South Florida wet season begins as rain chances increase next week
South Florida's wet season officially starts Friday, but the typical pattern of scattered showers and storms will ramp up Sunday and continue next week.
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Lissette Gonzalez has served as the morning and noon meteorologist for CBS News Miami since 2007.
Viewers can now watch Lissette's weathercasts weekday mornings from 5 a.m. until 10 a.m. She has also served as a guest meteorologist during the national "CBS This Morning," "CBS Evening Weekend News" and the CBS News streaming network.
Lissette obtained her degree as Certified Broadcast Meteorologist from Mississippi State University with honors.
She also earned the National Weather Association (NWA) Television Weathercaster Seal of Approval. Lissette is a proud member of the National Weather Association.
Lissette was named Best Meteorologist by the Miami New Times "Best of Miami 2021" and "Best of Miami 2013."
The Miami New Times said of Lissette, "It's not every day you get to watch a beauty queen turned off-Broadway star turned recording artist turned TV host turned meteorologist deliver the weekday morning forecast. Unless, of course, you tune in to CBS News Miami to watch Lissette Gonzalez do her thing... Her bright smile, charismatic personality, and ease in delivering the weather in a simple yet thorough manner make it easy for Gonzalez to connect with her viewers... With her beauty pageant and Broadway days behind her, Gonzalez is doing what she does best: forecasting the weather."
Lissette's weathercast has been recognized by the Society of Professional Journalists with a "Florida Award of Excellence." And she was also selected as one of Brickell Magazine's "Top 20 Professionals under 40″ and she was featured in Ocean Drive Magazine's "Beach Patrol: The people who make Miami."
Born and raised in Miami, Lissette feels grateful to work in her hometown tracking the tropics and forecasting the weather she is so familiar with.
Prior to joining CBS News Miami, Lissette served as the evening Weather Anchor for KTLA's Prime News in Los Angeles, the No. 2 market in the country.
Lissette's weathercast was recognized by the Associated Press Association with a Mark Twain AP Award for "Best Weather segment." She was also nominated for a Los Angeles Emmy Award for her work as host of the KTLA special "Access LA: de todo-Latin Explosion." Lissette delivered her weathercasts and often covered entertainment news from different venues, events and award shows.
Lissette has had a diverse and impressive career in broadcasting and entertainment on the national and local level. In addition, she has hosted and reported for such nationally syndicated shows as "EXTRA," "Extra en Espanol," and "Livin' Large." However, she got her start in front of the cameras right here in Miami at the University of Miami anchoring Newscasts on UMTV.
Lissette is a former Miss Miami and Miss Florida.
In 1998, she was named second runner up to Miss America, and won over $50,000 dollars in scholarship money, which helped her complete her studies and graduate from the University of Miami with a double major in Broadcast Journalism and Music-Vocal Performance.
Lissette then starred as "Maria" in the off-Broadway hit "4 Guys Named Jose and Una Mujer named Maria" in New York and Miami, and was subsequently nominated for the prestigious Carbonell Award. Her success off-Broadway led to a record deal in 2001 with RCA and she had the opportunity to record with Grammy-award winning music producers and songwriters.
Lissette is still very passionate about music and has had the honor of singing the National Anthem and "God Bless America" at the Heat, Marlins and Dolphins games and at the Sony Ericsson.
Lissette stays active in the community by volunteering her time to support many South Florida non-profit organizations.
Lissette was recognized as a 2019 "In the Company of Women" Awardee in the category of Communications and Literature. "In the Company of Women Awards" recognizes women in Miami-Dade County who exemplify professional development, community responsibility, leadership and vision and contribution to women's progress.
Lissette has served on the Board of Directors for the University of Miami Alumni Association and was recognized for her service as a Director on the board.
Lissette has served as an alumni ambassador and guest speaker at University of Miami commencement ceremonies. She has also served as host of the University of Miami Giving Day, homecoming festivities and other alumni events. Lissette also enjoys visiting schools across South Florida during career days to speak to students about the importance of education and hard work.
South Florida's wet season officially starts Friday, but the typical pattern of scattered showers and storms will ramp up Sunday and continue next week.
Rainy season officially begins on Friday and lasts through Oct. 15. During that time we see about 60% to 70% of our annual rainfall.
High temperatures are expected to climb into the 90s, but it will feel even hotter when you factor in the hunidity.
Heavy rain on Tuesday could help firefighters who are working to contain wildfires burning in South Florida.
It's going to be another hot day across South Florida, with some triple-digit feels-like temperatures possible ahead of rising rain chances.
There is a major risk of heat-related illnesses for most of South Florida through Mother's Day weekend.
Most of South Florida will be under a major risk of heat-related illnesses this weekend.
As this unseasonable heat returns, officials are urging people to take necessary precautions to avoid heat illnesses and heat exhaustion.
Near record-high temperatures will be moving into South Florida as the week continues.
A few showers popped up on Monday morning, and another round of rain is expected Monday afternoon and evening.
Officials are warning that there is a moderate risk of heat-related health illnesses on Saturday for most of South Florida
Temperatures will soar to around 90 degrees Thursday afternoon, but it will feel hotter when you factor in the humidity.
Today will be mainly dry but we need the rain, especially with the Highway 41 Fire continuing to burn in west Miami-Dade.
A toasty Tuesday was in store for South Florida, and the forecast predicts it will get even hotter and more humid as the week continues and we head into the weekend.
Patchy dense fog is reducing visibility inland Monday morning, with scattered afternoon storms expected before a hotter, drier pattern settles into South Florida later this week.