Top weather forecaster announces retirement
Richards has worked for nearly 30 years in Central Florida
Glenn Richards, who has been reporting on the weather in Central Florida for nearly 30 years, has always been a planner.
He knew for years that he wanted to retire at age 55, and he accomplished that goal, as the former WOFL-Fox 35 chief meteorologist delivered his final forecast in mid-April.
“I’m happy to be moving on to a new phase in my life,” he said, recalling how he’s seen many TV professionals in their 50s and 60s pushed out of the industry as it evolves. “I never wanted to be one of those guys, and so, I had always planned on retiring at 55.”
Richards originally turned in his retirement papers last June, but the station asked him to stay on until September. That was eventually extended a couple of times, until he made the decision to officially retire in April.
His passion for weather began at a young age. Richards recalls assembling anemometers (wind-measuring devices) at 7 years old and begging his mother to allow him to sleep in the Florida room in the back of his Chicago home as thunderstorms rolled in.
“I’ve just always been a weather fanatic and still am,” he said. “To be able to get a degree in meteorology … and then working in television since 1988 is a dream come true.”
After graduating from Northern Illinois University in 1988, Richards began his career at WLFI-Channel 18 in Lafayette, Indiana. From there, he went to WROC-Channel 8 in Rochester, New York. In 1993, he made the move to Central Florida, where he worked for WFTV-Channel 9 as the ABC affiliate’s chief meteorologist. When his contract wasn’t renewed, he joined Fox 35 as the station’s chief meteorologist in 2003.
Over the years, Richards has covered many memorable weather happenings. His first weekend on the job at WFTV-Channel 9 was the 1993 Storm of the Century, in which a cyclone moved through the Gulf of Mexico and then the eastern United States. Parts of the Panhandle were covered in snow.
“Everybody said that the weather down in Florida was going to be easy, but not so much,” he said. “There was crazy wind and damage across Florida.”
Richards kept Central Floridians informed during the 1998 tornado outbreak that left 42 dead as well as the 2004 hurricane season, in which hurricanes Charley, Frances, Ivan and Jeanne wreaked havoc on the Sunshine State. And over the last few years, he’s covered the region’s active hurricane seasons where “we’re running of names” for storms.
“We thank Glenn for his two decades of service to the viewers of FOX 35,” Melissa
Medalie, Fox 35 vice president and news director, wrote in an email. “He has earned this well-deserved retirement to spend time with his family. We wish him the very best.”
In retirement, Richards said he misses forecasting as well as the people.
“Whenever I did the weather on TV, I always felt like who I was talking to was my mom on the other side of the camera … even though I couldn’t see people, I loved having that feeling of a connection to people via the television,” he said, noting he also misses his colleagues who share a “love for this industry.”
“Weather is a joy,” he said. “At times it can be serious, but for the most part, enjoy it because I am.”
Now he’s looking forward to returning to a “normal life,” where he and his wife, Marcel, can spend evenings together — something he has been unable to do for about 27 years. In fact, they’ve already taken advantage of this free time by watching all six seasons of “Downton Abbey.”
“I really think just spending time with family and friends in a normal lifestyle is the biggest thing,” he said.
Richards plans to divide his time between Florida and Minnesota, where he rents vacation properties and is involved with Voyageur Outward Bound School, an organization that offers outdoor expeditions to families, children, veterans and more.
“A big passion of mine is being in the outdoors and helping youth to appreciate that there’s more than Facebook, Twitter, social media,” he said. “You need to get out there and you need to spend time in nature not just for an afternoon, but you need to spend nights and days and weeks out there so you can learn about yourself.”
He hopes to continue pursuing both of his passions.
“I still get to enjoy my weather every day in the same way, and I’m still going to be involved in the outdoors,” he said. “I’m very fortunate to have been able to live my adult years doing something that I truly would have always done for free.”
In addition to Richards’ retirement, there have been a few other recent Fox 35 departures, including anchors Charles Billi, Stephen Hauck and Heather Gustafson who announced in March on Facebook that she was leaving the station.
“Thank you so much to everyone who tuned in and supported along the way,” she wrote. “It was an absolute pleasure to bring you the news over the last three and a half years and I thank you for letting me into your homes.”
Billi and Gustafson did not immediately respond to requests for comment for this story.