William “Chip” Maxham joined the Florida Public Radio Emergency Network (FPREN), the WUFT Public Media Weather team and the South Carolina Emergency Information Network (SCEIN) as a meteorologist in January 2024.
Maxham comes to the team with over 15 years of experience as a broadcast meteorologist, most recently with Fox 25 (KOKH-TV) in Oklahoma City. Maxham recalls reporting on Hurricanes Katrina and Rita, East Coast snowstorms and delivering live coverage of tornadoes during various severe weather events.
In his career, Maxham has covered parts of over 10 different states and climates from New York to New Mexico.
“Growing up, I was always fascinated by [the weather],” Maxham said. “When I was a kid, I watched the news every night because I wanted it to snow so we didn’t have to go to school. I remember watching the clouds and being interested in how fast they were moving.”
In addition to providing weather forecasts and severe weather updates, Maxham will mentor University of Florida students interested in entering the broadcast meteorology field.
“I see a lot of talented kids in this program that can make a career out of this,” Maxham said. “It’s cool that I can help them do that.”
Before television, Maxham earned a M.S. in Meteorology from Florida State University and a B.S. in Earth and Atmospheric Science from Georgia Tech.
Powered by WUFT and the University of Florida, FPREN delivers public safety information and emergency messaging to public radio and television stations across the state of Florida. Emergency information is also available on the Florida Storms mobile app.
The team of meteorologists operates from the Storm Center, a state-of-the-art studio at the UF College of Journalism and Communications.
In 2018, FPREN expanded to serve the state of South Carolina through a partnership with South Carolina ETV (SCETV) and South Carolina Public Radio branding as South Carolina Emergency Information Network (SCEIN).