Jim Kosek is an American television
meteorologist
A meteorologist is a scientist who studies and works in the field of meteorology aiming to understand or predict Earth's atmospheric phenomena including the weather. Those who study meteorological phenomena are meteorologists in research, while t ...
currently working as the chief meteorologist at
WAND
A wand is a thin, light-weight rod that is held with one hand, and is traditionally made of wood, but may also be made of other materials, such as metal or plastic.
Long versions of wands are often styled in forms of staves or sceptres, which c ...
in
Decatur, Illinois
Decatur ( ) is the largest city and the county seat of Macon County in the U.S. state of Illinois, with a population of 70,522 as of the 2020 Census. The city was founded in 1829 and is situated along the Sangamon River and Lake Decatur in Ce ...
. Kosek is best known for his presentation style, which includes loud exclamations, exaggerated motions, tie-ins to popular culture, and screaming comparable to that popularized by comedian
Sam Kinison
Samuel Burl Kinison ( ; December 8, 1953 – April 10, 1992) was an American stand-up comedian and actor. A former Pentecostal preacher, he performed stand-up routines that were characterized by intense sudden tirades, punctuated with his distinc ...
.
[Athas, Eric (February 13, 2010)]
AccuWeather forecaster Jim Kosek's over-the-top antics make him a Web sensation
''The Washington Post''. Retrieved 2011-04-07.
Career
Jim Kosek studied meteorology at
Penn State University
The Pennsylvania State University (Penn State or PSU) is a public state-related land-grant research university with campuses and facilities throughout Pennsylvania. Founded in 1855 as the Farmers' High School of Pennsylvania, Penn State became ...
, and after graduation found employment with
AccuWeather
AccuWeather Inc. is an American media company that provides commercial weather forecasting services worldwide.
AccuWeather was founded in 1962 by Joel N. Myers, then a Pennsylvania State University graduate student working on a master's degree i ...
in 1985. He started out as a rather straightfaced weatherman, but began acting quite strangely from the 1990s onward. He has been described by ''Business Insider'' as "the
Bill O'Reilly of weather",
by ''
The Washington Post
''The Washington Post'' (also known as the ''Post'' and, informally, ''WaPo'') is an American daily newspaper published in Washington, D.C. It is the most widely circulated newspaper within the Washington metropolitan area and has a large nati ...
'' as "
Al Roker
Albert Lincoln Roker Jr. (born August 20, 1954) is an American weather presenter, journalist, television personality, and author. He is the current weather anchor on NBC's ''Today'', and occasionally co-hosts '' 3rd Hour Today''. He has an ina ...
meets Sam Kinison,"
and by
Jimmy Kimmel
James Christian Kimmel (born November 13, 1967) is an American television host, comedian, writer, and producer. He is the host and executive producer of ''Jimmy Kimmel Live!'', a late-night talk show that premiered on ABC on January 26, 2003, ...
as the equivalent of "
Glenn Beck
Glenn Lee Beck (born February 10, 1964) is an American conservative political commentator, radio host, entrepreneur, and television producer. He is the CEO, founder, and owner of Mercury Radio Arts, the parent company of his television and rad ...
becom
nga meteorologist." His last day with Accuweather was January 11, 2012.
He began employment as Chief Meteorologist for
KTVX
KTVX (channel 4) is a television station in Salt Lake City, Utah, United States, affiliated with ABC. It is owned by Nexstar Media Group alongside Ogden-licensed CW owned-and-operated station KUCW (channel 30). Both stations share studios o ...
ABC 4 in
Salt Lake City
Salt Lake City (often shortened to Salt Lake and abbreviated as SLC) is the Capital (political), capital and List of cities and towns in Utah, most populous city of Utah, United States. It is the county seat, seat of Salt Lake County, Utah, Sal ...
, Utah on January 18, 2012, and ended his employment sometime in the summer of 2014. He was replaced by Dan Pope who returned to KTVX.
After KTVX, Kosek began presenting weather at
KCTV
KCTV (channel 5) is a television station in Kansas City, Missouri, United States, affiliated with CBS. It is owned by Gray Television alongside MyNetworkTV affiliate KSMO-TV (channel 62). Both stations share studios on Shawnee Mission Parkway ...
in
Kansas City, Missouri
Kansas City (abbreviated KC or KCMO) is the largest city in Missouri by population and area. As of the 2020 census, the city had a population of 508,090 in 2020, making it the 36th most-populous city in the United States. It is the central ...
.
He joined
WGCL-TV
WANF (channel 46) is a television station in Atlanta, Georgia, United States, affiliated with CBS. It is the flagship property of locally based Gray Television and is co-owned with independent station WPCH-TV (channel 17) and low-power, Cl ...
in Atlanta on December 1, 2014, and made his return to the Chief Meteorologist position. Jim's final day on WGCL was June 23, 2017, after being let go by the station. In December of that year, he joined
WLTZ
WLTZ (channel 38) is a television station in Columbus, Georgia, United States, affiliated with NBC and The CW Plus. It is owned by SagamoreHill Broadcasting, which maintains a shared services agreement (SSA) with Gray Television, owner of A ...
in
Columbus, Georgia
Columbus is a consolidated city-county located on the west-central border of the U.S. state of Georgia. Columbus lies on the Chattahoochee River directly across from Phenix City, Alabama. It is the county seat of Muscogee County, with which it ...
as the station's chief meteorologist and held that position until August 2019.
See also
*
Al Kaprielian
Alan "Al" Kaprielian is a meteorologist in New Hampshire. He is best known for the 20+ years he has spent at Channel 50, a broadcast television station in Derry, New Hampshire. One journalist described him as a ''Kult of Kaprielian'' due to his ...
References
External links
Fan page on FacebookJim Kosek's videos on Accuweather.com
American television meteorologists
Year of birth missing (living people)
Living people
Pennsylvania State University alumni
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