Heather Waldman
Heather Waldman combines on-air forecasting with climate reporting, using data-driven explanations to show how weather and long-term climate shifts shape life in Northern California. She works as a meteorologist and climate reporter at KCRA 3, focusing on heat, storms, wildfire seasons and other environmental pressures across the region. An AMS-certified broadcast meteorologist who describes herself as a climate science storyteller, she leans on clear graphics, plain language and repeatable science to help audiences understand both the immediate forecast and the broader forces behind it.
Weather and Climate Explainers for Northern California
Waldman’s daily work centers on translating complex atmospheric patterns into straightforward local forecasts for viewers in Northern California. In recent coverage of a developing heat wave, she framed the warming trend day by day, explaining how conditions were setting up for a prolonged period of high temperatures and what that meant for different parts of the region. Segments such as her “NorCal Weather Chat” pieces walk through rain events and unusual patterns step by step, digging into data to show how moisture from the tropics or shifts in storm tracks will change the week ahead. She brings the same approach to coverage of distant systems like Tropical Storm Marie, focusing on how features off the Mexican coast can translate into real impacts for California and distinguishing between headline risk and likely outcomes.
Across these formats, she treats the forecast as an entry point into climate literacy, pairing near-term expectations with clear explanations of the larger patterns that drive them.
Climate Change and Environmental Impacts
Beyond day-to-day weather, Waldman’s reporting addresses how climate change is reshaping the physical environment and water systems of Northern California and beyond. KCRA 3’s “Forecasting Our Future” coverage features her as a recurring voice on the local effects of a warming climate, including more active wildfire seasons and their knock-on effects on lakes and reservoirs. In one report, she examined how repeated, intense fire seasons are literally darkening certain Northern California lakes, connecting smoke, ash and reduced snowpack to measurable changes in water clarity and ecology.
Another story followed wildfires from the 2023 season that persisted by “overwintering” and reigniting in western Canada, using that phenomenon to show how climate change is altering fire behavior over multiple seasons rather than single events. Professional profiles of her work describe a long-standing focus on explaining the effects of climate change for local audiences, including earlier segments in another market that unpacked weather and climate science for viewers who wanted more than a simple forecast.
In her current role, she positions these impact stories alongside traditional weather reporting, reinforcing that climate change is an everyday force in the region rather than a distant abstraction.
Wildfire Risk and Preparedness
Waldman plays a central part in KCRA 3’s wildfire preparedness coverage, using her meteorological background to anchor service-oriented programming on fire risk and resilience. In the station’s “Wildfire Ready” specials, she co-hosts extended segments that walk viewers through defensible space, home hardening and practical steps for living with recurring fire seasons.
These programs blend forecast information - such as wind, humidity and fuel conditions - with guidance from agencies and subject-matter experts, creating an integrated view of risk that connects atmospheric setups to concrete actions.
Her broader wildfire reporting links seasonal outlooks with on-the-ground impacts like smoke, air quality, changing lake levels and strain on local communities. By returning to wildfire themes across both news specials and regular weather coverage, she underlines how long, dry periods, heat waves and changing storm patterns contribute to a structural fire problem rather than isolated emergencies.
Climate, Agriculture and Local Economies
Another thread in Waldman’s work is the way climate and weather intersect with agriculture and local economies in Northern California. In a recent report from Sonoma County, she visited cannabis growers to document how the region’s mix of sunshine, temperature swings and dry conditions creates both opportunities and risks for their crop.
The story looked at how specific microclimates and seasonal trends support successful harvests while also increasing vulnerability to drought, heat stress and wildfire smoke.
Her broader portfolio of climate stories often draws similar lines between atmospheric science and practical outcomes for businesses and livelihoods, reflecting an interest in everyday, ground-level impacts rather than abstract global debates. This focus on climate-sensitive sectors - water, agriculture, recreation and energy - gives her work a distinct environmental dimension within the broader weather beat.
Style, Format and Professional Focus
Waldman’s professional profiles and social bios emphasise her role as both a broadcast meteorologist and a climate science communicator, and her work at KCRA 3 follows through on that dual focus.
She routinely appears across multiple newscasts as part of the station’s core weather team, then extends that presence into longer-form and digital content that explore climate impacts and environmental changes in more depth. Past committee work and earlier station segments highlight her habit of using recurring explainers to make “geeky” science accessible, a style that carries into her current climate and environment stories. Across platforms, she is consistent in framing herself as a trusted interpreter of climate science for a general audience, anchoring her coverage in certification, newsroom experience and a commitment to clear, evidence-based storytelling.
4 more environment journalists.
Alan Halaly
Alan Halaly is a water reporter at the Las Vegas Review-Journal who treats the Colorado River as a working system, not a backdrop, making its governance, infrastructure and risks central to his beat. He covers how policy decisions and infrastructure projects shape the region’s water future, linking high-level choices on the Colorado River, dams, mining and data centers to everyday consequences under mounting heat and growth pressures. He reports deeply on new laws, lawsuits and regulatory shifts, focusing on on-the-ground impacts. His coverage spans Colorado River cuts, Hoover Dam operations, extreme weather, heat and parks, septic system rules, workplace and public health risks, lithium and gold mines, protected landscapes, data centers, AI infrastructure and public funding. Previously he reported for metropolitan dailies, digital outlets and public media, including the Miami Herald, WUFT, The Daily Beast and Miami New Times, with work recognized by Hearst, ONA and the Society of Environmental Journalists.
Alejandra Borunda
Alejandra Borunda reports on how climate change affects human health for NPR. Her work treats global warming as a direct cause of physical and mental health risks. She covers extreme heat, including undercounted deaths, lost sleep and local efforts to track heat-related fatalities. She also reports on wildfire smoke, hurricanes, disease spread such as dengue fever, trauma, stress and unequal health impacts. Her stories examine how communities protect themselves and recover, as well as practical solutions involving climate-resilient crops, agriculture and diet. Before NPR, she wrote about climate science and environmental issues for National Geographic, including glacier retreat, shade and heat inequity, and shrinking ice-fishing seasons. A former climate scientist, she combines field reporting with scientific data to connect atmospheric research to everyday risks, choices and people’s lived experiences.
Alex Lubben
Alex Lubben is an environment reporter at The Times-Picayune/The Advocate who connects climate risk to policy, industry and community change. He covers Gulf warming, flood protection, coastal restoration, wetlands litigation, industrial projects such as SpaceX’s possible expansion, invasive species and local ecosystems. His reporting tracks how law, politics and corporate decisions shape levees, drainage, marshes and long-term resilience. He also examines climate relocation, housing and labor, showing how hurricanes, floods and wildfires displace vulnerable communities and expose gaps in government systems. He works on a small environment team and brings an investigative background to document work, data analysis, legal and policy research, and field reporting. His work has appeared in VICE News, The Center for Public Integrity, The Nation, Jewish Currents and NBC News.
Alex Wigglesworth
Alex Wigglesworth reports on how climate, land use and public policy shape California communities. She covers the Inland Empire and Mojave Desert for the Los Angeles Times and is part of its environment team. Her beat includes wildfires, megadrought, extreme weather, desert development, conservation, wildlife, industrial hazards, aging infrastructure and regulatory enforcement. She has covered Western Joshua trees, desert tortoises, beaver-led restoration, toxic lead pipes, air-quality concerns after industrial fires and the effects of nuclear war on food systems. Earlier, she was a general assignment reporter for the Philadelphia Inquirer, Daily News and Philly.com. She combines breaking news with detailed reporting grounded in scientific studies, modeling and expert interviews. Her work connects fires, drought and other hazards to climate change, while examining how agencies, companies and land-use decisions affect people and ecosystems.