ORLANDO, Fla. – Some of you have been asking for more “personal” details on our talent. News 6 Chief Meteorologist Tom Sorrells brought an old photo album to work and the photos did NOT disappoint.
It doesn’t get any more “Insider” than this!
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“Can’t you tell that’s me,” Tom said as he pulled out a baby photo from a photo album.
“It’s a lifetime compressed into photo albums. My mom put them together for me when I turned 50, I think. I think she just wanted to get these photos out of her house,” Tom said.
Tom will be heading into his 22nd year pinpointing the weather here in Central Florida. But he’s had an extensive career serving communities as the weatherman in Michigan, Ohio and South Carolina.
“This photo was my publicity photo when I was 28 years old in Ohio. They had a lady come in and do my makeup and she put a perm in my hair to keep it off my face,” Tom said. “I keep it in my garage and my wife the other day was like, ‘Why is this in the garage?’ I said I would need it one day, and here is that day.”
Tom shared one of his most memorable moments: His first time covering a hurricane at WPDE in South Carolina.
“I had never been in a hurricane before. In 1989, when I was just a boy, I had never been through a true tropical experience. In Sept. 21, 1989, Hurricane Huge blasted South Carolina. I had no business forecasting that storm. Young me was way too confident, I was like, ‘I got it,’” Tom said. “The roof was shaking in the studio and I was like, ‘It was great.’”
Tom’s also covered snow.
Tom says Central Florida has become one of his favorite places to call home.
“I absolutely love it. From the weather to the people and experience, to the ocean, to the sand,” Tom said. “Even if broadcast TV went away, I’d still be in Central Florida.”
“I remember my very first visit to Orlando. It was in 1973. My grandfather had an airstream he hauled around and brought me and my mom, dad and sister to Orlando to go to Disney World and we stayed at Jellystone National Park,” Tom said. “That’s me in the bucket.”
And if you didn’t know, Tom’s a girl dad.
“I legitimately have three daughters, but we kind of have four. We raised our niece as well,” Tom said. “Daughters are the best thing ever. Some people ask how I felt not having a boy, and I don’t know what it’s like. I wouldn’t change a thing.”
And it’s Toby who’s the family favorite.
“Toby the Goldendoodle. He’s the reason my kids still come home,” Tom said.
Before starting his career in meteorology, Tom actually wanted to work in radio and he’s got the photos to prove it.
“My uncle worked at a radio station and I told him that’s what I wanted to do. I worked at a radio station while I was in college. I just loved putting headphones on and hearing my voice echo as I spoke,” Tom said.
And did you know, Tom was a karate kid?
He shared this pic of him and celebrity martial artist Mike Stone.
“I got my black belt in March of 1995. My moves are old and rusty now,” Tom said.