For Detroit I have two people but someone can add more and my first one is pretty obvious and that would be Sonny Eliot. Sonny was a fixture on WWJ radio for years who was known for making jokes during his weather broadcasts.
My second choice is John McMurray. John was on WJR radio and also WJRT-TV in Flint for many years. Both are well known in Detroit broadcasting history.
Brad Panovich of WCNC is pretty up there in the Charlotte area.
From my years in Los Angeles I would go with Dallas Raines on KABC.
Growing up in the Bay Area I'd say Pete Giddings on KGO; since I've returned I haven't watched enough local news to form an opinion.
This is a little bit of what Sonny Eiliot was like.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=PwP3L3j86w4
For Chicago, it is easily Tom Skilling.
I grew up with Buck Matthews on channel 8 in Grand Rapids. He wasn't a trained meteorologist, but he made the weather fun. Lines like, "The stationary front will stationary itself over to here tomorrow." He would draw freehand on the map with a marker as he spoke. I finally figured out that there were already yellow lines (which blended in with the background) that had already been put on the map.
For the Albany area it's Steve Caporizzo of News10 ABC (WTEN) and Fox23 (WXXA). He also does Pet Connection.
Judging by the memes I've seen on Facebook, I'm assuming the answer for much of Alabama is James Spann.
Boston has so many that could fit the bill. For the current era, it's Harvey Leonard.
Quote from: vdeane on October 09, 2023, 03:29:18 PM
For the Albany area it's Steve Caporizzo of News10 ABC (WTEN) and Fox23 (WXXA). He also does Pet Connection.
Judging by the memes I've seen on Facebook, I'm assuming the answer for much of Alabama is James Spann.
James Spann is the correct answer for the Birmingham market.
For Louisville Ky, I want to say ether Tom Wills and John Belski from Wave 3 or Chuck Taylor from Whas 11.
Mike Nelson in Denver
This question hits a little bit different in the OKC metro since the weather is such a big deal here.
The all-time winner is of course KWTV's Gary England, who is enough of a legend that some of his footage from 1973 (when tornado warnings were done with dry erase markers on a sheet of plastic over what looks like a blown-up ODOT map) was used in Twister. The invention of the shaded county maps that appear in the corner of the screen has also been attributed to him. If there was a competition for "best TV meteorologist, from any market, of all time", it would be very surprising if Gary England did not win it. There's plenty of his tornado coverage on YouTube—go watch it if you want to see why.
Gary's retired now, though, and in his stead we have Mike Morgan on KFOR and England's successor on KWTV, David Payne.
Morgan is your slicked-back TV newsman type—it is said one can accurately predict how bad an upcoming severe weather event is expected to be by how flashy of a tie Morgan picked out that day. (A point in Morgan's favor in terms of iconicness is that we have a user on this forum who chose the screen name "FakeMikeMorgan".) Morgan has pulled some boneheaded moves over the years, though, such as directing people to drive away from a storm on I-35, which would have led anyone following his advice directly into harm's way.
Payne is a lunatic who has the complete opposite energy of England's calm, unflappable demeanor. (He played second fiddle to England for a few years and it seemed like he always got on England's nerves for this reason.) Payne gets all wrapped up in the drama of the event and gets very amped up and animated, randomly throwing out bizarre Oklahoma folksy-isms that make little sense and breathlessly speculating as to the EF rating of various storms while they're still on the ground. If I was being actively threatened by a tornado, I would much rather prefer England's "just the facts" approach, but when the tornado's miles away? I'd be lying if I didn't say Payne was way more entertaining. It's rare that we get a tornado outbreak where a clip of some off-the-wall Payneism doesn't get shared around for a few days.
Quote from: clong on October 09, 2023, 04:34:36 PM
Quote from: vdeane on October 09, 2023, 03:29:18 PM
Judging by the memes I've seen on Facebook, I'm assuming the answer for much of Alabama is James Spann.
James Spann is the correct answer for the Birmingham market.
He's iconic enough that sometimes people from the other ends of the country ask me if I know who he is when they find out where I'm from.
Quote from: DTComposer on October 09, 2023, 01:10:42 PMFrom my years in Los Angeles I would go with Dallas Raines on KABC.
Growing up in the Bay Area I'd say Pete Giddings on KGO; since I've returned I haven't watched enough local news to form an opinion.
Spencer Christian he replaced Pete Giddings when he moved from Good Morning America to KGO-TV. It's Amazing that Spencer Christian has been with ABC for nearly 50 years. His first role with ABC was when he was at WABC-TV New York then Good Morning America and his longest role is at KGO-TV San Francisco.
Man, it sucks that I can't think of any TV forecaster in Missoula who gets the nod of "most iconic". Too many have come and gone.
Quote from: NWI_Irish96 on October 09, 2023, 02:37:35 PM
For Chicago, it is easily Tom Skilling.
He's certainly one of the best, but I would nominate Harry Volkman, who did weather at just about every major TV station in Chicago at one time or another, other than WBKB/WLS-TV Channel 7, in a 45-year career there. He was a Chicago institution years before Skilling got to WGN in 1978, replacing Volkman who went to WBBM-TV/2 that year.
Dang Sacramento TV Stations has produced TV Talent that later became legendary in the top 10 TV Markets.
For weather specifically if I were to make a pick it's Mark Finan for KCRA-TV.
https://www.kcra.com/news-team/91e58f02-41cd-4c99-b4a8-29a4ac6c16e4
Nashville's most iconic was definitely Bill Hall on WSMV Channel 4, who was probably one of the first popular African-American weathercasters on local news. Though not a trained meteorologist, he was the most trusted and admired weather personality from 1974 to his retirement in 2005 (he passed away in 2011). He also hosted a weekend outdoors show in the 80's and 90's that featured him fishing and hunting with several country music celebrities. I remember an episode where he went fishing with Jerry Reed, and Jerry just cracked wise almost the entire time, Bill was crying from laughing so hard, and they caught nothing!
The eventual demise of WSMV's "dream team" of Dan Miller and Demetria Kalidimos as news co-anchors, Bill Hall on weather, and Rudy Kalis on sports was one of the primary causes of WSMV's news going from ranked a solid first place throughout the 80's to third place for close to 15 years now, plus poor station management and the way they handled letting go of Demetria. Hopefully their current owners Gray Television will improve their fortunes, as they have experience running successful first place stations in other markets.
Years ago in the New York Market there was one named Lloyd Lindsey Young who used to say Hello in a Tarzan call manner.
Helllllllllllllllllllllllo!
In Pittsburgh, we had Joe DeNardo (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_DeNardo) on WTAE Channel 4 for many years. He was an icon in the Pittsburgh area and would visit local schools every Wednesday to speak to the students. He was highly touted for his accurate forecasts (who in Pittsburgh doesn't remember the "Joe Said It Would" commercials back in the '90s?) and charity work.
Quote from: KeithE4Phx on October 09, 2023, 08:09:48 PM
Quote from: NWI_Irish96 on October 09, 2023, 02:37:35 PM
For Chicago, it is easily Tom Skilling.
He's certainly one of the best, but I would nominate Harry Volkman, who did weather at just about every major TV station in Chicago at one time or another, other than WBKB/WLS-TV Channel 7, in a 45-year career there. He was a Chicago institution years before Skilling got to WGN in 1978, replacing Volkman who went to WBBM-TV/2 that year.
In addition, Harry Volkman had two separate stints each at WMAQ (Channel 5) and WGN in the 60s and 70s. Although I liked Skilling on WGN, Volkman is much more memorable.
I'm Googling Seattle's most iconic meteorologists, and two names come to mind: Walter Kelley (https://www.fox13seattle.com/news/a-look-back-at-walter-kelleys-23-years-at-q13-news) and Harry Wappler (https://www.seattlepi.com/local/article/Longtime-Seattle-meteorologist-Harry-Wappler-dies-895440.php). When I relocated from L.A. in 2000, Harry was nearing the end of his career, and thus I never got to see enough of him, so I'm leaning towards Walter as the top weatherman in Seattle.
Myrtle Beach is Ed Piotrowski, hands down.
Quote from: Henry on October 09, 2023, 10:25:48 PM
I'm Googling Seattle's most iconic meteorologists, and two names come to mind: Walter Kelley (https://www.fox13seattle.com/news/a-look-back-at-walter-kelleys-23-years-at-q13-news) and Harry Wappler (https://www.seattlepi.com/local/article/Longtime-Seattle-meteorologist-Harry-Wappler-dies-895440.php). When I relocated from L.A. in 2000, Harry was nearing the end of his career, and thus I never got to see enough of him, so I'm leaning towards Walter as the top weatherman in Seattle.
Steve Pool was by far the most iconic Seattle weatherman. He was part of a long-running trio at KOMO and only retired in 2019.
Philly would be Jim O'Brien from Channel 6, ABC. He was killed in a skydiving accident in September, 1983.
Quote from: formulanone on October 09, 2023, 06:37:54 PM
Quote from: clong on October 09, 2023, 04:34:36 PM
Quote from: vdeane on October 09, 2023, 03:29:18 PM
Judging by the memes I've seen on Facebook, I'm assuming the answer for much of Alabama is James Spann.
James Spann is the correct answer for the Birmingham market.
He's iconic enough that sometimes people from the other ends of the country ask me if I know who he is when they find out where I'm from.
A not-small number of my fellow mets follow him on social media.
Quote from: Henry on October 09, 2023, 10:25:48 PM
Quote from: KeithE4Phx on October 09, 2023, 08:09:48 PM
Quote from: NWI_Irish96 on October 09, 2023, 02:37:35 PM
For Chicago, it is easily Tom Skilling.
He's certainly one of the best, but I would nominate Harry Volkman, who did weather at just about every major TV station in Chicago at one time or another, other than WBKB/WLS-TV Channel 7, in a 45-year career there. He was a Chicago institution years before Skilling got to WGN in 1978, replacing Volkman who went to WBBM-TV/2 that year.
In addition, Harry Volkman had two separate stints each at WMAQ (Channel 5) and WGN in the 60s and 70s. Although I liked Skilling on WGN, Volkman is much more memorable.
Volkman, Skilling, John Coleman, Jim Tilmon, Jerry Taft, John Coughlin... probably a few more I've since forgotten since I left Chicago 30 years ago. All great weatherguessers in Chicago. Even "Ringmaster Ned" Locke, who did his share of airtime doing weather on WGN-TV in the 1950s and '60s, should get a mention.
Duluth/Superior: Colin Ventrella.
Quote from: roadman65 on October 09, 2023, 09:16:52 PMYears ago in the New York Market there was one named Lloyd Lindsey Young who used to say Hello in a Tarzan call manner.
Helllllllllllllllllllllllo!
Lloyd Lindsey Young is known in multiple places like Bakersfield, Sacramento, San Francisco along with New York. Here are his other roles besides when he was at WOR-TV.
Quote from: bing101 on October 09, 2023, 11:47:15 PM
Quote from: roadman65 on October 09, 2023, 09:16:52 PM
Years ago in the New York Market there was one named Lloyd Lindsey Young who used to say Hello in a Tarzan call manner.
Helllllllllllllllllllllllo!
Lloyd Lindsey Young is known in multiple places like Bakersfield, Sacramento, San Francisco along with New York.
Oh, yeah! I remember him in the '80s when he was on the WOR/WWOR Superstation in NYC (actually, Secaucus NJ).
HELLO-O-O-O-O-O-O-O Piscataway! :-D :) :D
Then there was Tex Antoin who was legendary. However he made one mistake that got him canned from WABC TV when he quoted Confucius while allegedly intoxicated on the air quoting the great Chinese Philosopher that woman being attacked should just lie back, relax, and enjoy the ride.
He before that incident was a well known iconic figure of his era.
Quote from: roadman65 on October 09, 2023, 09:16:52 PM
Years ago in the New York Market there was one named Lloyd Lindsey Young who used to say Hello in a Tarzan call manner.
Helllllllllllllllllllllllo!
Early in his career Lloyd Lindsey Young spent time in Evansville, IN entertaining the masses until he got called up to the big time.
Jacksonville = Tim Deegan
For some reason, I thought of Yolanda Vega for NYC, but...that's not right.
Travis Meyer is a legend in Tulsa.
WWBT's Andrew Frieden for Richmond. Before him it was probably Jim Duncan.
Pat Prokop for Savannah, who worked for WTOC for 35 years. Recall him when I lived there and over the years of visiting my Dad there until he moved away in 1992.
Maybe not the most iconic in the traditional way, but Mark Mathis' days in Charlotte, NC were memorable. I've LMAO at some of the antics he pulled while on air (which were posted on YouTube).
Quote from: Takumi on October 10, 2023, 11:26:40 PM
WWBT's Andrew Frieden for Richmond. Before him it was probably Jim Duncan.
I'd consider WRIC's John Bernier as well just for longevity. Andrew Frieden actually came to my elementary school in Prince George once when I was young.
Growing up in Cleveland, Dick Goddard was considered the gold standard for meteorologist. He was with Channel 8 (WJW) for 50 years before retiring in 2016.
One other iconic Cleveland weatherman was Al Roker who served for 5 years at Channel 3 news in the late 70s/early 80s before he moved to New York and eventually the Today Show. I remember meeting him when I was 4 or 5 years old when he was grand marshal of some parade in Oberlin.
How many of these iconic "meteorologists" actually hold degrees in meteorology and how many are just someone talking about the weather and using catchy phrases and snappy graphics to entertain?
Cap has a BS in Meteorology from Lyndon State College in Vermont.
Bryan Busby for KC.
Quote from: 02 Park Ave on October 11, 2023, 12:11:35 PM
How many of these iconic "meteorologists" actually hold degrees in meteorology and how many are just someone talking about the weather and using catchy phrases and snappy graphics to entertain?
Joe DeNardo (who I mentioned earlier in this thread) earned his Masters in Meteorology from the University of Chicago in 1953.
Most TV meteorologists these days have a bachelor's degree in meteorology. Some have a degree in something else (usually journalism) and then went back to school to get a meteorology certificate. Still others have a master's degree in meteorology, but that's relatively rare as broadcast generally does not pay all that well compared to other meteorology jobs you can typically qualify for with a graduate degree.
Quote from: Flint1979 on October 09, 2023, 10:59:41 AM
For Detroit I have two people but someone can add more and my first one is pretty obvious and that would be Sonny Eliot. Sonny was a fixture on WWJ radio for years who was known for making jokes during his weather broadcasts.
My second choice is John McMurray. John was on WJR radio and also WJRT-TV in Flint for many years. Both are well known in Detroit broadcasting history.
Sacramento had Harry Geiss, Mickie Garcia, and Christine Hanson (all on the same station at different times).
In New Orleans it was Nash Roberts. He was on TV pretty much from the beginning (he started as a US Navy officer during World War II), but excelled at hurricane prediction. He famously predicted the late turn of Hurricane Camille in 1969 when its eye hit the Mississippi Gulf Coast instead of New Orleans. For many years after his retirement WWL-TV would still bring him in whenever a hurricane threatened the area, and he continued to use his grease pencil on a paper map up until he finally retired even from that in the early 2000s when he was in his 80s.
Central Ohio...I think we have some that are more notorious than iconic.
WBNS (Ch. 10)'s long time weather guy, Mike Davis, was busted in 2019 for trafficking's kiddie porn.
Jym Ganahl, who worked at WCMH (Ch. 4) for 3 decades was involved in a prescription drug sting, back in 1991 (but got to keep his job) and then a decade ago made the news again as a co-worker, within station's weather team, sued him for libel.
The generation before got to see Jerry Rasor (again Ch. 4) on Saturday mornings as host of Dance Party, or as the weather talking head on the evening news.
For Milwaukee probably Vince Condella or John Malan. Both have which since retired.
Quote from: jmd41280 on October 09, 2023, 10:12:12 PM
In Pittsburgh, we had Joe DeNardo (https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Joe_DeNardo) on WTAE Channel 4 for many years. He was an icon in the Pittsburgh area and would visit local schools every Wednesday to speak to the students. He was highly touted for his accurate forecasts (who in Pittsburgh doesn't remember the "Joe Said It Would" commercials back in the '90s?) and charity work.
I'll second this.
Quote from: NWI_Irish96 on October 09, 2023, 02:37:35 PM
For Chicago, it is easily Tom Skilling.
And Tom Skilling is about to retire. https://madison.com/news/state-regional/weather/legendary-chicago-meteorologist-tom-skilling-stepping-down/article_1927deda-ddc6-59b5-813a-6858f0115aae.html
Quote from: dvferyance on October 12, 2023, 01:10:52 PM
For Milwaukee probably Vince Condella or John Malan. Both have which since retired.
Not Ward Allen and Albert the Alley Cat? :)
(https://images.foxtv.com/static.fox6now.com/www.fox6now.com/content/uploads/2020/07/932/470/ward-albert1.jpg?ve=1&tl=1)
Dallas -Ft Worth had two that were true icons
(https://texashistory.unt.edu/ark:/67531/metadc1605450/m1/1/med_res/) Harold Taft at WBAP / KXAS (CH5)
and
(https://encrypted-tbn0.gstatic.com/images?q=tbn:ANd9GcQAy3BiiJeWBFUbLhM3r0-juZdMaBMPQlIrCdKira9LdBtdWCtK) Troy Dungan at WFAA (CH8)
Shreveport Bossier has had a couple
(https://gray-ksla-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/hMCmHhwTlQ01kGkM5fKV4QA8BfY=/980x0/smart/filters:quality(85)/cloudfront-us-east-1.images.arcpublishing.com/gray/42HGHQU7S5AUNLN67JFIYJ5KVU.jpg) Al Bolton at KSLA (In a mid-1950's photo doubling as the host of a kiddie show Al's Corral.) on KSLA (CH12) After retiring, he did gardening segments for the morning on KTBS (CH3)
and
(https://gray-gray-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/wc5h0qHZt4YRskKqxjKjTIbYIhw=/400x600/smart/filters:quality(70):no_upscale()/s3.amazonaws.com/arc-authors/raycom/93a8a149-0436-4db3-9368-e2e08eea4948.png)
Ron Young at KTAL (Ch 6) and on the morning show at KSLA (CH 12)
Joel Bartlett he is one of the legends in reporting the weather in the San Francisco area.
For Hartford, I'd have to Hilton Kaderli. Today being cold and rainy means it's a real gullywhomper out there. Almost got blown away once on the top of Mt. Washington
https://youtu.be/KgkZjOMTAMM?si=ku_f9oSgcMp_XQ1Q
Quote from: Bruce on October 09, 2023, 10:31:13 PM
Quote from: Henry on October 09, 2023, 10:25:48 PM
I'm Googling Seattle's most iconic meteorologists, and two names come to mind: Walter Kelley (https://www.fox13seattle.com/news/a-look-back-at-walter-kelleys-23-years-at-q13-news) and Harry Wappler (https://www.seattlepi.com/local/article/Longtime-Seattle-meteorologist-Harry-Wappler-dies-895440.php). When I relocated from L.A. in 2000, Harry was nearing the end of his career, and thus I never got to see enough of him, so I'm leaning towards Walter as the top weatherman in Seattle.
Steve Pool was by far the most iconic Seattle weatherman. He was part of a long-running trio at KOMO and only retired in 2019.
I don't think it's "by far", Jeff Renner at KING was quite iconic too.
For the Miami metro area, it's probably a tie between Bob Weaver (calm demeanor, longevity, plus Weaver the Weatherbird), Brian Norcross (for dealing with a direct hit from Hurricane Andrew and somehow staying on the air out of a supply closet), and Jackie Johnson (physical appearance).
I've only been in the Des Moines area since 2002, but Ed Wilson of WHO-TV and Brad Edwards of WOI-TV have been there as long as I have, if not longer. John McLaughlin spent about 30 years at KCCI before retiring due to health issues several years ago.
I grew up in the Quad Cities, where I'd say Neil Kastor and Terry Swails -- both of whom have long since retired -- have that honor. Kastor spent a long time at WQAD, and Swails at KWQC.
Quote from: 74/171FAN on October 11, 2023, 08:23:53 AM
Quote from: Takumi on October 10, 2023, 11:26:40 PM
WWBT's Andrew Frieden for Richmond. Before him it was probably Jim Duncan.
I'd consider WRIC's John Bernier as well just for longevity. Andrew Frieden actually came to my elementary school in Prince George once when I was young.
John Bernier also has wider regional appeal since he does weather for Beach 104 in the OBX.
TV weatherman is a job I regret not pursuing. I worked in a teensy-weensy TV market for a while as a non-weatherman (and non-TV) and the two local ones on air were extremely popular. They were very good at live severe weather and curated some excellent storm chasers that gave live storm video.
You get stuff wrong and can just shrug and say oops.
In Texas, the "10 o'clock backdown" from an expected big snow is a huge feature and almost a running joke.
Wayne Shattuck is a legend in Florida on WFTS Tampa. Note he also did weather reports in Dallas and Los Angeles prior to Tampa.
Prior to Dallas Raines getting mentioned as the longest tenured weather person on KABC Los Angeles, Dr George Fischbeck was the longest tenured weather person in Los Angeles.
For Cincinnati, it was easily "Doppler" Tim Hedrick at WKRC for 28 years. Unfortunately, complications from prostate cancer would take his life in 2016, though he fought hard as hell.
His successor, John Gumm, worked at WWL-TV in New Orleans when Katrina hit. His home took severe damage from that storm, and he ended up moving back to the Cincinnati area that October. He's been with WKRC since (first in mornings...in a bizarre move, WKRC did not give Gumm the "chief meteorologist" title until more than 4 years after Hedrick passed).
Some in Cincinnati would say that Pat Barry was the iconic meteorologist here. Barry didn't have a degree in meteorology, though...and was more a personality that gave a weather forecast.
In Baltimore, everyone knows Tom Tasselmyer (WBAL) and Bob Turk (WJZ), who recently retired.
How about one in Congress . Eric Sorenson went from Rockford to to WQAD....and then Rep for IL 17 . His degrees is from Northern so it would be Meteorology or an Earth Science.
In the Huntington - Charleston market WSAZ - NBC is one of the most dominant TV stations in the country, never having gotten a rating lower than twice the combined ratings of the ABC and CBS stations. (This is mostly due to WSAZ actually covering the market, which spans 66 counties in 3 states, while the ABC station covers only who murdered whom in the west side of Charleston yesterday, and the CBS station is just 100% WV politics and Pittsburgh/WVU sports.)
So the all time weatherman would be Jule Huffman, who also was "Mr. Cartoon" which was one of those deals where they brought in kids to the studio.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=iVT5Pe8ugQM
The current guy, is his replacement, who is now nearing retirement, Tony Cavalier (which sounds like a stage name, but they swear it isn't)
https://www.wsaz.com/authors/Tony/
WRAL used to have Greg Fishel, which is a God in Raleigh. He was the best when it came to predicting very complex situations like the 2000 Winter Storm and Florence in 2018. Now he's moved and retired.
Other ones from the station includes Elizabeth Gardner and Mike Maze, along with Brian Shrader.
ABC11 has Big Weather, known as Don Schwenneker. Been there since 2011, and provides the best forecasts as well.
Bill Reh for CBS17 as well.
Quote from: bing101 on October 09, 2023, 09:05:15 PMDang Sacramento TV Stations has produced TV Talent that later became legendary in the top 10 TV Markets.
For weather specifically if I were to make a pick it's Mark Finan for KCRA-TV.
https://www.kcra.com/news-team/91e58f02-41cd-4c99-b4a8-29a4ac6c16e4
Finan announced his upcoming retirement a couple months ago and his final shows are today, after 33 years at the station.
Mark Skirto in Tyler. Mark recently had a stroke, rehabbed and went back to work , but has finally retired.
(https://gray-kltv-prod.cdn.arcpublishing.com/resizer/v2/https%3A%2F%2Fs3.amazonaws.com%2Farc-authors%2Fgray%2Ff4b30e4d-2592-41fb-946a-ee82571c6aa2.png?auth=b98a05a823b3d591f98cfd521b49014386512eae66dd5e3fded4822667a8ee8e&width=400&height=600&smart=true)
Missed this when it was posted last year.
Quote from: vdeane on October 09, 2023, 03:29:18 PMFor the Albany area it's Steve Caporizzo of News10 ABC (WTEN) and Fox23 (WXXA). He also does Pet Connection.
Agreed on Steve Caporizzo taking this title among the current Albany TV meteorologists, and I don't think it's close.
Longer-term, my vote would be for Bob Kovachik. He retired from WNYT within the last few years (https://wnyt.com/top-stories/bob-kovachick-wraps-up-his-run-as-wnyt-chief-meteorologist/), after long stints at both WTEN and WNYT. His knowledge and explanations of local microclimates seemed way ahead of his time and no one got more excited to forecast a classic nor'easter. My favorite local weather team of all time in this area was when WNYT featured Bob Kovachik weeknights, with Norm Sebastian, who died way too young, getting the next most high profile time slots, and with reports from "The Skiing Weatherman", Herb Stevens.
Quote from: formulanone on October 09, 2023, 06:37:54 PMQuote from: clong on October 09, 2023, 04:34:36 PMQuote from: vdeane on October 09, 2023, 03:29:18 PMJudging by the memes I've seen on Facebook, I'm assuming the answer for much of Alabama is James Spann.
James Spann is the correct answer for the Birmingham market.
He's iconic enough that sometimes people from the other ends of the country ask me if I know who he is when they find out where I'm from.
James Spann is right up there with coach Saban as the most popular person in Alabama. I enjoy listening to James Spann's weekly podcast Weatherbrains, which recently aired its 1,000th episode.
Quote from: zzcarp on October 11, 2023, 10:22:33 AMGrowing up in Cleveland, Dick Goddard was considered the gold standard for meteorologist. He was with Channel 8 (WJW) for 50 years before retiring in 2016.
One other iconic Cleveland weatherman was Al Roker who served for 5 years at Channel 3 news in the late 70s/early 80s before he moved to New York and eventually the Today Show. I remember meeting him when I was 4 or 5 years old when he was grand marshal of some parade in Oberlin.
Goddard was the weather king in Cleveland. Started on KYW in Cleveland, then when Westinghouse Broadcasting owner KYW moved back to Philly in the mid 60s, Goddard went with them for a short stint before coming back to Cleveland and WJW.
Goddard's legacy lives on with his annual fall Woolybear Festival In Vermilion, the Goddard Law in Ohio which protects animals from human abuse, and the short stretch of dead end road where WJW is located on was renamed Dick Goddard Way.
Quote from: vdeane on October 09, 2023, 03:29:18 PMFor the Albany area it's Steve Caporizzo of News10 ABC (WTEN) and Fox23 (WXXA). He also does Pet Connection.
Steve has since announced his retirement - he'll be retiring from weather in June. He plans to still do Pet Connection, however. He will be missed.
Quote from: XamotCGC on October 09, 2023, 04:57:22 PMFor Louisville Ky, I want to say ether Tom Wills and John Belski from Wave 3 or Chuck Taylor from Whas 11.
Marc Weinberg from WDRB would probably disagree with you. He and Chris Bailey from WKYT seem to have this mutual dislike for each other on Twitter.
Quote from: hbelkins on April 07, 2025, 05:27:08 PMQuote from: XamotCGC on October 09, 2023, 04:57:22 PMFor Louisville Ky, I want to say ether Tom Wills and John Belski from Wave 3 or Chuck Taylor from Whas 11.
Marc Weinberg from WDRB would probably disagree with you. He and Chris Bailey from WKYT seem to have this mutual dislike for each other on Twitter.
I don't know if Marc is the most iconic, but he's very much the best. He was my go-to when I lived down there.