Julie Watkins

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Julie Watkins, a James Madison University graduate and a member of the American Meteorological Society, has forecast weather for over 10 years in various locations on the East Coast.  She originally came to the First Coast in 2003 .  During her time here, she participated in around- the-clock coverage of the most active hurricane seasons in Florida including Hurricanes Charley, Frances, Ivan and Jeanne.  She returned home to Richmond, Virginia in 2005 and worked with the local CBS affiliate for a year before joining a station in Orlando.

In 2007, Julie took a break from broadcasting to focus on forming a non-profit organization, The Girls Gone Green (www.thegirlsgonegreen.com), in an effort to heighten awareness about the plight of our planet and its inhabitants.  Her organization took part in various fundraisers, expos and conventions including the Central Florida Earth Day, Central Florida VegFest, Green is Universal and The Green Earth Expo.  In 2010, The Girls Gone Green presented the very first Northeast Florida Veg Fest (www.nfvegfest.org) in Riverside Park.  Over 3, 000 people came out to the day-long event featuring various healthy and sustainable foods, cooking demonstrations, live music, informed speakers and movie screenings.  The Second Annual Northeast Florida Veg Fest is slated for Saturday, November 5, 2011. 

Julie embraced the opportunity to return to Jacksonville in 2008 to join the team at Action News Jacksonville.  The American Meteorological Society recognizes Julie as a Certified Broadcast Meteorologist.  The Certified Broadcast Meteorologist (CBM) program was established to raise the professional standard in broadcast meteorology and encourage a broader range of scientific understanding, especially with respect to environmental issues.   

Environmental issues are Julie's passion at work and through her non-profit.  Julie hopes that by working together, we can improve the quality of life for both humans and animals and she welcomes your ideas and suggestions.

She is currently training for a figure competition taking place in October.  As a long-time vegan, she hopes to break the protein myths proving vegans can have toned, defined muscles.  You can follow her progress on her blog "Vegan Competition" (www.veganfigure.com).