After More Than 66,000 Forecasts, Meteorologist Dennis Bowman Retiring
PITTSBURGH (KDKA) -- It's a monumental week here at KDKA.
After an estimated 66,600 forecasts, give or take, meteorologist Dennis Bowman is retiring this Friday.
Since 1972, Dennis has been helping people plan their days around the forecast and keeping them safe in times of severe weather.
That is more than 40 years of tracking tornadoes, blizzards, floods and everything else weather related.
He has worked in Missouri, Indiana, New York and Kansas, but for more than 25 years, Dennis has been right here in Pittsburgh - with 16 years at WPXI and a decade here at KDKA.
But his television career is not limited to just keeping you informed of the weather.
Back in the early days of TV, the weather man often was also their station's de facto "pitch man" and Dennis used his voice to sell everything from vacuum cleaners to grain silos.
While in Syracuse, he was also a game show host.
Remember "Bowling For Dollars?"
Dennis hosted the Syracuse version of that show.
He also hosted a children's show, as well as the "Miss Syracuse" and "Miss New York" pageants.
In fact, actress and singer Vanessa Williams was the first winner he crowned.
As many people know, Dennis is also an accomplished ventriloquist and has entertained thousands of people over the years with his pal, Chester Drawers.
Dennis and Chester have become pretty popular at local schools with their "Classroom Visits."
A Look Back At Dennis' Career:
- Check out more of Dennis' Classroom Weather visits!
- Dennis' Final 5-Day Forecast
- Dennis Signs Off For The Last Time
- Top 10 Weather Events In Dennis' Career
Over the years, Dennis has taught thousands of children about weather dangers and probably inspired a few along the way to become meteorologists.
But perhaps, more importantly, Dennis Bowman's legacy is his accurate and professional forecasting over the past 43 years, forecasting that you have come to depend on and has no doubt helped saved lives along the way.
In looking back on his career Dennis says, "The forecast will never be perfect, just as those of us who forecast it won't be. But it gets better and better all the time, and we can only imagine what the next four decades will bring."
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