Why He’s Interesting: The self-described geek has made a name for himself with his sunny personality as WKYC’s weekend morning meteorologist since joining the station in May 2016. The Detroit native loves the extreme weather most viewers hate — major snowstorms, severe thunderstorms and even tornadoes and hurricanes.
Storm Trooper: As a child, Estime would lay in the front lawn, looking for familiar shapes in the clouds, while his two brothers shot hoops and threw footballs. The sound of thunder sent him running to a window in an attempt to take pictures of lightning with his disposable camera. “Every time a tornado warning was issued and the sirens went off that was like, Oh, my gosh! It felt like Christmas Day to me when that happened.”
Weather Channel: Estime’s first taste of broadcast meteorology came in the fourth grade, when he volunteered to do the weather on his elementary school’s closed-circuit television system. “I joined the student council because you had to be on the student council in order to do it.” By middle school, he was shadowing meteorologists at local stations.
Mirror Image: Estime has a twin brother, David, a Chicago businessman who looks so much like him that he called upon his sibling to serve as a living, breathing mannequin during his first working-wardrobe shopping trips. “I needed to see how they were going to look like on me. How are you supposed to see how they look in the back in a mirror? For me, it was just easier to drag my brother along.”
Music Man: Estime took up the clarinet in fifth grade, an instrument he continued mastering in high school and college marching bands. He occasionally plays classical and jazz selections at home for his own enjoyment. “If ever our family is having a Christmas party, I’ll bring over a clarinet. I have a couple of cousins who play instruments. We’ll have a little family Christmas singalong.”
Snow Daze: Estime’s favorite — and most talked about — suit is a turquoise-blue number covered in white snowflakes, complete with matching tie, that he purchased online to wear during holiday broadcasts while working in Lexington, Kentucky. “I was like, If I have to work on Christmas morning while everyone else is at home opening up presents, I want to make this fun!”
Interesting Fact: 20: The number of suits in Estime’s closet
