It is with great sadness that I announce this. John Coleman was a true hero of mine, and a great friend. He made gigantic contributions to television, to weather forecasting, and even to the National Weather Service who changed and upgraded many of their methods to accommodate the visionary ideas he had in founding the Weather Channel.
In 1983, Coleman won the American Meteorological Society award for Outstanding Service by a Broadcast Meteorologist. The organization credited Coleman for “his pioneering efforts in establishing a national cable weather channel,” according to the AMS website.
I last saw John Coleman a couple of months ago in Chicago at a gathering of TV meteorologists and climate skeptics. He was as jovial and as witty as ever.
To say “he will be missed”, is an understatement.
From NBC, San Diego,
John Coleman, the jovial and energetic meteorologist who delighted San Diego television viewers for two decades and angered scientists for insisting that climate change is a hoax, died Saturday. He was 83.
Coleman died at his home in Las Vegas, while surrounded by family, according to KUSI-TV, where he served as a forecaster from 1994 to 2014, when he retired.
His retirement capped a 60-year career during which Coleman co-founded the Weather Channel, which began as a little seen offering in the early days of cable television to a popular source of coverage of everything from blizzards and hurricanes to California’s wind-driven wildfires.
Alex Tardy, a forecaster at the National Weather Service, said Sunday,
“‘This is a big loss for the weather community. He brought a lot of energy and color and enthusiasm to forecasting. My kids loved watching him on TV.”
Tardy also said Coleman never tried to push his skepticism about climate change being man made.
“We had good talks,” Tardy said. “I enjoyed it.’
My condolences to his family, and to his extended professional family, and to his friends who worked along with him, especially his co-founding partner, Joe D’Aleo.
ADDED:
In his second to last comment on WUWT, back in September 2017, John said this in response to this story: Guardian: Climate Denial is the Fault of Old White People
I am old
I am white
I am a denier
Guess they are correct. I will die. So will the others. Then things will be settled.
Got it.
This was my all-time favorite comment from him, in response to WUWT’s 10 year milestone:
10 years. What is the big deal. I worked two of my several jobs for 20 plus years and no one even noted the tenth anniversary. Anthony, you have a great website, you are a great friend and a hero of mine. Now, cancel the celebration and get back to work. The next eight years (the Trump administration) will be super big for you and your website. Hundreds of thousands of people are going to become interested the skeptical view of global warming/ climate change. I have already noted an uptick for my essay. Your site is about to explode with new readers. Do your best work starting now and don’t stop until the victory is yours.
Thanks John, for everything.
UPDATE: I spoke with his wife Linda, who called me this morning with the news just after I had posted this. She said his death was “sudden and unexpected”, but was likely related to his COPD illness he had been battling. I also spoke to Joe D’Aleo, who was his TWC co-founder. My heart goes out to both of them.
Joe and John had been working on a book about the founding of the Weather Channel, the trials, and tribulations of it, and the successes of those early years. Joe said he will be finishing the book, and adding a final chapter.
No arrangements have been made yet. I’ll add an update when I know.
– Anthony
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With the greatest of respect to those who are, were I religious, I would wish John God speed.
I don’t believe the human spirit is extinguished by death, so I hope he returns as a climate sceptic virus.
Sad day for weather/climate science. John C was an observationist and scrupulous about weather history and documented facts. No one should be surprised that he was also known as a gentleman with an appropriate sense of humor
Those are characteristics of true scientists – integrity, humility, and absence of ego. Great man, great loss.
Best wishes to his family and colleagues
Larger than life
Sunrise smile
Weatherman extraordinaire
Truth, with Style.
God be with you and yours, John Coleman.
+1
Often the regrets of the loss of a public figure are limited to the loss of their contributions to the public
I’m one of the “we” who didn’t know him personally but still regret his loss. Like REP, he sounds like a man I would have liked to have known personally.
My prayers for those to which his loss was personal.
Ditto. I pray for his surviving family, and hope they find comfort in his passing.
Another voice of reason can no more speak, but the words he said will forever stay in the minds of those who carry on the defense of science against the post-modern progressive perversion of it.
The skeptic position can only be defeated through attrition.
I may have seen a Weather Channel broadcast a few times, <5. (?)
My only knowledge of John was via WUWT — I always read his comments.
Knowing him via comments – I am saddened.
This is one of John’s videos that converted me to skepticism. I have recommended it over and over to folks who claim that they’re skeptics of skepticism. Posted in his memory:
Excellent, Pop. Thank you.
R.I.P John Coleman. I grew up in the Chicago area and remember watching John do the local forcast. I also remember when WLS TV put their transmitter antenna on top of the Sears tower. John did a video where he was dancing on top of the Sears tower singing “I can see clearly now the ghost is gone” to the tune of the Johnny Nash song.
Back in the day with broadcast TV a ghost image was ever present as the video portion of the broadcast is in AM.
Me too .
I was fortunate enough to be able to chat with this icon of my childhood nostalgically ( two ton Baker ) and seriously over some bar closing beers at one of the early Heartland conferences .
Very sad
Rip John Coleman
A sad day. Rest in Peace.
A sad loss.
Condolences to John’s family and to you, his great friend, Anthony. John’s friendly smile will be missed.
He was also a hero of mine. He will be missed.
Saddened by this news. He was a great man and champion of weather. He will be missed. Condolances to friends and family.
John Coleman’s essay on global warming:
By John Coleman
“Climate Change is happening.” You bet it is. The climate of planet Earth has been constantly changing for as long as we have any records. Look at the chart below. [etc., etc.]
https://johncolemanblog.com/
John Coleman – we need more people to tell it like it is.
10 year celebration – No, i did not celebrate 10 years at my job, but it was at least 10 years before I took a sick leave day.
Climate Skeptics are Modern Day Churchills
Modern climate skeptics share many of the characteristics of Winston Churchill, as well as challenges. Winston Churchill, like Patton, believed that they were born to fulfill a destiny. They both had unwavering confidence in their ability, and the role they would play in shaping world history. They paid untold personal costs and made huge personal sacrifices, all for the unselfish goal of protecting society from itself, or more accurately, the political left. The reward for protecting society and preserving freedom was extreme opposition, criticism, humiliation, failure, underminings, and misguided political demagoguery. Their crime? They were unafraid to speak the unpopular truth and unwaveringly defended it. They were unashamed and unafraid to oppose the political left.
https://co2islife.wordpress.com/2018/01/22/climate-skeptics-are-modern-day-churchills/
John Coleman is truly an American hero. RIP.
Thank you for this post, Anthony. John Coleman, may you rest in peace. One of America’s greatest citizens. Never forgotten.
John was a very honorable man. Let us remember him as such.
So sad to hear, he was a gentleman in the true sense of the world, something few give credit for in this modern age.
I pray John is enjoying eternal life with all the angles and saints. My condolences to his wife and family. I will miss him.
Dull-uthhh.
So sad to read of Mr Coleman’s passing. Rest well good sir.