R.I.P.: Legendary Chicago Weatherman Harry Volkman

Harry Volkman

Harry Volkman  died Thursday after a long illness at the age of 89, his son, radio personality Eddie Volkman, confirmed to CBS 2.

Volkman spent more than 50 years as a TV weatherman and meteorologist.

Harry was one of the first of the television weathermen, getting his start all the way back in 1950 in Tulsa, Oklahoma.  A few years later, he was the man who broadcast the first televised tornado warning. When he began  his career, there was no radar or computers.

In the early days, Harry got a lot of his weather via Morse code on shortwave radio.  He always said he loved conveying information about the weather.

He came to Chicago in 1959, working at WMAQ and later at WGN and at WBBM CBS-TV2 from 1978 to 1996.

While he was first and foremost a weather forecaster, his viewers came to know him for his sense of humor.