musicman Posted December 14, 2007 Share Posted December 14, 2007 Neil Frank has spent 20 years attempting to divine the fluctuations of Houston's singular weather patterns, and for 17 of those years, he's been trying to retire.However, 2008 is the year he's making it stick.Frank, KHOU's (Channel 11) chief meteorologist since 1987 and the former director of the National Hurricane Center in Miami, said Thursday he will retire from the station next year.Gene Norman, a former meteorologist at KTRK (Channel 13) who now works as chief meteorologist for the CBS affiliate in Atlanta, will return to Houston's airwaves Jan. 28 and prepare to take the reins for Frank.full story Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
EastEnd Susan Posted December 14, 2007 Share Posted December 14, 2007 I'll miss Neil... and his haircut. I always listened to him when there was the threat of a hurricane. He gave me facts and didn't try to scare me to death. ok, now I'm sad. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
memebag Posted December 18, 2007 Share Posted December 18, 2007 Check out Hunter S. Thompson's rant about Dr. Neil in "Generation of Swine". I wish I could find my copy to quote it here. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Mark F. Barnes Posted December 19, 2007 Share Posted December 19, 2007 Check out Hunter S. Thompson's rant about Dr. Neil in "Generation of Swine". I wish I could find my copy to quote it here.Yeah that's pretty funny. Something along the lines of "Any baboon with a healthy heart and good diction... could do Neil Frank's job"Never been a fan of Neil Frank, he was too much of a "Show Boat" and just talked to hear the sound of his own voice. Way too melodramatic, for my taste. He came off real good during Rita, caused the mass panic that just about crippled Harris county. Then shrugs it off like he knew it was going to hit 120 miles east of Harris county all along. He went against the grain of some of the others, spout his credentials, and laid a turd. The first hurricane in history where the evacuation debacle probably caused more casualties than the storm itself. Way to go Dr. Neil, hope you move to some retirement community in Vero Beach so you can get a ring side seat to the majority of any others. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
editor Posted December 19, 2007 Share Posted December 19, 2007 "Dr. Neil" always ran warm and cold with me. Some days he'd be the nicest guy in the world. Other days he'd be kicking up a storm about KHOU's "Mickey Mouse radar" and full of rage. But if you engaged him about the weather he'd always chill out and explain whatever you wanted to know in great, patient, detail. Once you'd talked him down with some weather query so he could establish himself as the alpha male in the conversation you could then get to the point of why you came to see him in the first place.I've had the fortune of knowing a couple of the most highly respected meteorologists in the nation, and they all still speak very highly of Neil Frank. They all look at me like I'm on crack when I mention that I've seen his cranky side. I guess his real love is the weather, and at work and weather conferences and such is the only place they've met Frank. As mentioned above, when in his own element he must be a real nice guy. I always got a sense that making the transition to TV was something less than a triumph for him.One word of advice to whomever ends up running into him in the future: DO NOT interrupt his afternoon oatmeal. I can't remember if it was 4pm or 6pm, but you can tell when he's done because there will be a couple of dribbles of oatmeal coming out of the front of his mouth. I saw it probably 20 or 30 times and was always too afraid of him to tell him about it. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
LarryDallas Posted December 25, 2007 Share Posted December 25, 2007 I agree....He was not a fear monger and would give you the facts without manufacturing drama like Billigsley does. Tim Heller looks like a robot to me so I can't get my info there. Anyway..I'm glad they did not bring Chuck George back to Houston for this job. BTW, whatever happend to radar the weather dog? Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
MiDTOWNeR Posted December 27, 2007 Share Posted December 27, 2007 I agree....He was not a fear monger and would give you the facts without manufacturing drama like Billigsley does. Tim Heller looks like a robot to me so I can't get my info there. Anyway..I'm glad they did not bring Chuck George back to Houston for this job. BTW, whatever happend to radar the weather dog?I miss Chuck George! Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
musicman Posted May 30, 2008 Author Share Posted May 30, 2008 Signing off: Frank prepares for final broadcast tonightAfter 21 years at Channel 11, rain or shine, Neil Frank retiresAs Neil Frank prepares for his final weathercast tonight as KHOU's (Channel 11) chief meteorologist, the daily satellite pictures reflect the legacy and responsibility that he leaves to his successor, Gene Norman.full article Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
editor Posted May 30, 2008 Share Posted May 30, 2008 BTW, whatever happend to radar the weather dog?He is no longer on air. It's my understanding that one of the KPRC-TV staffers has provided him a permanent home, but I don't know which one.I think Radar could have worked, but he was poorly implemented. And certainly shouldn't have been part of the evening newscast. He should have been part of something like a 5am or 6am newscast doing the same thing -- the "dog walking forecast" to let people about to take the dog out for its first walk of the day what to wear. Would have been dead simple to do since it would have been essentially the "right now" forecast. But having him part of the newscast of record cheapened the whole thing. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
plumber2 Posted May 30, 2008 Share Posted May 30, 2008 I miss Chuck George!So do all my gay friends. Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Tristar Posted May 30, 2008 Share Posted May 30, 2008 Chuck is at KOLD TV in Tuscon and is their chief meteorologist. www.kold.com Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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