Longtime AccuWeather/WINS Weather Forecaster Jim Kosek Heads to Salt Lake City

Regular listeners to 1010 WINS know meteorologist Jim Kosek. For more than 15 years, Kosek has been one of the weekday forecasters on WINS. His reports originated at AccuWeather in State College, Pennsylvania. As is the case at Total Traffic (formerly Shadow Traffic), meteorologists have several stations to file reports for during a shift. Heard mostly on afternoons and evenings, Kosek's over-the-top personality is a stark opposite to the usual all-news fare heard on WINS. Kosek has gained a cult following of sorts online for his one-part wild delivery, one-part accurate forecasting. After more than 20 years at AccuWeather, Kosek left snowy Western PA for snowy Utah. He's been named the chief meteorologist at the ABC affiliate in Salt Lake City, where he started last week. After so many years at one shop, Kosek says it was time to branch out. "You're spread so thin at AccuWeather," Kosek tells FishbowlNY. He maintained a presence on a handful of radio stations, but would monitor for severe weather and in turn additional reports. Kosek kept busy with plenty of on-camera prognosticating for the AccuWeather website. He did specialty forecasts for up to 20 cities. But he's no stranger to TV audiences. When AccuWeather expanded the facilities in the late 1990s, television studios were included. MSNBC was the first client. "My first day on there was New Year's Eve, going into the new millenium," Kosek recalls. "That was the first day that I was able to get on air, and it just started building up from that." In the last dozen years, as AccuWeather expanded its reach with TV and Internet, so has Kosek. But now he can concentrate on a specific area--in this case---the greater Salt Lake metropolis. "That's what I was looking for, for the longest time," Kosek says. "Despite many people and colleagues who tell me 'You'll be bored to tears.'" Kosek's time at AccuWeather, especially infiltrating the New York market at WINS, was a defining moment in his career. He'll miss it "without a doubt." The popular WINS weather personality will also "miss" a few "fans" who called on a regular basis. "After awhile they ask questions about your family, so you kind of get to know them in that respect, even though you never met them face-to-face," Kosek says. Those interactions made his decision difficult to end a nearly quarter-century affiliation. Even harder, Kosek is separated from his wife and son, who are back in PA as they look to sell their house. But Kosek is deeply diving into his new digs. "Is this going to be some of the high-octane antics that are on You Tube?" Kosek ponders. "Not to the same extreme, but only a notch or two below that."

Fishbowl

Longtime AccuWeather/WINS Weather Forecaster Jim Kosek Heads to Salt Lake City

Jerry Barmash

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Jerry Barmash