Chief Meteorologist

french@kbtx.com

Bob French has been Chief Meteorologist and weeknight weather anchor at KBTX since 1990. 

Bob is a member of the American Meteorological Society and holds the AMS Broadcast Seal of Approval for Television. During the past seventeen years, some fifty university students have trained as interns with Bob and his weather team. Many have gone on to fulfill careers in broadcast meteorology, and some are now working in major television markets like Dallas/Fort Worth, Houston and Oklahoma City. 

Bob is also very active in the community. He has visited almost every school in the Brazos Valley, and his t-shirt collection is second to none. Whether it is visiting schools or civic organizations, talking about weather or entertaining with his music, he’s always smiling unless the weather demands a more serious demeanor. 

Bob has also served on advisory boards of numerous local emergency planning and charitable organizations such as the American Red Cross, Habitat for Humanity, Health For All Clinic, SOS Ministries, The Children’s Museum of Brazos Valley and The Brazos Valley Museum of Natural History. 

Bob grew up on the Gulf Coast in Beaumont, Texas, where he became fascinated with weather, especially hurricanes having experienced Hurricane Audrey in 1957, Carla in 1961, and Cindy in 1963. His desire to study weather led him to Texas A&M University, which certainly pleased his Aggie family. Before completing his degree, however, Bob left Texas A&M to pursue a career as a singer/songwriter. 

As fate would have it, Bob moved back to Beaumont and began working in radio broadcasting, while still entertaining with his music. By 1980, Bob was providing weathercasts on the radio and was offered the opportunity to begin working in TV. Bob went back to school, earning his degree in Mass Communications from Lamar University in Beaumont. In 1981, he went to work for KFDM-TV in Beaumont as Morning and Weekend Meteorologist where he stayed until moving to KBTX in 1990. During his time at KFDM, Bob was able to fulfill a life-long dream of flying into the eye of a hurricane aboard an Air Force reconnaissance plane in 1985. 

Bob and his lovely wife Beth have two adult children (both married) and one grandson. Bob still enjoys entertaining and even takes his guitar to visit schools occasionally. While growing up, he also studied piano for nine years and still enjoys playing and teaching.