“In my short time in Minnesota, I already feel at home,” says Chikage Windler. “What a great place to forecast whatever Mother Nature sends our way!”

Previous experience
Chikage joined 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS in October 2006.  She came to the Twin Cities from Boston, Massachusetts, where she worked as a meteorologist and features reporter at WHDH-TV.  Prior to that, she was the weekend evening meteorologist at WRC-TV in Washington, D.C.  Chikage also served as a meteorologist at Texas Cable News in Dallas and WVEC-TV in Norfolk, Virginia.  She got her start in television working behind the scenes in the weather department at KOTV in Tulsa, Oklahoma.  Before television, Chikage had some of the most exciting weather experiences of her life: she chased tornadoes as part of the VORTEX-95 project at the National Severe Storms Laboratory in Norman, Oklahoma. 

Education
Growing up in the heart of "Tornado Alley" inspired Chikage to pursue meteorology as a career.  She graduated magna cum laude with a Bachelor of Science in Meteorology and a Bachelor of Arts in Broadcast Journalism from the University of Oklahoma.  She is a member of the American Meteorological Society and the National Weather Association.

Awards
Chikage won the 2009 Upper Midwest Emmy for Outstanding Weathercaster.  In 2006, she was nominated for a New England Emmy for her weathercasts.  She also holds the AMS Seal of Approval and the NWA Seal of Approval.

Personal interests
People always ask Chikage about her unique name.  It's Japanese, and means "thousands of views or vistas."  Chikage is half-Japanese. She enjoys running, shopping, and college football and is a die-hard Oklahoma Sooners fan.  Chikage and her husband Jamie are proud parents of Austen Olivia, born in October of 2007.

When Chikage’s not playing with and taking care of Austen, she’s usually snapping photos.  As an amateur photographer, Chikage is never without her camera.  You’ll see her work each day on 5 EYEWITNESS NEWS.  Chikage imports her own photos and uses them as backgrounds for weather graphics.