ARKANSAS, USA — Forecasting the intense and constantly changing weather above Arkansas and Oklahoma is a passion for 5NEWS Chief Meteorologist Matt Standridge.
Standridge returned to Arkansas to lead the 5NEWS Weather Team in September 2021 after forecasting for sister station WKYC-TV in Cleveland, Ohio for a year. He originally kicked off his full-time broadcast career at 5NEWS in 2017 as a weekend and then morning meteorologist.
Matt was born in Tulsa, Oklahoma, but grew up in upstate New York and central Indiana. While his immediate family moved around a lot while he was young, much of his family lives in the River Valley. Moving around a lot and visiting family exposed him to all types of crazy weather across the USA, from severe storms in the Plains to lake-effect snow by Lake Ontario. He has always found himself looking up toward the sky rather than looking down at the ground. Ever since a young age, he knew he wanted to be a meteorologist, especially with his love for snow and thunderstorms.
Matt earned his B.S. in atmospheric science from Valparaiso University in 2017. During his senior year he won the National Weather Association collegiate weather broadcast award and filled as a weekend meteorologist at WBND in South Bend, Indiana. After graduating summa cum laude from Valpo, he worked on an aviation weather project for the state of North Dakota forecasting severe weather in the northern Plains, guiding aircraft around thunderstorms, specifically ones with a large hail potential. As soon as the severe weather season was over, he moved south and became the weekend morning meteorologist here at KFSM-TV. During his first three years at Channel 5, he hosted Adventure Arkansas, finding the coolest and most beautiful locations across the Natural State. In addition, many evenings were filled with storm chasing supercells pushing from Oklahoma into Arkansas.
Favorite type of weather? It's a tie between snow and thunderstorms. Snow can be a giant sandbox to build anything you want! He's also passionate about severe weather and tracking storms to make sure families are informed and safe. On the quiet days, Matt loves to hike and chase waterfalls. If you want to share your weather pictures and videos with Matt, or to send him a local adventure idea, be sure to connect with him!
Matt is excited to be back in the community!
Contact Matt Standridge at matt.standridge@kfsm.com and follow him on Facebook, Twitter, Instagram and TikTok.
Facebook: Chief Meteorologist Matt Standridge
Twitter: @standridgewx
Instagram: @matthewstandridge
TikTok: @weathermanmatt