Weather Channel co-founder who called global warming a hoax dies at the age of 83

  • John Coleman died Saturday night at his home in Las Vegas at the age of 83
  • Coleman was the co-founder of The Weather Channel and Good Morning America's original meteorologist
  • He had a six-decade broadcasting career, but later drew criticism for his skepticism about climate change being man-made 

John Coleman, who co-founded The Weather Channel and was the original meteorologist on ABC's 'Good Morning America' during a six-decade broadcasting career but who later drew people's anger for his open skepticism about climate change being man-made, has died. He was 83.

Coleman died Saturday night at home in Las Vegas, said his wife, Linda Coleman, who did not give the cause of his death.

The Texas native got his first TV job while still a student at the University of Illinois. He worked at several local stations in Chicago and the Midwest, becoming one of the first meteorologists to work in front of a screen that had weather images projected onto it. 

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John Coleman, GMA's first meteorologist and a co-founder of the Weather Channel, died on Saturday at the age of 83

John Coleman, GMA's first meteorologist and a co-founder of the Weather Channel, died on Saturday at the age of 83

'Up until then, forecasters used a felt-tipped pen and wrote backward on Plexiglas plates so that they could give detail,' Dave Scott, a San Diego weatherman who worked with Coleman for years, told the Union Tribune. 'This was a big innovation.' 

Eventually, he was hired as GMA's first weatherman when the show launched in 1975, and stayed with the program for seven years. 

He left to co-found The Weather Channel, the first 24/7 weather network, serving as CEO of the company for a year before leaving due to internal friction.  

Coleman is seen on the right with Frank Batten,  publisher of the Virginian-Pilot and Ledger-Star, during a press conference in 1981

Coleman is seen on the right with Frank Batten,  publisher of the Virginian-Pilot and Ledger-Star, during a press conference in 1981

Two years later the American Meteorological Society named Coleman its broadcast meteorologist of the year.

Coleman went to work at TV stations in New York and in Chicago before landing at KUSI-TV in San Diego, where he spent 20 years as a weatherman before retiring in 2014. Jason Austell, an anchor for the station's 'Good Morning San Diego,' tweeted that Coleman was 'a beloved meteorologist.'

National Weather Service forecaster Alex Tardy said Coleman's death was 'a big loss for the weather community.'

'He brought a lot of energy and color and enthusiasm to forecasting,' Tardy said. 'My kids loved watching him on TV.'

Coleman also drew anger during the later years of his career for his doubts that humans caused global warming, which he called a 'hoax' and a 'scam.' In a 2013 KUSI news segment, Coleman, while talking about a global warming study, chastised national media for reporting on it from 'an environmental point of view and their continuing liberal, political agenda.'

His views combined with his weatherman background led to appearances on cable news outlets discussing climate change.

It was his stance on global warming that caused Coleman to drop out of the American Meteorological Society. 

Tardy said Coleman never tried to push his skepticism about climate change being man-made.

'We had good talks,' Tardy told the San Diego Union-Tribune . 'I enjoyed it.'

Coleman is survived by his wife, their children Scott Coleman and Susan Keim, and numerous grandchildren and great grandchildren.