5 Questions with Bilingual Meteorologist and Alumna Alondra Anaya

Even before graduating from Chico State, Alondra Anaya (Media Arts, ’17) began her broadcasting career in 2016 as a bilingual weather anchor and reporter for Chico and Redding’s CBS and NBC affiliates. In 2018, the Fontana native moved on to Philadelphia—the country’s No. 4 media market—as a weather presenter for Telemundo 62 / WWSI. This May, she was hired as a weather reporter for Telemundo 52 / KVEA in Los Angeles—the No. 2 media market and No. 1 Hispanic market in the nation—where she reports on Telemundo’s West coast flagship, while completing a second certification in meteorology from Mississippi State University. With vivid childhood memories of her father watching Telemundo 52 while he got ready for work, the fact she now covers weather for that same station means the world to her.

“I remember telling my dad that I wanted to be on TV, and every morning he would say, ‘I’m going to see you there one day,’” she said. “That was something that propelled me to be back in LA, because now my parents don’t have to go into the station’s app or open their laptop to watch the show—they’re able to turn on the TV and I’m right there.”

What was your Chico State experience like?

Choosing Chico State was probably the best thing I could have done for myself, my family, and my career. I met incredible professors, like Jen Meadows, John Roussell, and Richard Stein, and I was lucky enough to be at a university where a news station was so close. I started my internship at KHSL as a sophomore, and I had professors who allowed me to be a couple of minutes late to class because I was running from my internship to my classes. My last two years at Chico State, I was going to work at the station at 2 or 3 a.m. and had classes during the day. If it hadn’t been for Chico State, I would not be at the No. 1 Spanish station and I would not be accomplishing my dreams or my parents’ dreams.

What do you like about journalism and weather?

I find so much comfort and pride knowing I can help people protect themselves from certain weather conditions. It’s like a public service announcement, the fact that I get to help somebody at home understand the dangers of what may be light rain at first but flash flooding in a matter of minutes. It’s something that people don’t really understand the severity of, so being that person to relay messages from the National Weather Service is something I take so much pride in. When we see stories about a major storm with flooding but with no casualties, that makes me feel good because we’ve provided information to the public so they know how to protect themselves.

What is it like reaching the No. 2 media market in the country?

When I was in high school, thinking of what my major was going to be, thinking about what college I would go to, I knew I wanted to be in news. I knew Los Angeles was the No. 1 Hispanic market—how I was going to make it there, I had no idea, but I knew it was something that I wanted to try to the best of my ability. I sincerely never thought it would happen. It all started when I was at KHSL in Chico and made the jump to Philadelphia. I hadn’t even officially graduated and was the youngest person at that station. And then LA came out of nowhere. It came at the best moment in my life and when I and my family didn’t expect it. It was truly a dream come true. I have moments when I still can’t believe that I’m here.

Record-setting heat, a 1,000-year drought in the West, and extreme flooding elsewhere—what’s your long-term forecast?

If climate continues to change at the rate we have seen in the past years, we will definitely see an increase in extreme weather conditions. Summer days will be hotter, winter days will be colder, the Western US will see more fires year-round, and severe weather will impact the entire country more frequently. Most of Northern California is in either an extreme or exceptional drough. We’re seeing fire season start earlier and end later. I think collectively we need to start adapting to these conditions, while also doing our part to prevent climate change from coming our way. We have to find ways to adapt and to protect what we have.

How would you like to use your platform as a bilingual weather reporter for Telemundo?

I want to focus on climate and tell stories about how climate change is affecting our Hispanic communities. I also want to get in touch with the community—not just broadcast on air about weather, but also get into schools and participate in student programs. As a Latina, I want to get out to kids and girls that look like me and show them that their dreams, regardless of how big they seem, can be accomplished. And I want to reach the younger Hispanic generations and share the importance of them keeping their language alive. I consider Spanish to be my first language, because that’s what I learned in my home. From kindergarten to my meteorology degree now, it’s all been in English. I could have pursued my career in English, because my English is a little more dominant, but it was so important for me to keep the Spanish language alive because that’s what my parents understand.