Mariel Ruiz is a Bilingual Meteorologist on WFAA's Daybreak, Good Morning Texas and Midday in Dallas, TX.
1) Who are you? Hi there! I'm Emmy-nominated bilingual meteorologist Mariel Ruiz. I joined the WFAA weather team in December 2021.
My other titles include wife, dog mom of two, Texas Aggie and a native North Texan. I grew up in Arlington, TX as a daughter of two immigrants from Chihuahua, Mexico. Growing up in the Lone Star State gave me a taste of all types of weather. This likely what sparked my interest in our atmosphere from a young age. I don't remember a time I didn't love weather!
After high school, I attended Texas A&M University and received a Bachelors of Science in Meteorology. While in college, I volunteered with the National Weather Service office in Fort Worth and was a broadcast intern in Dallas. I'm a proud Certified Broadcast Meteorologist, a designation given to me by the American Meteorological Society. I'm one of only a handful of bilingual meteorologists with this seal in the country. I'm excited to bring the forecast to our Spanish speaking communities on our digital platforms.
I started my broadcast career in Midland/Odessa, forecasting the wild West Texas winds. My next stop was a three-year stint in tornado alley - Little Rock, Arkansas - where I spent countless hours covering severe storms, floods, tornadoes, snowstorms, and inland tropical systems. I was assigned to help with coverage of Hurricane Florence in Charlotte during the 2018 Tropical Storm Season. My latest stop was in Austin, TX. It was there that I fine-tuned my Texas forecasting skills which included the February snowstorm of 2021. As 2021 ended, I knew it was time to come home. I'm thrilled to be forecasting for the community that raised me!
2) What are your interests? I enjoy being active and even more if it involves the outdoors. My husband and I have two hyper Labrador Retrievers that enjoy hiking and being in the water. I've always liked jogging and became an active runner during the pandemic. If I'm inside, you can catch me cooking. I love trying new recipes and binging the latest new shows.
3) What do you like about working at WFAA? WFAA embraces my weather geek. They care about the "why." The one thing I love more than forecasting the weather, is talking about why certain weather events happen. I get to do that here.
I grew up watching WFAA. My role models are now my colleagues. It's an indescribable feeling working alongside some of the most respected journalists in the world.
4) What's one thing people would be surprised to learn about you? I'm a travel junkie. My husband and I love exploring different parts of the world and embracing other cultures. I crave adventure. It has led me to hike a glacier in New Zealand, swim with wild dolphins in the Southern Pacific Ocean, salsa dance in Cuba and dive in the Cenotes of the Yucatán Península, to name a few. We hope to add more to the calendar!
