As Irma moves up Florida’s West Coast, all stations in Fort Myers are streaming coverage.
The powerhouse stations in the market, WBBH and WINK, have taken very different approaches on coverage for now.
WBBH has teamed up with its sister station WZVN, the ABC affiliate in the market, to cover the storm across both stations and streaming coverage on YouTube.
NBC 2 chief meteorologist Robert Van Winkle and ABC 7 chief meteorologist, John Patrick, are tracking the movement of the storm across the area from Naples to Port Charlotte. It appears reporters and photographers who are covering the storm from across the area have taken shelter in a safe place. There have been few live reports in since the storm picked up but they are using live cameras to show viewers what is happening outside.
Van Winkle was on the forefront of forecasting Hurricane Charley in 2004 when it hit the area.
WINK, the CBS affiliate in the area, is also streaming coverage on their website. Anchors Chris Cifatte and and Lois Thome are leading the coverage on the anchor desk with the help of chief meteorologist Jim Farrell. As for 2pm, they are still utilizing reporters for live reports from hotels across the area and the live radar of Irma rolling in the lower right moving graphic.
Derek Beasley is handling coverage on WFTX, the Fox affiliate in the market.
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