Popular CT Television Meteorologist Changes Roles: VIDEO

CONNECTICUT — Bruce DePrest, WFSB-TV's chief meteorologist since 2002, announced this week that he is moving from full-time to part-time at the station, and he will no longer handle Channel 3's 11 p.m. weather reports.

DePrest has been with WFSB since 1984, and he made the announcement via a Facebook Live video with colleagues Mark Zinni and Erin Connolly. See below.

"I'm not retiring or anything," DePrest said. "But starting tomorrow, I'm going part-time, which means I will no longer be doing Eyewitness News at 11 p.m. with you guys."

DePrest will continue reporting on the weather for the channel's 5 p.m. and 6 p.m. newscasts, and he joked that he'll finally get a chance to go home at a regular hour and get a good night's sleep.

Holder of a bachelor's of science in meteorology from Lowell University, DePrest said he has been working in the industry for 42 years straight, and he now gets a chance to slow down a bit.

He began his career with the now-defunct Travelers Weather Service in Hartford in 1979, and left there to become WFSB's weekend meteorologist in 1984.

DePrest held that position for 14 years and then switched to become the station's morning newscast meteorologist, before eventually moving to afternoons and nights.

Over the years, DePrest has worked with everyone from Gayle King to Bill O'Reilly at WFSB, and he said the late Denise D'Ascenzo was a huge influence on his career. D'Ascenzo, a legendary news anchor at the station for 25 years, died from a heart attack in December 2019.

"Denise was just a tremendous mentor," DePrest said. "She taught me how to communicate. How to take the science of weather and tell people how the weather was going to affect their lives. She really helped me along, and of course, we miss her very much."