CHARLESTON, WV (WOWK)—13 News is celebrating the 30th anniversary of our Chief Meteorologist, Spencer Adkins.

A graduate of Oakland University outside of Detroit, Spencer’s original plan was to work in some kind of sportscasting, but he found a level of success writing, covering, and anchoring stories.

Send Spencer a message to congratulate him:

His first TV job was at WBKB in Alpena, Michigan in 1989. At the time, it was the smallest TV market and station in the country. He then moved to Clarksburg, West Virginia the same year and became a co-anchor and producer for the 11 p.m. news. Spencer filled in for the late, great Mike Simons on weather.

In 1991, Spencer moved to WYVN in West Virginia’s Eastern Panhandle. There, he produced and co-anchored the 11 p.m. news…and also filled in on weather when needed.

He then moved to WHOI in Peoria, Illinois in 1992, where he was a weekend weather anchor and weekday news reporter. Six months later, he would move back to West Virginia.

Spencer joined our team in March of 1993 after driving a U-Haul through the remnants of the “Storm of the Century.” That should have been a sign he would end up spending most of his time talking about the weather.

Spencer started as a nightside reporter in Charleston at WOWK, and then a few months later, he was selected to be the morning weather anchor alongside morning anchor Samantha Kozsey.

A year later, Spencer convinced the bosses to let him create his own segment on the evening news called “Spencer’s Neighborhood Spotlight,” which was pretty much Spencer rolling around the area showcasing anything and everything people like to do for fun.

Two years later, Spencer was asked to take over for departing Chief Meteorologist Dave Parker. Spencer accepted, went back to school for meteorology, trained on the job, busted a few forecasts, learned a whole lot, and eventually earned the prestigious Seal of Approval from the American Meteorological Society and the National Weather Association. In recent years, Spencer elevated his credentials by becoming a Certified Broadcast Meteorologist via the American Meteorological Society.

Please join us in wishing Spencer a happy anniversary. Here’s to 30 more!