Longtime St. Louis weatherman steps down after 42 years on TV

A longtime meteorologist is stepping down after 42 years in television.

Dave Murray announced Tuesday that he is stepping down as chief meteorologist for Fox 2.

“My schedule has started at 6 a.m. and ended at 11 p.m.,” Murray said, according to a posting on Fox 2 Now. “I’m not tired, but I am turning 65 this November and would like to discover what it’s like to puddle and have free time with my wife. We have had no regular weekday evenings together for 37 years of marriage. That is a luxury we would like to explore, and discovery has always been my inspiration.”

Murray was the first scientist to deliver nightly weathercasts with moving graphics and explanations in the St. Louis market when he began in 1976, according to his biography on Fox 2 Now. He was hired by KSDK out of graduate school at the age of 22, earning a degree in coastal forecasting from the University of Rhode Island and a master's degree in thunderstorm forecasting at the University of Wyoming.

At the time, TV stations still went off the air at 1 a.m., but Murray developed the first visual 24-hour warning system in St. Louis. Eventually he became chief meteorologist for “Good Morning America,” but returned to St. Louis in 1989 to handle evening newscasts and severe weather. Murray holds 12 Emmys for weathercasting.

In the wake of Murray’s departure, Glenn Zimmerman has been promoted to chief meteorologist and will move to the evening broadcast, and Chris Higgins will replace Zimmerman on weekday mornings. “I will be setting two alarm clocks as I assume Glenn’s shift in the morning,” Higgins wrote, as he will be on duty at 4 a.m.

This story was originally published July 10, 2018 at 9:01 PM.