About Alex
I’m an AMS Certifed Broadcast Meteorologist with a passion for creating compelling graphics, telling engaging stories, and gardening in the southeast. I joined WLTX in Columbia, SC as their weekday morning meteorologist in June 2019.
I’ve covered hurricanes, tornadoes, and plenty of beautiful, southern days in my career, and my responsibilities go beyond the forecast. I’m an avid gardener so I added an entirely unique concept to my plate, “Gandy’s Garden”. I get dirty planting in the garden to produce a crystal clear perspective on the daily weather forecast and environmental issues.
My Role at WLTX
My morning shift is filled with dozens of weather hits, but I keep the show fresh each day with my positive energy and new content. I work closely with our producers to innovate the forecast so viewers are never left guessing what the week’s weather will look like. I also create immersive graphics to reveal details about our weather that would otherwise go unnoticed. This additional perspective on the forecast often lives throughout the day on our social media, website, and evening shows. Although morning weather has a reputation for being quiet, that’s not always the case in the southeast, which has the highest rate of early morning tornadoes in the world. I led our wall-to-wall tornado coverage during the 3rd largest tornado outbreak in state history the morning after Easter 2020.
I have taken my role as a meteorologist into our garden to provide our community with details about our local climate they can only find at our station. I film, write, edit, and tell environmental stories specific to South Carolina for our newscasts and social media. These stories empower gardeners with information to tackle garden issues unique to our area. When the pandemic started in March 2020, I wanted to connect with our viewers, so I created a garden Facebook group, which now has nearly 2,000 members. I utilize this online community to create relevant, authentic, and inclusive content for our shows.
My Background
I hold a B.S. in Meteorology from Rutgers, the State University of New Jersey where I graduated with honors. I was actively involved as president of the Rutgers Meteorology AMS and NWA local chapter and was awarded “Meteorology Student of the Year” by the Rutgers Meteorology Department.
I grew up in New York City with a passion for weather. It was no secret that I wanted to be a meteorologist, but I didn’t see myself in the television landscape until I experienced devastation from “Superstorm” Sandy in my hometown. Nothing I was learning in the classroom could prepare me for those moments, but that education was everything I needed to prepare others for nature’s fury.
My career started right out of college as a weather producer for WPIX 11 in New York. In 2017, I moved to the Sunshine State to work for WCJB in Gainesville, FL as a meteorologist and reporter. One of my most memorable experiences in Florida was Hurricane Irma. I stayed at work for 3 days forecasting in the studio and reporting in the field through the storm. Although north Florida was spared from hurricane-force winds, the floodwaters were stubborn to recede. I spent months sharing stories of devastation and of hope in the aftermath of Irma.
My favorite way to spend my free time is in the dirt! I grew hundreds of tropical plants in my NYC backyard throughout high school and college. My parents are now the proud owners of some of the oldest palm trees growing outdoors in New York. This wasn’t enough for me though! I landscaped a drought-tolerant courtyard for my co-workers at WCJB in Florida, and I am thrilled to get my hands (and sometimes suit) dirty at WLTX in South Carolina where I am growing organic fruits and vegetables in Gandy’s Garden.
If you’d like to keep up to date with my latest forecasts, visit my social media and my “Recent On-Air Work” page!
Read my Resume
ALEX CALAMIA 