SAN DIEGO (NEWS 8) — After 20 years of bringing San Diegans his microclimate forecast, News 8's beloved Matt Baylow is calling it a career.
Jeff Zevely took a walk down memory lane with Matt and sends him off with heartfelt goodbyes from the newsroom in Wednesday's very special Zevely Zone.
For the past two decades, Matt Baylow has delivered sunny skies and a dry sense of humor.
When asked if he ever got it wrong:
"Oh well, I think I made a forecast about the Chargers once, about six years ago," said Matt. "That didn't work out."
38-years ago, Matt landed his first weather job - and a billboard – in Las Vegas.
"Who doesn't wanna see their face on a billboard," he said.
Matt moved on to Minneapolis where he was born and raised - and he took his mustache with him.
"I thought Minneapolis was where I was going to be forever," said Matt. "And then San Diego called."
Matt attracted nationwide interest with a weather stunt he pulled by throwing boiling hot water into freezing cold air.
With that demonstration, Matt created snow - and a new opportunity for himself at KFMB Stations.
Matt's stunt – and mustache – can be seen in the video below:
With News 8, Matt educated students on Weather Wednesdays and walked the Susan G. Komen 3-Day nine times.
"I've always felt like education and volunteerism is part of our job on the air," said Matt. "And this station, in particular, has been really supportive of that and allowed me to do everything that I've wanted to do in that regard."
Matt survived the long walks, but that mustache?
Viewers took one look at it and said:
"'He looks like a cop'" said Matt. "And that was it. It had to come off."
So, it was a clean shave and a fresh start for Matt Baylow in San Diego where the News 8 crew and our viewers met first him.
Another staple of Matt's News 8 life was Weather Education Day at Petco Park. With experiments and special guests, kids got a feel for meteorology and learned from the experts – including Matt.
This video gave the kids at Weather Education Day a behind-the-scenes look at a day in the life of a meteorologist:
Now that Matt's leaving, as co-workers share fond memories and stories, our friend and forecaster, made one last prediction for what's on the radar of his own retirement:
"I'm just thinking more naps, maybe more bridge, definitely more cooking. You know, the camera adds 20 pounds, who cares now, right? I'm not going to be in front of a camera!"
Scroll through to see some wonderful memories of Matt's career with News 8 and beyond:
A March Madness promo where Matt's personality shines:
A Las Vegas weathercast Matt said he may want to forget:
Matt accepting his fifth Emmy Award:
Highlights from the 2018 Weather Education Day at Petco Park starring Matt:
Matt's farewell via Facebook:
Weather memories Matt shared before saying goodbye to the viewers, Barbara-Lee and Carlo:
Some of the many well wishes for Matt from colleagues and viewers: