Kathleen "Kathy" Orr is a

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 ...

, for the Fox 29 Weather Authority team on

WTXF WTXF-TV (channel 29) is a television station in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, airing programming from the Fox network. Owned and operated by the network's Fox Television Stations division, the station maintains studios on Market ...

Philadelphia Philadelphia, often called Philly, is the List of municipalities in Pennsylvania#Municipalities, largest city in the Commonwealth (U.S. state), Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, the List of United States cities by population, sixth-largest city i ...

Pennsylvania Pennsylvania (; ( Pennsylvania Dutch: )), officially the Commonwealth of Pennsylvania, is a state spanning the Mid-Atlantic, Northeastern, Appalachian, and Great Lakes regions of the United States. It borders Delaware to its southeast, ...

Background

She is a graduate of the

S. I. Newhouse School of Public Communications The S.I. Newhouse School of Public Communications, commonly known as Newhouse School, is the communications and journalism school of Syracuse University in Syracuse, NY. It has programs in print and broadcast journalism; music business; graphic ...

at Syracuse University. Orr has her

National Weather Association The National Weather Association (NWA), founded in 1975, is an American professional association with a mission to support and promote excellence in operational meteorology and related activities. Background The National Weather Association is, ...

and American Meteorological Society seals of approval in addition to being an AMS (number 106) Certified Broadcast Meteorologist. On November 22, 2013, Orr was inducted into the Broadcast Pioneers of Philadelphia Hall of Fame.

Career in Philadelphia

Orr joined KYW-TV in January 2003 as their chief meteorologist, making her debut on the same night as Marc Howard, who had been an anchor on

WPVI WPVI-TV (channel 6), branded on-air as 6 ABC, is a television station in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, airing programming from the ABC network. Owned and operated by the network's ABC Owned Television Stations division, the station ...

, the ABC O&O in Philadelphia. She came from

WCAU-TV WCAU (channel 10) is a television station in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, airing programming from the NBC network. It is owned and operated by the network's NBC Owned Television Stations division alongside Mount Laurel, New Jerse ...

where she had worked as a weekend Meteorologist. She was reportedly asked to be chief meteorologist at

WCAU WCAU (channel 10) is a television station in Philadelphia, Pennsylvania, United States, airing programming from the NBC network. It is owned and operated by the network's NBC Owned Television Stations division alongside Mount Laurel, New Jer ...

when

John Bolaris John Bolaris (born June 27, 1957) is an American television meteorologist and realtor. He has worked as the Chief Meteorologist for '' Weekend Today'', NBC 10, WCBS and Fox 29. Bolaris currently works as the President of BlackLabel Luxury Real ...

left but turned that down when she received a better salary offer from KYW-TV for chief meteorologist there. The offer at WCAU was ultimately taken by

Glenn Schwartz Glenn W. Schwartz (March 20, 1940 – November 2, 2018) was an American guitarist who first came to the attention of rock music audiences as the original guitar player of the James Gang, based in Cleveland, Ohio. Career Schwartz left the Jame ...

. Shortly after coming to the station, Orr is credited with coming up with the name "Live Mega Doppler 3" for their radar. She also was the first to develop a summer series highlighting the Jersey Shore. For over 12 years "Orr at the Shore," aired on Thursdays between Memorial Day and Labor Day. In August, 2011, it was announced that Orr, with a desire to spend more time with her family, would only be handling the 10 p.m. weather on the CW Philly 57, and the 11 p.m. weather on CBS3. Morning meteorologist Kate Bilo took over Orr's vacancy at 5 and 6 p.m. She was fired at CBS3 in July 2015 along with sports director Beasley Reece when new management took over. On September 13, 2015, Orr announced on 94.1 WIP radio that she would be returning to full-time at FOX 29 and would now be doing afternoon and evening shows at 5, 6, 10, and 11pm.

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Orr, Kathy Living people American meteorologists Television personalities from Syracuse, New York Syracuse University alumni Scientists from New York (state) Year of birth missing (living people)