TV Weatherman John Coleman Retires

John Coleman, the onetime Champaign TV weather forecaster who went on to found the Weather Channel is retiring at age 79.  

Coleman was a University of Illinois student in the 1950s when he got his start on Champaign’s WCIA-TV, forecasting the weather and hosting a teen dance show. His irreverent approach to the weather gained wider exposure at other TV stations in Milwaukee and Chicago, as well as nationally on ABC’s “Good Morning America”.

In the 1980s, Coleman developed the concept for The Weather Channel, and oversaw its first year of operation.

In later years, Coleman gained supporters and critics for his criticism of global warming science.

Coleman spent the last 20 years at KUSI in San Diego, which posted his retirement letter on its website yesterday. In it, Coleman wrote, "Now is the time to wind down the professional working part of my life and make the most of my private time in the years I have left."