Rachel Duensing is a Certified Broadcast Meteorologist by the American Meteorological Society and is currently the 7 p.m. meteorologist and weather and climate reporter for CBS17 in Raleigh, North Carolina.
Before coming to Raleigh, Rachel spent three years at NBC2 in in sunny Fort Myers, Florida as the weekend morning meteorologist.
At NBC2, she forecast everything from extreme heat and daily thunderstorms, to tropical storms and hurricanes.
It was there where she found her love of the complex nature of tropical systems (but also lost her Midwest tolerance for the cold!).
Prior to Fort Myers, she spent nearly three years at WSIL-TV in Carterville, Illinois as the weekend morning meteorologist before being promoted to weekday morning meteorologist.
Rachel spent her time in Illinois forecasting extreme cold, ice storms, record-breaking heat, and severe weather, including an EF4 tornado.
Rachel is a two-time finalist for Best Weathercaster by the Illinois Broadcasters Association, and received her Bachelor of Science degree in Meteorology and Digital Media from Valparaiso University.
While at Valpo, she was a member of the Valparaiso University Storm Intercept Team, and along with professors and classmates, chased tornadoes and severe weather across the Great Plains and Midwest.
Rachel grew up outside Chester, Illinois, a small town in the southern end of the state (nowhere near Chicago!).
When she was only 10 years old, Rachel learned about weather in science class, and when those lessons were followed up by a tornado outbreak outside her town, she took it as a sign and has been in love with weather ever since!
When not forecasting the weather or reporting on weather and climate, Rachel volunteers at a local cat shelter.