Favorite local or national meteoroligist???

[2 Seam Fastball]

Who is your favorite local or national meteorologist on TV or Radio that you like the most? I like watching Janice Huff on News Channel 4 in NYC and Chris Cimino, and John Marshall. Also I like Al Roker on the Today show.

[Ed Mahmoud]

Ron Perillo was the best small market guy I ever saw, in LFT, LA. Jim Cantore was much better as an on-camera met than as some special update person (the hurricane and blizzard hunting is ok), ENRON exec Jeff Skilling's brother best big market guy I see on TV. Dr. Neil Frank is reasonably good.



When I was a kid in NY area, none of the on air people were mets, best I could tell. Dr. Frank was an opthamologist, as I recall, Tex Antoine was funny (until a bad rape joke got him fired), and I think everyone read verbatim either the NWS or the AccuWx forecast. I guess it has changed, but 'Sam Champion' looks like a guy hired for looks, not skill. The male version of Jillian, the FoxSports NFL forecast girl.



Does Los Angeles have real mets? I'd guess 350 days of sun, some with morning marine layer fog, and less than 2 weeks worth of flash floods wouldn't really need it, and I get the impression Tinseltown is all about looks.

[RL3AO]

Paul Douglas in the Twin Cities. He owns a radar company and is a multi-millionaire and does his job without pay for WCCO.

[2 Seam Fastball]

I remember back in the 1990 's NYC had a very funny weather guy named Lloyd Lindsey Young he was on CH 9 he would always say HHHHEEEELLLLLLLLOOOOOOOO then a town or city as his intro. I wonder what happened to him and where he is now.

[CajunMama]

Ed, Rob Perillo is still here in Lafayette. He's the real deal and doesn't fluff the weather and explains things in layman terms. He must really like raising his family here. So much that he switched stations here.

[cag1953]

I remember back in the 1990 's NYC had a very funny weather guy named Lloyd Lindsey Young he was on CH 9 he would always say HHHHEEEELLLLLLLLOOOOOOOO then a town or city as his intro. I wonder what happened to him and where he is now.

Oh my god! We lived in Evansville,Indiana in the early 80's and Lloyd Lindsey Young was working there then. There was never a dull moment when he did the weather!

[jasons2k]

1. Roy Leep - so many "firsts" - from Wikipedia: "He was first with color radar, first with satellite weather, first with Doppler and was considered one of the most trusted meteorologists in America for many years."
2. Harold Taft - the "World's Greatest Weatherman"
3. David Finfrock
4. Tossup between James Spann and Pat Prokop
--------------
I think Dr. Frank is a brilliant forecaster and bar-none the best NHC Director, but I have to say he's not the best OCM. He frequently gets tongue-tied and misnames places, etc. Part of that may be trying to cram too much information in such a short period of time, which affects his delivery.

[angelwing]

Jim O'Brien back in the early 80's on Channel 6 ABC in Philly. Was a great young guy, great sense of humor who unfortunately died from a skydiving accident (the same day my future husband was on a friend's roof)

[Cyclone1]

Stephanie Abrams... she's an attractive, intellignet, fun, Floridian gator-fan who loves hurricanes! She's perfect!!!

I'll stick with TWC mets, and say Abrams, Cantore and Lyons are my favorites. And of course, hard to beat John Hope.

[2 Seam Fastball]

On TWC how can you not like Dave Schwartz? He is too funny. Gators How about that Tim Tebow?

[Cyclone1]

On TWC how can you not like Dave Schwartz?

Honestly, he seems like he's always drunk.

He actually hit on Betty Davis on-air once. "Shwartz: It's getting cold, time to bundle up. Maybe I could bundle you up, Betty, and you could bundle me up?" "Davis: Oh my..."

True.

[TxWxFrisco]

Harold Taft, God rest his soul, had a direct line to Mother Nature... Or so my dad always told me... Harold is who got me interested in weather as a kid...

Here is an old picture of Harold using a paper map to describe the weather...

I miss that type of local news met...

http://www.stormtrack.org/tim/haroldtaftpapermap.jpg
(credit to the original poster of this image...)

[jasons2k]

Hey TxWxFrisco - yep Harold Taft was a true legend and one of the great ones. It was a tough call me for to put him after Roy as Harold had his share of "firsts" as well. Harold had probably the most likeable on-air persona.

Roy tips the scale for me because of what he was able to do in a much smaller (translation: much less funded) TV market. The staff, technology, and operation as a whole at WTVT dwarfs that of those in much larger markets; it may be the largest TV weather operation in the US besides TWC. And it all was conceived and built by Roy.

Here is a trip down memory lane, complete with paper maps, etc.:

http://www.big13.net/wxstory.htm

[TxWxFrisco]

Very cool jasons, I wish that Harold had a tribute type page like that... I will always remember looking at that old black and white radar screen trying to figure out where the hell the white fuzzy blob (precipitation) was in relation to my house which was about 40 miles north east of Dallas...

Good times, good times...

[2 Seam Fastball]

Back on TWC other meteorologists I like are Stephanie Abrams, Vivian Brown, Carl Parker, and Christina Abernathy

[TxWxFrisco]

No disrespect intended but I don't see how anyone watches TWC... Don't get me wrong, I used to be a TWC addict back when they actually had some substance in their forecasts segments but now it is just fluff and how fast can we get to the next commercial break...

IMHO of course...

Just to add:

I think Cantori is the exception to the rule at TWC and I wish they would give him more air time to explain the workings of the weather. I do enjoy his broadcasts when he is allowed to explain things in his own terms...

[simplykristi]

Gary Lezak, KSHB 41's chief meteorologist.

Kristi

[Cyclone1]

Seam, I don't like Vivian Brown much.

"Gulf of Texas"...

[Tampa Bay Hurricane]

The severe weather analyst at TWC has an informed
perspective in my opinion.

[PTPatrick]

Not that many folks with have a clue about him...but Alan Seals from WKRG out of Mobile, AL is AWESOME. I have actually seen him cover for somebody on CNN I believe, But WKRG is his home base.