Barry Burbank Retires After 42 Years At WBZ-TV
BOSTON (CBS) - He's a Hall of Fame meteorologist, a family man, an athlete, and an all-around incredible human being. Now Barry Burbank can add 'retiree' to his list of accomplishments.
After 42 years on the air at WBZ, Barry delivered his final forecast Sunday night during the 11 p.m. news.
"I'm overwhelmed with the praise and love from all my WBZ colleagues and I'm blown away by all the kind words and good wishes from you all on social media the last couple of days, I just can't imagine this. It's going to take me a while to thank everybody for all those good wishes. I thank all the WBZ management teams for believing in me and all of you folks who had faith in my forecasts for more than four decades. I thank the National Weather Service forecasters, Skywarn spotters, WBZ Weather Watchers for their help over the years. And finally, I thank my fellow meteorologists and the various WBZ weather teams and especially executive weather producer Terry Eliasen, who has made me look good right till the end," he said.
"So I'm going into retirement, enjoying the weather without worrying about the forecast. So I have to say to you: stay strong, stay safe, and goodbye my friends."
Barry's on-air tenure at WBZ was longer than anybody in the station's history. Last summer, he was inducted into the Massachusetts Broadcasters Hall of Fame.
"A great forecaster, a great person to have in the office, such an amazing spirit," is how Chief Meteorologist Eric Fisher will remember Barry.
Over the years Barry has forecast some of the world's trickiest weather with a steady hand, a friendly voice, and an eye on accuracy.
"The most fun is when you get the forecast right, so I'm having fun most of the time," Burbank said during his Hall of Fame induction.
"You are a gentleman and a total team player," WBZ anchor Lisa Hughes said in a goodbye message to Burbank.
"I can say without hesitation that Barry Burbank is one of my favorite people of all time," anchor David Wade shared. "He is a tremendous person."
Perhaps WBZ-TV's Executive Weather Producer Terry Eliasen said it best. "There never was another Barry Burbank. There never will be another Barry Burbank."
Thank you Barry, from all of us at WBZ-TV and CBS Boston.
If you want to share a message of thanks with Barry, visit us on Facebook or use the hashtag #ThanksBarry on Twitter or Instagram.
