'Chicago's Very Own' Meteorologist To Retire In Early 2024

CHICAGO ­— Tom Skilling, who has become a household name among residents around the greater Chicago area as WGN’s long-time meteorologist, announced on Thursday night that he will be leaving the airwaves early next year.

Skilling, the face of Channel 9’s weather department for 45 years, announced during the network’s newscast on Thursday night that he will retire in February.

His last day on the air will be Feb. 28, Skilling said.

“There’s no formula for this,” Skilling said during the announcement on WGN’s Evening News. “I am going to retire at the end of February after a marvelous 45 years at this incredible television station. We all get to a point where we have to make a decision. ‘Is it time to retire? It’s the toughest decision.”

According to the network, Skilling is a multiple Emmy Award-winner from the Chicago/Midwest chapter of the National Academy of Television Arts & Sciences and funds a scholarship to assist a local college student each year.

He was presented with the Illinois Broadcasters Association “Broadcast Pioneer” award in 2018.

Skilling began his weather broadcasting career at the age of 14 at WKKD in Aurora and, over the years, has become a reliable source of weather forecasting. He gained increased popularity in recent years after breaking down on the air while reporting in downstate Illinois during a solar eclipse.

“If you had told young Tom Skilling that he would go on to have a career in weather spanning seven decades, working in Chicago, with some truly wonderful people, I think he would be overjoyed,” Skilling said in a statement released by WGN. “And that’s how I feel today. Overjoyed at the colleagues I’ve worked with, the viewers I’ve met, (and) the stories I’ve covered. Overjoyed and grateful. I wouldn’t trade a single minute of it for anything.”