Amanda Holly
Broadcast Meteorologist
Amanda Holly is currently a broadcast meteorologist for WFLA News Channel 8 in Tampa, FL. She also serves as her parent company's NASA Correspondent reporting on launches and other significant events happening in space.
Her deep passion for science began long before her career even began conducting college level research in high school that took her to the International Science Fair. Her forecasting career began in 2013 in Gainesville, FL while attending UF. She then moved to Myrtle Beach, SC for a couple years but it got a little too cold in the winters. She is thrilled to be back in her home state near family at WFLA in Tampa.
Amanda has a deep passion for weather that goes beyond the clouds and rain. She has the ability to tell a weather story with accuracy, excitement, and a little splash of science.
She has experience ranging from coverage of major hurricanes, ice storms & severe weather outbreaks. Summertime thunderstorms are a dime a dozen in the Sunshine State but can quickly become severe as well. She is able to track them minute by minute with the tools on WFLA's Max Defender 8 Radar.
During hurricane season, Amanda is featured as a "Tracking the Tropics" franchise meteorologist. When the tropics are quiet, top meteorologists from around the country will join Amanda and the host for a 30 minute discussion once a week.
When the tropics are busy or a storm is threatening land, Tracking the Tropics will be in continuous live coverage on the Facebook pages, apps and websites across the country answering questions from viewers, especially from those in the path of the storm.
Amanda also covered Hurricane Matthew in 2016 for the Florida Public Radio Network. She spent weeks tracking Hurricane Florence before it approached the Carolina coastline. Amanda was in continuous team coverage for 36 hours while it made landfall and crawled through the state. Thereafter, she spent six additional hours covering tornado warnings in remnant rain bands.
The connection between meteorology and math makes Amanda unique. She holds a mechanical engineering degree from UF (go gators!) and understands the calculations behind the forecast models. She loves to dive deep into the complications of making a forecast but also knows how to keep the message simple, straightforward and convey the important details.
Amanda studied online at Mississippi State University to obtain a master's degree in applied meteorology which she graduated with in 2017. Just before finishing, she went storm chasing in the Central Plains for ten days and witnessed three tornadoes while out there.
She is currently studying for her CBM and NWA seal of approval.
Amanda spends much of her free time with her husband either fishing on their boat or under the water with a tank on her back. She loves SCUBA diving in the ocean and in Florida's cave systems. She is certified as a NAUI SCUBA Instructor and has numerous technical diving certifications including full cave diver, decompression and advanced nitrox certifications. She loves being outdoors in the hot Florida sunshine and spending time with her family, who live in the Tampa Bay area.
She also plans to pursue being an astronaut one day! It is a dream that never left her as a child. She would love to go to space to conduct research and see the beauty of our universe from outside the tropopause of our gorgeous planet.
