How Bob Ryan Originally Shook Up D.C. Weather

The Washington Post

Bob Ryan‘s decision to move from Channel 4 (WRC-TV) to Channel 7 (WJLA-TV), where he debuted on May 17, might seem like a bombshell. After all, Ryan had been at WRC for a full three decades. But his arrival in D.C. back in 1980 was a major event of its own, with implications for both local and national weathercasting.

Ryan came onto the Washington scene as part of an unusual job switch with none other than Willard Scott, who was a fixture in the D.C. media world before gaining national fame on NBC’s “Today” show. Ryan had served two years, from 1978 to 1980, as the first on-camera broadcast meteorologist for “Today.” More…