"We see thunderstorms every day," said John Guiney, a hurricane specialist at the National Hurricane Center in Miami.

Mayfield earned his master's degree in meteorology at Florida State University in 1987, becoming a hurricane specialist.

On April 1, 2007 he joined Miami-based local television station WPLG as hurricane specialist.

He has been a senior hurricane specialist.

Richard Pasch, a hurricane specialist with the National Hurricane Center in Florida, said: "It's a major evacuation problem.

"It was incredibly out of the ordinary," said Jack Beven, a hurricane specialist with the National Hurricane Center in Miami.

Bryan Norcross (1983-1990; now a hurricane specialist for The Weather Channel)

Bryan Norcross is a television meteorologist and hurricane specialist.

He has been a senior hurricane specialist there since 1987 and is the longest-tenured senior specialist.

I can't believe this," said Max Mayfield, a hurricane specialist.