Heather Melendez is an American born bilingual weather anchor.  Proud of her Mexican-Guatemalan-Irish ethnicity, she is fluent in speaking, writing and auditory Spanish.  She joined the WFLA and Tampa Hoy team in August 2020.

Born and raised in Los Angeles, Heather grew up in the San Fernando Valley for 22 years. Wanting a change of pace and scenery, Heather briefly attended Boston University. Although she loved the city and cold weather, she then transferred to earn her B.A  at the University of Southern California.  At USC, Heather was receiving her dual degree in Science and Communication but found herself producing and enjoying her time at USC’s TV station. Since then she was bitten by the broadcasting bug and has been hooked ever since.

She enjoys learning about every aspect and responsibility that goes into making broadcast TV. Because of this, Heather went on to broaden her knowledge during college and became a Research Analyst Intern for CBS Television, a Marketing Insight & Research Intern for E! News.  She worked for NBC Sports during the 2018 Winter Olympics in PyeongChang and also helped Fox News Network translate footage from Spanish to English during the caravan raids in 2019. During her last semester in college, she auditioned for Annenberg TV News and became USC’s “Heather with the Weather” while working as an Overnight Assignment Desk for KABC 7 News Los Angeles.  There she was given the opportunity to combine her love of broadcast and science to tell weather stories.

Before moving to Tampa, Heather became an Evening Weather Anchor and told weather stories in Eugene, Oregon. She’s excited to immerse herself in Tampa and continue to inform and tell weather stories in both Spanish and English. 

When not in the studio, you will most likely find Heather at a local coffee shop, ice cream parlor, stable or off to an adventure  completing something off her bucket list. She hopes to receive her pilot’s license and ride with the Hurricane Hunters as soon as she can.