Don Kent passes away...
 

Legendary weatherman Don Kent has passed away at the age of 92.

http://wbztv.com/local/don.kent.dies.2.1530516.html

Blue Thunder

With just a white chalk crayon and a six-state, new england outline painted onto a blackboard, Don did a heck of a better job presenting and explaining the weather than anything today's computer guys & gals will ever do.

You're right about that. In fact he didn't need the crayon, a radio's speaker would do. Not only that he really could forecast New England weather.

+1 FLL
A sad day indeed. He was the best. He lived in Weymouth where I grew up - I remember walking by his house and seeing all the weather apparatus on his roof.

The talking heads we have today couldn't hold a candle to his abilities and dedication to the art of weather prediction.

Don Kent passed away this morning....
 

BOSTON (AP) -- Don Kent, one of the first and most popular TV weather forecasters in Boston, has died. He was 92.

Kent's son, Jeff, says his father died of natural causes early Tuesday at Franklin Regional Hospital in New Hampshire.

Kent joined WBZ-AM in 1951 and moved to WBZ-TV in 1955, becoming a fixture on the airwaves for nearly three decades. He continued to broadcast on several New England radio stations after his retirement from WBZ in 1983.

Kent's folksy style and his passion for weather made him a favorite among viewers and listeners. His career encompassed many major weather events in New England, including the historic Blizzard of 1978.

Kent took a course on air mass analysis at Massachusetts Institute of Technology in the 1930s, but much of his knowledge was self-taught.

Thanks for the post
 

Boy, sad event.

I grew up in Saugus and Don was a "daily event"

This was nice thread about Mr. Kent

http://www.winnipesaukee.com/forums/...highlight=Kent

It includes the video of a story about Mr. Kent.

Condolences to his family.

Don Kent was an Ice Boater. I remember him from the late sixties and early seventies. He was "OUR Own" weather caster. What could be better in those days when we didn't have instant weather. We Had DON.. :) NB

Many fond memories of Don Kent. May he rest in peace.

Don Kent New England's First Weatherman
 

I was sad to hear of Don Kent's passing this morning. Don Kent was the inspiration for many of today's broadcast weathermen and for younger ones to young to know him maybe not an inspiration but a silent partner or angel in the evolution of broadcast weather. Don Kent was my inspiration to become a broadcast forecaster on radio between the ages of 13-18. His ability to deliver a New England weather picture was quite unique. From reports of ice fishing, maple sugaring, winter golf on the Cape and all other popular New England activities he delivered it with his hand drawn weather maps. He often mentioned the Lake Region in his broadcasts. His fondness of this region rubbed off on me to find a second / retirement home here. He spent much of his retirement here in the Lakes Region. He passed away this morning in Franklin.
I am posting a tribute to him by Dick Albert http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ng0DFhPKY1E

Growing up in the Boston area I always looked forward to Don's broadcasts. If I remember correctly, which isn't often, didn't he own a small island in Boothbay Harbor and have his own line of weather instruments? These wx guys today should get some of his old tapes and see how it should be done.
Don, blue sky forever, holding at 29.92.

Don Kent New England's First Weatherman
 

Seeker, I know he had a place in ME, not sure if it was an Island. He founded the Downeaster Company in the 1960's which made weather instruments. He sold them at the family carpet business.
He lived in Sanbornton for many of his later years. I believe he just moved to a nursing home in Franklin the last couple days.

To think he was so good without all the technology currently in place now. At least he witnessed and got to experience the technology explosion in his field. But I would take his old fashion style and grace over some of current content we all are bombarded with on media today.

An Awesome Human Being...
 

From radio in the forty's and television in 1951 when he joined WBZ-4, Don Kent was my family's all time favorite weatherman. We looked foward to his radio weather forecasts from WBZ 1030 even while living in Northfield, VT.

I always wanted to thank him, and got to do just that a few years ago when I looked him up in the phone book and called him at his home in Sanbornton, NH. He answered my call and we got to talk for some ( 45 minutes ) and if anyone knows Don it wasn't just about the weather. It was during winter with snow on the ground at his place and he had been out earlier in the day burning brush.
It was a very special treat for me to let him know that he had a HUGE FAN BASE.

Don Is The Norman Rockwell Of New England Weather!
_____________________

I lived in on Sewall st. in Wollaston as a kid and remember he used to broadcast from a little store on Wollaston beach near the Yacht clubs. Great guy.

Neat story in the Boston Globe:

http://www.boston.com/news/local/bre...nt_wbz-tv.html

I clearly recall watching him during the Blizzard of '78.

Simply put, Don was THE MAN. He got me excited about being interested and following weather. I became a big fan of his when he did the WBZ news with Jack Chase. Two New England broadcast legends. High pressure to him in his last journey.
Here is a great interview with Don about his life.

http://www.ericpinder.com/html/donkent.html

He used to volunteer at the Sanbornton Historical Society. Met him there a few years ago. Made my day.

I attribute my love of maps to watching his weathercasts on the early morning news in the 1970s when I was a boy.

He was in the Coast Guard in WWII. There was some story I'd heard about how he saved a number of ships by predicting a storm no one knew was coming. In addition to being a well-known broadcaster, he really was one of the founders of modern meteorology.

This interview descibes how he probably save the lives of some planes that he said should not fly because he believed there would be an icing situation. This might be what you were refering to. Here's the article.

http://www.ericpinder.com/html/donkent.html

RIP Don Kent
 

I grew up in Fall River,Ma and watched him on WBZ for years. He was a true weatherman and he didn't overstate the storms - you could believe in what he was predicting.
Why can't the station hire people like him instead of the latest beauty queen to read a prepared script?
Thanks for all the good memories Don Kent !

Yes, that's it. Thanks!

Takes a man with a big personality and a lotta charisma to be able to pull off them eyebrows of his.

I consider myself lucky to have seen his forecasts as a small child, home from school sick, as Mom watched the WBZ news at noon. His last broadcast was one of those sick-days, and I remember it. In high school I met him at an AMS special event at which he was the speaker. If you didn't know who he was, you'd never know he was a legend in this part of the country. He looked, acted, and spoke just like any smart New England grandfather. The speech he gave was his memories of becoming "Boston's first weatherman." The computer models were barely in their baby stages of development then. A weather forecaster had to truly know the weather. For that, there is no substitute. Don Kent knew that. Even while computer screens popped up all around him, he still refused to substitute all that stuff for a close relationship with New England weather.

Tribute To A Great Man...
 

Don Kent honored at funeral. http://citizen.com/apps/pbcs.dll/art...9814/0/CITIZEN




Terry
____________________________

I remember watching Don as a child hoping he would give me the day off tomorrow so I would not have to do my homework or see Sister Luke. Thanks Don, for those times you sent the snow north to NH. 5th grade snow on a school day is the best snow ever. Don presented the good news with a rare passion.

That was a very nice article. Thank you for sharing.

I too can remember listening to him in the morning....hoping and praying for "no school".

Don't make them like that anymore!

I also remember him fondly from his years at WBZ. He was a great weatherman and a wonderful person. He will be missed.