Ousted ABC News weatherman Rob Marciano clashed with ‘GMA’ meteorologist Ginger Zee: sources

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By Alexandra Steigrad

Ousted weatherman Rob Marciano’s stormy tenure at ABC News included clashes with fellow meteorologist Ginger Zee — a bitter feud that was kept tightly under wraps for years at the network, The Post has learned.

Marciano, who was fired on Tuesday over alleged “anger management” issues, according to a source, had joined “Good Morning America” in 2014 to take Zee’s weekend gig.

At the time, Zee had been promoted to the daily “GMA” set to replace chief meteorologist Sam Champion, who had decamped for The Weather Channel at the time.

From the outset, Zee and Marciano’s working relationship was as turbulent as a Category 5 hurricane — and stayed that way for years, sources with knowledge told The Post on Wednesday.

While Marciano’s “hot temper” caused problems on the show, Zee was equally capable of being “nasty,” the source said.

“I think she brought out the worst in him. I’m not giving him a pass,” the source said. “It’s sad because they are two people who are really into the science of the weather, unfortunately their personalities didn’t work.”

The now 55-year-old Marciano — who joined ABC from “Entertainment Tonight” after spending 10 years as CNN’s meteorologist — and the now 43-year-old Zee frequently butted heads, according to multiple sources.

“She treated him as a beta and she was the alpha,” the media executive said. “But they were much more peers in terms of experience, more than Ginger was with Sam.”

Marciano’s arrival coincided with the network’s decision to launch a 24/7 weather unit meant to provide round-the-clock coverage for ABC News’ various programs, including “GMA” and “World News Tonight.”

However, the two did not collaborate, and Zee immediately “pulled rank” over assignments, the insider said.

The Post reached out to ABC News and Zee for comment.

Representatives for Marciano did not comment.

“Ginger is a know-it-all. If you say something she disagrees with, she references her Twitter followers, saying ‘you are wrong, my followers on Twitter loved it,’” the media executive said.

Meanwhile, in meetings, when Marciano didn’t agree with a management decision, his “body language and tone would change.”

“If he was unhappy about something, you’d know it,” the exec siad. “He lost his cool in meetings when he got news he didn’t like.”

A source close to Zee claimed Marciano had “behavioral” issues and disputed that she was difficult to work with.

“Ginger is a collaborative, inclusive and hard-working leader who is well respected by her colleagues and has never had a complaint about her working style,” the source said, adding that any other suggestion is “sexist.”

The source also noted that the two worked different schedules with minimal overlap.

It is unclear why Marciano was let go, but sources speculated that Marciano’s contract did not get renewed after a spate of complaints about his behavior came to light last year.

Last year, the Cornell University graduate was temporarily “banned” from the Times Square studios of “GMA” after he allegedly made a colleague feel uncomfortable, Page Six reported in March 2023.

“He was found to have done something … that was improper, but he was punished for it, and they still haven’t let him return,” one insider told Page Six at the time.

More recently, he was moved to “World News Tonight” and provided occasional field reports for “GMA” — but was prevented from coming to the studio, the second source said.

A source speculated that Marciano’s salary — which one exec said was a little less than $1 million when he was hired away from “Entertainment Tonight” where he co-anchored the show, was making too much money.

The source said it’s possible that Debra O’Connell, the newly-appointed president of ABC’s news group, may be looking at the budget and saw his salary didn’t justify his lower workload.

It’s unclear what exactly transpired between Marciano and his colleague last year, but another source said he had allegedly been dealing with some “anger management issues” while going through a divorce from his wife.

The two were married for 11 years and share two kids.

A source who has worked with Marciano said his behavior wasn’t linked to his divorce or his run-ins with Zee.

“His personality wasn’t caused by his divorce or being treated like a beta,” said the source. “He’s got a temper. He’s got a short fuse.”