Cruz Medina
Meteorologist
Nashville, TN
Cruz's passion for forecasting and his love for weather began at the age of 5. He would watch storms roll in on the horizon with his grandpa and would run outside when there was lightning and thunder (instead of staying inside as he should've). He always knew he wanted to study meteorology, but a tornado outbreak in April 2011 that impacted his hometown of Wilson, North Carolina, further solidified his passion for weather. Now he enjoys forecasting severe weather!
He attended North Carolina State University and studied Meteorology not too far from his hometown. During his time at NC State, he served as an officer for NCSU Weather and did weekly forecasts for them.
Most recently, he worked at WBAY-TV in Green Bay, Wisconsin. During his time there, he covered plenty of winter weather and severe weather as well. During the winter months, it was brutally cold and snowed, what seemed like every other day. He is definitely experienced in the winter weather department.
Cruz joined WSMV in September of 2022. During his time here, he's covered many big weather events including the December 9, 2023, tornado outbreak, and the January 2024 snowstorm that shut down Nashville for a whole week!
In June 2024, Cruz was certified by the American Meteorological Society as a Certified Broadcast Meteorologist, which involves passing very rigorous testing and critique of on-air presentation. He joins First Alert Meteorologist Lisa Spencer and Dan Thomas as a recipient of this certification. In addition, Cruz is an ambassador for the AMS Latinx Committee and is also a member of both the American Meteorological Society and the National Weather Association. He has also served multiple terms on the AMS Early Career Selection Committee.
