Tom Skilling

{{short description|American television meteorologist (born 1952)}} {{Use American English|date=April 2026}} {{Use mdy dates|date=February 2020}} {{Infobox person | name = Tom Skilling | nickname = | image = Tom Skilling, 2014 (cropped).jpg | caption = Skilling in 2014 | birth_date = {{birth date and age|1952|02|20}} | birth_place = Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania, U.S. | death_date = | death_place = | education = | occupation = Meteorologist | years_active = 1966–2024 | title = | family = Jeffrey Skilling (brother) | spouse = | credits = WGN-TV, WITI | agent = }}

'''Thomas Ethelbert Skilling III''' (born February 20, 1952) is a former American television meteorologist. From 1978 to his retirement in 2024, he worked as a meteorologist at WGN-TV in Chicago.<ref name="MPC-object" />

==Career== ===Beginnings=== The oldest of four children, Tom Skilling was born at Magee Hospital in Pittsburgh, Pennsylvania to Thomas Jr. and Betty (Clarke) Skilling. His early years were spent in Westfield, New Jersey. The family moved to the Chicago suburb of Aurora, Illinois, where he attended West Aurora High School. While in high school Skilling began his career in broadcasting at age 14, working for WKKD and WKKD-FM.<ref name="SkillingTrib">{{cite web |url=http://www.chicagotribune.com/about/chicagolive/chi-chicagolive-guest-skilling,0,6670285.photo |title=Tom Skilling |work=Chicago Tribune |url-access=subscription |access-date=January 3, 2013 |archive-date=January 10, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230110210941/https://www.chicagotribune.com/visuals/ |url-status=dead }}</ref> 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.<ref name="AuroraWeather">{{Cite news |title=Boy, 15, Forecasts Aurora Weather for Radio Station |newspaper=Chicago Tribune |date=January 4, 1968 |page=W2}}</ref> Skilling's forecasts were accurate, and he was hired to forecast Aurora's weather three times a day.<ref name="AuroraWeather"/> At age 18, he began working at WLXT-TV in Aurora.<ref name="SkillingTrib"/>

Skilling attended the University of Wisconsin in Madison to study meteorology and journalism. While attending the University of Wisconsin–Madison, he worked at WKOW-TV and WTSO radio, both in Madison.<ref name="SkillingTrib"/> In 1975 Skilling took his first major-market television position, becoming the lead forecaster at WITI-TV in Milwaukee.<ref name="SkillingTrib"/> At WITI, he delivered his forecasts with the "help" of the station's resident sock puppet mascot, Albert the Alley Cat.<ref>{{cite news |last=Van |first=Jon |date=October 19, 1995 |title=Cartoon characters and puppets are gone from TV weather segments |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/news/ct-xpm-1995-10-19-9510190014-story.html |newspaper=Chicago Tribune |url-access=subscription |location=Chicago, Illinois |access-date=August 10, 2019 |archive-date=January 10, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230110210940/https://www.chicagotribune.com/ |url-status=live }}</ref>

===WGN-TV=== Skilling returned to the Chicago area and joined WGN-TV on August 13, 1978.<ref name="SkillingTrib"/> He was WGN-TV's chief meteorologist and was rumored to be the highest-paid local broadcast meteorologist in the United States.<ref>{{cite magazine |url=https://www.chicagomag.com/Chicago-Magazine/June-2008/The-Cult-of-Tom/ |magazine=Chicago Magazine |title=The Cult of Tom |first=Edward |last=McClelland |date=June 3, 2008 |access-date=September 12, 2022 |archive-date=January 10, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230110210941/https://www.chicagomag.com/Chicago-Magazine/June-2008/The-Cult-of-Tom/ |url-status=live }}</ref> He also had written the daily weather column for the ''Chicago Tribune''. That feature, Ask Tom, ceased in August 2022 with a redesign of the weather page.<ref>{{cite news |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/opinion/letters/ct-letters-vp-081722-20220816-qac5exfvk5fhrlrq4l4k75g2lq-story.html |title='Ask Tom' brought weather to life and Weather page is ordinary now |newspaper=Chicago Tribune |date=August 16, 2022 |access-date=September 11, 2022 |url-access=subscription |url-status=live |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20220817040325/https://www.chicagotribune.com/opinion/letters/ct-letters-vp-081722-20220816-qac5exfvk5fhrlrq4l4k75g2lq-story.html |archive-date=August 17, 2022}}</ref>

His weather broadcasts have always featured the latest technology in computer imagery and animation techniques. He 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. "Skillful", as his late WGN-TV colleague Bob Collins called him, was consulted for the movie ''The Weather Man'', which was set in Skilling's hometown of Chicago at a fictionalized version of WGN-TV.

He also narrated the documentaries ''It Sounded Like a Freight Train'' and ''When Lightning Strikes'' for the station, about the science and dangers of tornadoes (the documentary also includes the Chicago area's history of tornadoes) and lightning.

Skilling announced on October 12, 2023 that he would be retiring from WGN-TV on February 28, 2024.<ref>{{cite news |last1=Channick |first1=Robert |title=Tom Skilling, dean of Chicago TV weathercasters, stepping down |url=https://www.chicagotribune.com/business/ct-biz-tom-skilling-wgn-tv-weathercaster-retiring-20231012-zk66bnynqrdxhju7wb4zngwzai-story.html |work=Chicago Tribune |date=October 12, 2023}}</ref> On February 1, 2024, WGN announced that the WGN Weather Center will be renamed the Tom Skilling Weather Center.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-02-02 |title=WGN Weather Center renamed to honor Tom Skilling |url=https://wgntv.com/celebratingskilling/wgn-weather-center-renamed-to-honor-tom-skilling/ |access-date=2024-02-03 |website=WGN-TV |language=en-US}}</ref>

===AMS and Fermilab=== Skilling is a member of the American Meteorological Society and National Weather Association. He hosted annual tornado and severe weather seminars at the Fermi National Accelerator Lab (Fermilab) in Batavia, Illinois. 2013 marked the 32nd year of the seminar and the first that featured presentations specifically on climate change.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://wgntv.com/author/tom-skilling/ |title=Tom Skilling |work=WGN-TV 9 |date=January 4, 2020 |location=Chicago |access-date=September 12, 2022 |archive-date=January 10, 2023 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230110210941/https://wgntv.com/author/tom-skilling/ |url-status=live }}</ref><ref>{{Cite web |url=http://www.asktom.org/resources.htm |title=Official web page of the Tom Skilling Tornado Seminar |access-date=February 23, 2008 |archive-date=March 4, 2008 |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20080304113142/http://www.asktom.org/resources.htm |url-status=dead }}</ref> In 2018, he announced he would stop hosting these seminars because of scheduling conflicts. <ref>{{Cite web |url=https://robertfeder.dailyherald.com/2018/04/04/tom-skillings-revised-forecast-not-related-sinclair/ |access-date=February 4, 2024 |title=Tom Skilling's revised forecast 'not related to Sinclair'}}</ref>

==Awards and honors == In January 1995, Skilling received an Honorary Doctorate of Humanities from Lewis University in Romeoville, Illinois.<ref>{{Cite news|date=2009-09-01|title=WeatherBrains 188: A Visit With Tom Skilling|language=en-US|work=The Alabama Weather Blog|url=https://www.alabamawx.com/?p=22303|access-date=2020-10-09|archive-date=January 10, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230110210949/https://www.alabamawx.com/?p=22303|url-status=live}}</ref>

Asteroid 91888 Tomskilling, discovered by the Catalina Sky Survey in 1999, was named in his honor.<ref name="MPC-object" /> The official {{MoMP|91888|naming citation}} was published by the Minor Planet Center on October 8, 2014 (M.P.C. 90379).<ref name="MPC-Circulars-Archive" />{{Failed verification|date=January 2023}} A statement honoring his career was read into the Congressional record on November 1, 2023.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2023-11-03 |title=Longtime Chicagoland meteorologist Tom Skilling honored by Congress |url=https://chicago.suntimes.com/movies-and-tv/2023/11/3/23944157/tom-skilling-meteorologist-congress-bill-foster-mike-quigley |access-date=2023-11-03 |website=Chicago Sun-Times |language=en}}</ref>

In 2024, Skilling was named Grand Marshall of the PrideFest in Woodstock, Illinois,<ref>{{cite web | url=https://wgntv.com/news/northwest-suburbs/tom-skilling-grand-marshal-woodstock-pride-2024/ | title=Tom Skilling named grand marshal of Woodstock PrideFest | date=2 May 2024 }}</ref> but he had to step away from the role due to illness. Fellow WGN-TV newscaster Sean Lewis took his place.<ref>{{Cite web |date=2024-06-01 |title=Tom Skilling out as Woodstock PrideFest grand marshal due to illness; WGN’s Sean Lewis steps in |url=https://www.shawlocal.com/thescene/2024/05/31/tom-skilling-out-as-woodstock-pridefest-grand-marshal-due-to-illness-wgns-sean-lewis-steps-in/ |access-date=2025-07-13 |website=Shaw Local |language=en}}</ref>

==Personal life== Skilling is the older brother of Jeffrey Skilling, the disgraced former chief executive officer of Enron Corporation.<ref>{{Cite news|last=McGrath|first=Dan|date=2011-11-25|title=For Skilling, There Is No Such Thing as Bad Weather|language=en-US|newspaper=The New York Times|url=https://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/25/business/media/for-tom-skilling-no-such-thing-as-bad-weather.html|access-date=2021-11-21|issn=0362-4331|archive-date=January 10, 2023|archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20230110210952/https://www.nytimes.com/2011/11/25/business/media/for-tom-skilling-no-such-thing-as-bad-weather.html|url-status=live}}</ref>

== References == {{Reflist|refs=

<ref name="MPC-object">{{cite web |title = (91888) Tomskilling |work = Minor Planet Center |url = https://minorplanetcenter.net/db_search/show_object?object_id=91888 |accessdate = January 23, 2020}}</ref>

<ref name="MPC-Circulars-Archive">{{cite web |title = MPC/MPO/MPS Archive |work = Minor Planet Center |url = https://www.minorplanetcenter.net/iau/ECS/MPCArchive/MPCArchive_TBL.html |accessdate = January 23, 2020 |archive-date = October 18, 2019 |archive-url = https://web.archive.org/web/20191018174109/https://www.minorplanetcenter.net/iau/ECS/MPCArchive/MPCArchive_TBL.html |url-status = live }}</ref>

}}

== External links == {{Commons category|Tom Skilling}} * [https://web.archive.org/web/20121124015258/http://blog.chicagoweathercenter.com/ WGN Weather Weblog] * [https://web.archive.org/web/20121101053059/http://blog.chicagoweathercenter.com/category/ask-tom-why/ WGN page "Ask Tom 'Why?'" - how to inquire about weather phenomena]

{{DEFAULTSORT:Skilling, Tom}} Category:University of Wisconsin–Madison School of Journalism & Mass Communication alumni Category:People from Aurora, Illinois Category:Living people Category:Television meteorologists from Chicago Category:1952 births Category:American television weather presenters