Lebel comes home to Denver TV
Meteorologist Jessica Lebel, a Littleton native who has worked on TV in Grand Junction and Colorado Springs, has come back to the metro area for a job at KDVR-Channel 31 and KWGN-Channel 2.
“It helps that I know Colorado, and was born and raised in a suburb of Denver,” Lebel, 24, said of getting the highy competitive spot. “That’s what they look for: knowing the city, knowing what people like to do in Denver on their days off and growing up in the weather patterns of Colorado.”
Lebel, who made her Denver television debut March 18, arrives amid a revamping of KWGNChannel 2’s lineup, including the Jan. 23 return of Natalie Tysdal to coanchor “Daybreak” with Tom Green and the addition of newscasts at 4 p.m. and 11 p.m., as well a fresh marketing campaign for the station as “Colorado’s Own Channel 2.”
Lebel can be seen on the KDVR-Channel 31 Weekend News at 5, 9 and 10 p.m., and filling in during the week on KDVR and KWGN. She joins chief meteorologist Dave Fraser, Greg Dutra, Matt Makens and Chris Tomer on the Pinpoint Weather team.
Tribune Broadcasting, which owns Denver’s local Fox and CW affiliates, is also touting Lebel following news that Fraser and the Pinpoint Weather team were certified as “Colorado’s most accurate forecast by Weatherate, Inc.,” according to the station.
However, Lebel was so new to the job that she hadn’t even gotten her station-approved headshots taken when she talked to The Denver Post.
“I’m looking forward to growing in my forecasting skills, because obviously here in Denver we cover the whole state’s weather,” said the Arapahoe High School graduate, who enjoys skiing (Vail is her favorite resort) and hiking, but also playing piano and therapeutic horseback riding with special-needs kids. “The wide variety of terrain is what makes this market so special.”
Lebel left Colorado Springs’ CBS affiliate KKTV on March 8 after working there since December 2015, following stints as a meteorologist and multimedia journalist in Grand Junction at KKCO and KJCT, according to the Colorado Springs Gazette.
Lebel earned her bachelor’s degree in atmospheric science from the University of Kansas.
“She has forecasted in three Colorado communities and that gives her a unique perspective on our weather,” Fraser said in a press statement.
Seeing how quickly winds can pick up, and how quickly huge amounts of snow can fall, is something Lebel remembers from broadcasting in the field — particularly during whiteout conditions that shut down Interstate 25 near Monument Hill last year.
“My mom is thrilled because I’ve been away for six years from Denver, and all my family — grandma, aunts and uncles — are still here,” said Lebel, who moved back to Littleton recently. “And now it’s my time to come home.”
KDVR scored a 35 percent increase during February 2017 ratings sweeps for its 5-5:30 p.m. newscasts. At the same time, market leader KUSAChannel 9 was down 29 percent (from 2.91 to 2.08) and KCNC-Channel 4 was up 17 percent.