State meteorologists support FOX 61’s Rachel Frank after ‘hurtful’ Henri comments

A tropical storm that didn’t pan out became the perfect storm for social media commentary to disparage the forecast from FOX61’s chief meteorologist Rachel Frank. But whether it’s a forecast or other kinds of reporting, television journalists face such comments throughout their careers.

Frank, the chief meteorologist at the Hartford-based station, shared her experience on Twitter Monday, detailing the “challenging” week she had when her coverage of the storm resulted in “venomous” messages.

Earlier this week FOX61 news director Richard Washington released a statement regarding Frank's tweet:

"FOX61 Chief Meteorologist Rachel Frank provided life-saving information to our viewers during our coverage of Tropical Storm Henri," Washington stated. "While so many appreciated her dedication, as is typical with social media, she also received hurtful and hateful comments. FOX61/CW20 doesn’t tolerate this type of online behavior and fully supports Rachel and all of the journalists who work to serve the greater good of our communities."

While he said he and the station "won't be making any further comment" on the matter, other meteorologists in the state offered additional words of support for their fellow forecaster.

Brad Field, the former chief meteorologist for NBC Connecticut for 34 years and current chief meteorologist at New England Skywatch Weather, said it’s something he’s encountered throughout the course of his time on TV making weather predictions.

“In my career, I experienced many doubters and critics,” he said via Facebook. “I largely ignored [them], but tried to see the ‘grain of truth’ within the criticism and grow from that.”

So when he saw Frank’s tweet about the “venomous” comments she received, he offered words of encouragement to a fellow Connecticut meteorologist.

“As far as Rachel is concerned, we have MANY very good, very dedicated meteorologists in Connecticut,” he said via Facebook. “Rachel is among our best!”

Meteorologist for WFSB in Rocky Hill Melissa Cole also shared support on social media for Frank.

When it came to Tropical Storm Henri — or any storm — Cole said that meteorologists “have nothing to gain by hyping things up.” Instead, Cole noted that her job and that of all forecasters is to be a public service to viewers turning to them for weather information.

“At the end of the day, we’re doing the best job possible to provide the most accurate and at times lifesaving information to the public,” she said. “On Saturday morning, things looked bad for Connecticut. Our forecasts evolved as the storm track evolved throughout the next 24 hours.”

According to Cole, supporting her fellow female meteorologists is something she makes a point to do, especially now that there are more female meteorologists on TV.

“When I first started out at WFSB in 2003, I was the only female meteorologist in the market. Today, I love that there is at least one, if not two female meteorologists at every station,” she said. “I personally see it as less of competition, and more of a camaraderie — women supporting women, especially in the STEM field. I love following them all on social media and often like or comment on their posts.”