX crew. He took a picture of the twister from his cellular phone and sent it to a friend before the storm struck him.
University of Oklahoma student, Billy Prater, along with his father and a friend, sought refuge under an overpass (an action strongly discouraged in these situations) when the storm changed direction.
Mike Bettes Career timeline
- 19??—1998: WSYX/WTTE weekend meteorologist
- 1998–2003: WLOS chief meteorologist
- 2003–present: The Weather Channel
- 2003–present: Field reporter
- 2006–2009: Abrams & Bettes: Beyond the Forecast co-host
- 2009: Weather Center Live co-host
- 2009–2014: Wake Up With Al segment correspondent and fill-anchor
- 2009–2012: Your Weather Today co-host
- 2012–2014: Morning Rush co-host
- March 2014–January 23, 2015: America’s Morning Headquarters co-host
- August 2015–present: Weather Underground TV
- 2007–present: NBC News
- 2007–present: The Today Show fill-in weather anchor
- 2007–present: Special reporter
Mike Bettes Age
He was born on 9 January 1972 in Tallmadge, Ohio, United States. He is 47 years old as of 2019.
Mike Bettes Wife
Bettes got married to freelancing CNN meteorologist Allison Chinchar in October 2012 in Atlanta, Georgia. The couple has two children Tallmadge Bettes and Ohio Bettes.
He was previously married to Stephanie Abrams in mid-2000. Abrams was the co-host of Mike on the show Abrams & Bettes: Beyond the Forecast. Stephanie Abrams and Mike Bettes ended their marriage in 2009 in a divorce.
Mike Bettes Salary | Mike Bettes Net Worth
Mike Bettes’ salary is estimated to be around $78,000 – $101,000 per year, but his net worth is under review.