Howard Shapiro, WTVT-13 Weather Veteran, Retiring

Tampa, Florida -- Howard Shapiro, who is currently the longest-serving meteorologist working at WTVT, is retiring from his duties at the landmark Tampa television station after 35 years. According to a Tampa Bay Online article and Shapiro's biography page on WTVT's website, Shapiro, 62, was born in Jersey City, New Jersey and raised in Long Island, New York. Shapiro began his career at WTVT-13 in September 1974 just after finishing college at The State University of New York in Oswego. Shapiro retires October 23. He is one of five currently serving WTVT meteorologists, together comprising some 115 years of meteorological experience.

Shapiro's Career

When Shapiro began working as a meteorologist in Tampa, Roy Leep had already long been a meteorological fixture for WTVT-13. WTVT, a Fox affiliate that was the local CBS affiliate until 1994, has always taken weather reporting seriously. With severe summer thunderstorms, damaging tropical weather, intense heat, and sometimes- violent winter cold fronts, the Tampa area and its residents are in need of weather reporters like Shapiro, who has dedicated 35 years to the industry.

Shapiro has helped cover many major weather events for the Tampa Bay area, and was working at the station when snow fell in Tampa in 1977, Hurricane Elena devastated West Florida's Gulf coast with rains and erosion in 1985, when freezes and flurries walloped the citrus industry in 1989. He was also on the air when Hurricanes Andrew and Katrina impacted nearby communities and helped keep residents informed when Hurricanes Charley and Wilma tore through the area. Perhaps Shapiro's last significant local weather event occurred on October 19, 2009, when record cold temperatures plunged the Bay Area into the 40s that morning - chilly for October by Tampa standards.

WTVT Weather History

WTVT-13 first went on the air in 1955. Roy Leep , who joined the station in 1957, kept the station on top of the latest advancements in weather broadcasting technology. Always among the first stations in the country to acquire whatever state-of-the-art technology was available, WTVT uses the
McIDAS satellite. In 1989, WTVT built an addition to the Tampa skyline when the concrete tower housing one of the strongest weather radars in the world was constructed; that same year, the station also moved into a major, newly built facility located adjacent to the original building which saw WTVT rise to local and regional prominence.

Currently, WTVT-13's other meteorologists include the station's chief meteorologist, Paul Dellegatto; Andy Johnson, Dave Osterberg, and Jim Weber.

Resources:

TBO.com. "Shapiro to Retire from FOX-13 in October." July 30, 2009. October 20, 2009. http://www2.tbo.com/content/2009/jul/30/na-shapiro-to-retire-from-fox-13-in-october/

WTVT-13. "Howard Shapiro Biography." October 20, 2009. http://www.myfoxtampabay.com/dpp/about_us/personalities/Howard_Shapiro_Bio