A change in the weather: After 35 years at WVTM-13, meteorologist Jerry Tracey retires
Had it not been for a coworker informing him of a job opening, Jerry Tracey may have never moved to Birmingham.
After graduating from Penn State University, Tracey spent a decade working at AccuWeather in State College, Pennsylvania, before making three moves in two years. His first stop was at WINK-TV in Fort Myers, Florida, then The Weather Channel, before joining WVTM in 1987 when he was 34 years old.
He wanted to get back into local TV because he enjoyed the local connection and interacting with viewers. Although he wasn’t planning to leave The Weather Channel so soon, a friend brought in a newspaper and showed him a job opening for a meteorologist in Birmingham and urged him to apply. She told him the city was a great place to live and raise a family.
He made the call to WVTM and spoke with then-news director Tom Roberts, who asked him if he could come for an interview the same week. He had his highlight tape and resume in hand, but it wasn’t far into their meeting that Tracey was in Roberts’ office discussing a contract.
The rest is history.
“We were in Pennsylvania one year, the next year we're in South Florida, the next year we're in Atlanta and then we're here,” Tracey said. “I do feel though I'm very fortunate this happened the way it did. It's really a God thing because I didn't plan this. I didn't have a roadmap that I would wind up in Birmingham, Alabama, someday, and if Mary hadn't come in with that article, I never would have known about the opening.”
At the time, Tracey and his wife, Kathy, had two young children and after several moves, they were ready to settle in one spot. They lived in Cahaba Heights for several years before moving to Mountain Brook, where they have lived in the same house since 1991.
Their children, Stephen and Michelle, attended Cahaba Heights Elementary for several years, and both graduated from Mountain Brook High School. They both live nearby, and Tracey looks forward to spending more time with them and his grandchildren, who range in age from 3 to 13, after his retirement.
Decades of weather coverage
Without hesitation, when asked about the worst weather day Tracey has experienced, he said April 27, 2011. There were 29 confirmed tornadoes in central Alabama alone, and 62 tornadoes across the state with a death toll of 250 statewide.
He remembers watching one of the tornadoes from atop Red Mountain.
“It was a day I don't think any of us really thought we would see, at least not in terms of the number of people who died,” he said. “None of us had thought that. We thought that technology was such that we would not face that kind of death toll again, but we did. And it was a shock.”
When he was asked by the National Weather Service why he thought so many lives were lost that day, he said that it was just so unusual to have so many powerful tornadoes hit so many populated areas.
“It was a realization that we have to do our best to really single those days out,” Tracey said. “There are days when the forecasts might say there could be a brief tornado. I'm afraid sometimes that only dilutes the message from the days that are really bad, the days that you really want people to take extra measures to protect themselves.”
When one of the photographers brought in debris that was blowing into the station’s parking lot, Tracey said that’s when it became visceral to him. He said as a meteorologist, there is a tendency to think about what else he could have done.
“It wasn't just meteorological,” he said. “There were human beings being killed and houses being wiped out. I remember when I first went up to Pratt City after that storm, it was horrible. Things were just totally destroyed. And that really had a profound effect on me.”
Other days that Tracey remembers most are the blizzard of 1993, Hurricane Ivan in 2004 (when he was on air for 38.5 hours nonstop) and Snowmageddon in 2011. Being on air for hours at the time, Tracey said he never thinks about the end point.
“You just kind of let it play out, and somebody is always there to rescue you if you just need a break,” he said.
He also fondly remembers being mistaken for Alex Trebec while at a Subway restaurant and the newscast where he shaved his signature mustache during a commercial break, which made the phones ring off the hook with viewer comments.
His health journey and retirement decision
Tracey was diagnosed with prostate cancer in the fall of 2019 and was forthcoming with viewers about his diagnosis. He had no qualms sharing what he was going through and encouraged men to get their prostate-specific antigen (PSA) levels checked because if caught early, the disease can be curable.
After researching his options, Tracey decided to go with radiation over surgery. He went through 28 sessions of radiation and finished just as the pandemic was starting.
After his treatment, Tracey was filling in at the station on a Sunday afternoon when he received a call from his urologist telling him his PSA numbers are very low, and they have continued to remain so.
About five years ago, Tracey said he began thinking about retirement and decided to start planning for the future. After his last three-year contract was up, he signed his final one for 15 months, taking him near his 70th birthday, which he felt was the right time to make his exit.
“It just felt right,” he said. “When you have cancer, it does kind of change your viewpoints on things, you're more aware of the fact that this is not going to be what I'm doing forever, and I just think it kind of changes your outlook. Or at least it did for me, anyway. And the idea of savoring life a little bit more.”
Tracey announced his retirement on air on Oct. 24. He will retire after 35 years at the station as the longest tenured chief meteorologist in the station’s 73-year history, with a total of 47 years in broadcasting. His last day on air is scheduled for Dec. 9.
WVTM-13 President and General Manager Susana Schuler said keeping the people of central Alabama safe was always Tracey’s priority.
“Thinking back on the 35 years of service and emergency weather coverage Jerry has provided to the people of central Alabama, it is difficult to put into words the impact he has had on our community and our safety,”she said.“Keeping the people of central Alabama safe was always Jerry’s priority, and he truly acted as WVTM’s guiding light to navigate through severe storms. His commitment and love for this community embodies our mission to serve and inform.”
Keeping the people of central Alabama safe was always Jerry’s priority, and he truly acted as WVTM’s guiding light to navigate through severe storms. His commitment and love for this community embodies our mission to serve and inform.
Susana Schuler
What’s next at WVTM-13?
Jason Simpson was announced as the new chief meteorologist several days after Tracey’s retirement. Tracey said he believes Simpson will fit in perfectly.
“I am so pleased that my successor as chief meteorologist is Jason Simpson,” Tracey said. “Jason grew up in central Alabama and has been following the weather here pretty much his whole life. He knows the different patterns that we experience, from severe storms to tropical cyclones.”
Before joining WVTM-13 earlier this year, Simpson was a principal scientist for Dynetics in Huntsville, where he tested and analyzed radar systems. Prior to that, Simpson was the chief meteorologist at WHNT in Huntsville for more than a decade and has worked at WBMA in Birmingham and stations in Meridian, Mississippi, and Columbia, Missouri.
"I grew up watching Jerry on WVTM-13,” Simpson said. “Tag-teaming weather with a mentor, friend and legend in central Alabama has been a dream come true these past few months. I am so blessed to become the next chief meteorologist at WVTM-13 and will continue to uphold Jerry’s high standards for accuracy and the station’s mission for delivering pertinent weather information to the people of central Alabama that helps them prepare for the future and protect their families."
Meteorologist Stephanie Walker, who has been at the station for 22 years, will continue covering the morning shift from 4 a.m. to noon, and Adrian Castellano and Harmony Mendoza round out the station’s weather team.
Thankful for the journey
His connection with local people is what Tracey says he will miss the most. He never imagined being able to stay at the same station for so long.
“Going to schools, going to churches, meeting different people, the fact that they let you into their lives is a very special thing,” he said.
Tracey said he doesn’t think he will have any trouble enjoying retirement. He said he has enough interests that he will be fine. He probably will continue keeping up with the weather, though.
“The weather is always out there,” he said. “I can follow the weather, whether I'm working here or at home. My interest in weather will never go away. I have wanted to do what I'm doing now since I was 5 years old. I'm incredibly blessed and really grateful that I’ve gotten to do what I wanted to do when I was a kid, and that interest has never gone away.”