Meet Ben Cathey

Ben Cathey is the chief meteorologist for MPR News, leading daily weather coverage including Climate Cast and the Updraft weather blog. He works alongside meteorologists Sven Sundgaard and Mandy Thalhuber.

A nationally recognized science communicator, Cathey holds certifications from both the American Meteorological Society and the National Weather Association. He came to MPR News from a Ted Scripps Fellowship in Environmental Journalism at the University of Colorado Boulder, the first meteorologist selected in the program's 30-year history.

Before joining MPR News, Cathey spent time reporting in Tierra del Fuego for the Pulitzer Center, documenting climate impacts on wildfires for a multimedia project. His television career includes positions at WVLT-TV in Knoxville, Tenn. and WTVG-TV in Toledo, Ohio, where he covered heat waves, droughts, endangered wildlife and natural disasters including floods, tornadoes, derechos, and wildfires.

Cathey has earned four Emmy Awards, seven Edward R. Murrow Awards, and was named AP's Weather Anchor of the Year for Tennessee's Large Markets in 2020. He holds a bachelor's degree in meteorology and broadcast journalism from the University of Miami.