Thomas Ethelbert Skilling III was born on February 20,1952 and is a former American television meteorologist.
17 Facts About Tom Skilling
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The oldest of four children, Tom Skilling was born at Magee Hospital in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to Thomas Jr.
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Tom Skilling observed that WKKD's forecasts were inaccurate because they were for Chicago and not Aurora, so he approached WKKD and offered to forecast the weather for several days, with the condition that if his forecasts were accurate he would be hired to host his own weather program.
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Tom Skilling's forecasts were accurate, and he was hired to forecast Aurora's weather three times a day.
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Tom Skilling attended the University of Wisconsin in Madison to study meteorology and journalism.
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In 1975 Tom Skilling took his first major-market television position, becoming the lead forecaster at WITI-TV in Milwaukee.
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Tom Skilling returned to the Chicago area and joined WGN-TV on August 13,1978.
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Tom Skilling was WGN-TV's chief meteorologist and was rumored to be the highest-paid local broadcast meteorologist in the United States.
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Tom Skilling had written the daily weather column for the Chicago Tribune.
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That feature, Ask Tom Skilling, ceased in August 2022 with a redesign of the weather page.
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Tom Skilling has long been hailed for his in-depth reports and striking accuracy, perhaps best highlighted by his correctly predicting the Groundhog Day blizzard in 2011 almost two weeks before it paralyzed the Chicago area.
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Tom Skilling narrated the documentaries It Sounded Like a Freight Train and When Lightning Strikes for the station, about the science and dangers of tornadoes and lightning.
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Tom Skilling announced on October 12,2023 that he would be retiring from WGN-TV on February 28,2024.
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Tom Skilling is a member of the American Meteorological Society and National Weather Association.
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Tom Skilling hosted annual tornado and severe weather seminars at the Fermi National Accelerator Lab in Batavia, Illinois.
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In January 1995, Tom Skilling received an Honorary Doctorate of Humanities from Lewis University in Romeoville, Illinois.
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On May 2,2024, Tom Skilling was announced as the Grand Marshall of the 2024 Woodstock Pridefest.