Iconic Chicago Weatherman Harry Volkman Dies at 89

Harry Volkman, 1926-2015

Before Doppler radar, computer models and satellites, there was TV meteorologist Harry Volkman with his snappy boutonnieres and whoosh sound effects delivering his reliable forecasts.

The iconic TV weatherman, whose career spanned 54 years on four different Chicago news stations, passed away Thursday at age 89. His death was announced by media columnist Robert Feder.

If you were around watching local television in Chicago between 1959 and 2004 -- when he was unceremoniously dumped by FOX-32 -- Harry Volkman was the man. Maybe be mentioned the name of your school during his weather broadcast as he showed off the boutonniere that your star-struck mother’s club or PTA gifted him with during a school assembly where he talked about the weather.

Harry Volkman 1967 broadcast for WMAQ, including his trademark “whoosh.”

Growing up, he was the only TV weatherman that my parents trusted. Whatever Chicago station happened to employ Harry at the time was the channel my parents tuned into for local news.

In their view, any idiot could deliver the news, but there was only one Harry Volkman who could forecast the weather with any degree of accuracy, which he did without benefit of today’s technology.

He was the first meteorologist to broadcast a “tornado alert” during a live broadcast in 1950, ushering in a modern era of weather reporting, according to Feder. Volkman later self-published a book about his adventures in television, Whatever the Weather: My Life and Times as a TV Weatherman.

In an interview with the Daily Herald, Harry recalled: “When I started, we didn’t have radar. We didn’t have computers. We didn’t have satellites. I don’t know how we did what we did, but I had a knack for it. That’s all I ever wanted to do.”

Harry Volkman arrived on the Chicago scene in 1959 after a decade as a TV weather forecaster in Tulsa, OK, going to work for WMAQ-5. He did stints at WGN and CBS network affiliate WBBM where he remained for 18 years. Later he was the weekend meteorologist for FOX-owned WFLD-32, until he was dropped from weekend lineup in 2004.

Harry inspired thousands of children with his visits to Chicago-area schools, including a 13-year-old from West Aurora named Tom Skilling.

The chief meteorologist for WGN recalled Volkman as a mentor and friend, who made Skilling one of his “young weather watchers” during his Ch. 2 days.

“Harry loved the weather, a passion he communicated to his viewers … I can tell you that one of Harry’s most endearing qualities was the joy he derived from watching young people enter the field of meteorology and succeed,” Skilling said Thursday. “He was a kind, warm-hearted giant. Losing people like Harry hits especially hard and is that much tougher to overcome.”

As one of the hundreds of viewers said who left condolences for Volkman’s four children on Skilling’s and Feder’s Facebook pages: “In honor of Harry we should all wear a boutonniere.”

Thanks, Harry, you were truly one of the greats. The weather won’t be the same without you. Whoosh!