Leon "Stormy" Rottman (1918 - January 15, 1993) was an American

weather forecaster 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 ...

and television host. After his experience with reporting weather conditions for the

U.S. Air Force The United States Air Force (USAF) is the air service branch of the United States Armed Forces, and is one of the eight uniformed services of the United States. Originally created on 1 August 1907, as a part of the United States Army Sign ...

during

World War II World War II or the Second World War, often abbreviated as WWII or WW2, was a world war that lasted from 1939 to 1945. It involved the vast majority of the world's countries—including all of the great powers—forming two opposing ...

and the

Korean War , date = {{Ubl, 25 June 1950 – 27 July 1953 (''de facto'')({{Age in years, months, weeks and days, month1=6, day1=25, year1=1950, month2=7, day2=27, year2=1953), 25 June 1950 – present (''de jure'')({{Age in years, months, weeks a ...

, Rottman began a civilian career as a weather presenter on both television and radio. He was the primary evening weatherman for many years at Channel 9 in

Denver Denver () is a consolidated city and county, the capital, and most populous city of the U.S. state of Colorado. Its population was 715,522 at the 2020 census, a 19.22% increase since 2010. It is the 19th-most populous city in the Unit ...

Colorado Colorado (, other variants) is a state in the Mountain states, Mountain West subregion of the Western United States. It encompasses most of the Southern Rocky Mountains, as well as the northeastern portion of the Colorado Plateau and the wes ...

Beginnings and military service

Leon Rottman was born in 1918 in

Chicago (''City in a Garden''); I Will , image_map = , map_caption = Interactive Map of Chicago , coordinates = , coordinates_footnotes = , subdivision_type = Country , subdivision_name ...

Illinois Illinois ( ) is a state in the Midwestern United States. Its largest metropolitan areas include the Chicago metropolitan area, and the Metro East section, of Greater St. Louis. Other smaller metropolitan areas include, Peoria and Rockf ...

."Leon "Stormy" M. Rottman (1918-1993)"
FAQs.org. Retrieved 3 August 2009. After enlisting in the U.S. Air Force, he was stationed in Kunming, China as a briefing officer. It was here that Rottman began forecasting weather conditions in the area, gaining the nickname "Stormy" that he would keep for the remainder of his career. During the Korean War, Rottman was stationed at

Chennault Air Force Base Chennault International Airport ( IATA: CWF, ICAO: KCWF, FAA LID: CWF) is a center of aerospace activity based in Lake Charles, Louisiana, serves the needs of civilian and military aircraft from around the world with world-class infrastructu ...

in Lake Charles,

Louisiana Louisiana , group=pronunciation (French: ''La Louisiane'') is a state in the Deep South and South Central regions of the United States. It is the 20th-smallest by area and the 25th most populous of the 50 U.S. states. Louisiana is borde ...

. While still a forecaster for the Air Force, Rottman also worked part-time at a local television station in the vicinity.Broadcast Pioneers Hall of Fame, 2003 Inductees
BroadcastProfessionals.net. Retrieved 3 August 2009. In the mid-1950s, Rottman could be heard presenting weather conditions and forecasts on

Armed Forces Radio The American Forces Network (AFN) is a government television and radio broadcast service the U.S. military provides to those stationed or assigned overseas. Headquartered at Fort George G. Meade, Maryland, AFN's broadcast operations, which i ...

Tokyo Tokyo (; ja, 東京, , ), officially the Tokyo Metropolis ( ja, 東京都, label=none, ), is the capital and List of cities in Japan, largest city of Japan. Formerly known as Edo, its metropolitan area () is the most populous in the world, ...

, Japan. He was transferred to the

North American Aerospace Defense Command North American Aerospace Defense Command (NORAD ), known until March 1981 as the North American Air Defense Command, is a combined organization of the United States and Canada that provides aerospace warning, air sovereignty, and protection ...

(NORAD) at the

Cheyenne Mountain Complex The Cheyenne Mountain Complex is a Space Force installation and defensive bunker located in unincorporated El Paso County, Colorado, next to the city of Colorado Springs, at the Cheyenne Mountain Space Force Station, which hosts the activities o ...

, near

Colorado Springs Colorado Springs is a home rule municipality in, and the county seat of, El Paso County, Colorado, United States. It is the largest city in El Paso County, with a population of 478,961 at the 2020 United States Census, a 15.02% increase since ...

, Colorado in 1957. In addition to serving as weatherman for Baker Crew at NORAD, Rottman also worked as a part-time forecaster for

KRDO-TV KRDO-TV (channel 13) is a television station in Colorado Springs, Colorado, United States, affiliated with ABC. It is owned by the News-Press & Gazette Company (NPG) alongside low-power Telemundo affiliate KTLO-LD (channel 46) and radio statio ...

, Channel 13 in Colorado Springs. He had another stint with Armed Forces Radio in the early 1960s, this time based in

Germany Germany,, officially the Federal Republic of Germany, is a country in Central Europe. It is the second most populous country in Europe after Russia, and the most populous member state of the European Union. Germany is situated betwe ...

Full-time television career

After his assignment in Germany had ended, Rottman retired from the Air Force as a lieutenant colonel in 1968. He then pursued a career as a weather forecaster, working at various radio and television stations across the United States throughout the 1960s. In 1969, Rottman began working for KBTV (now

KUSA Kusa or KUSA may refer to: * Kusa, Russia, a town in Chelyabinsk Oblast, Russia * Kusa, Latvia, a village in Madona District, Latvia * Kusa, Oklahoma, United States * Kusa, indigenous name of Beles River (in Gumuz language) * Kusa, Afghanistan ...

) in

, Colorado, where he remained for almost 20 years. For much of his stay at Channel 9, Rottman was the "Chief Meteorologist", generally delivering the primary weather segments during the 5PM and 10PM weekday newscasts. His quirky nickname and style of presenting weather forecasts made him a well-known local personality. When Channel 9 hired Rob Roseman as a daytime meteorologist in the 1980s, the station dubbed Roseman "Sunny" and created an advertising campaign featuring the two men with the tagline, "Sunny days and Stormy nights". Rottman continued working at KUSA until his retirement at age 70 in 1988.

Other work and death

While in Denver, Rottman also became the host of ''Senior Showcase'', a program focusing on issues relevant to elderly Coloradans. This show aired on

KRMA Krma is an alpine valley in the Julian Alps in the Upper Carniola region of northwestern Slovenia. The entire valley lies in Triglav National Park. Name The name ''Krma'' is of uncertain origin, possibly derived from a substrate root such as *'' ...

, one of two Public Broadcasting Service (PBS)

Public television Public broadcasting involves radio, television and other electronic media outlets whose primary mission is public service. Public broadcasters receive funding from diverse sources including license fees, individual contributions, public financing ...

stations serving Denver. Rottman died January 15, 1993, in Denver.

Legacy and awards

Rottman was awarded a Broadcaster of the Year award by the Colorado Broadcasters Association. In 2003, he was also inducted posthumously into the Broadcast Pioneers of Colorado Hall of Fame.

Metropolitan State University of Denver Metropolitan State University of Denver (MSU Denver or Metro State) is a public university in Denver, Colorado. MSU Denver is located on the Auraria Campus, along with the University of Colorado Denver and the Community College of Denver, i ...

(formerly Metropolitan State College of Denver) awards a Stormy Rottman Endowed Memorial Scholarship annually to a student majoring in meteorology."Careers: Matching Coursework and Career Paths"
Metro State College website. Retrieved 3 August 2009.

References

External links

Stormy Rottman Endowed Memorial Scholarship Fund info
{{DEFAULTSORT:Rottman, Stormy 1918 births 1993 deaths American television meteorologists Military personnel from Chicago United States Air Force officers