It’s Bill Steffen Day! Celebrating Storm Team 8’s chief emeritus

GRAND RAPIDS, Mich. (WOOD) — Weather forecasting is an ordered collection of measurable data. Precipitation accumulates in inches. Visibility is determined by miles. But how does one measure a career?

The city of Grand Rapids proclaimed Monday “Bill Steffen Day” to celebrate the career of longtime meteorologist Bill Steffen, chief emeritus for Storm Team 8. U.S. Sen Gary Peters, D-Bloomfield Township, congratulated Bill with a special proclamation.

For four decades, the seasoned weather forecaster has put himself between your living room, a television camera and the elements in a career track laid down season after season.

Bill’s colleagues acknowledge a broadcaster who exceeded professional expectations.  

“Have you ever met anybody who’s more excited about the weather? Or about his craft? Or more dedicated to his craft?” remarked longtime WOOD TV8 sports director Jack Doles.

At 8 years old, Bill set up a weather station in his backyard and proceeded to phone in snow totals to the local TV station. His very first appearance on air was in 1967 to test the new cable TV in Winnetka, Ill. The ever-industrious Bill opted to wear his Boy Scout uniform because he lacked a proper suit and tie.

Bill first appeared on West Michigan television for WZZM in November 1974. Fellow meteorologist and colleague Craig James remembers a man dedicated to getting it right.

“He was never late. He would come in at 4 a.m. He was always there,” James recalled.

At the time, there were very few credentialed meteorologists in local television, let alone two working together. In short order, the pair would face a once-in-a-lifetime event: the Blizzard of 1978. For two days, the storm raged, dumping close to 2 feet of snow in West Michigan. James still marvels at Bill’s stamina during that frigid episode.

“I couldn’t get into work so Bill worked the whole day from 4 a.m. until midnight. And then I couldn’t get in the next day and Bill worked another day from 4 a.m. to midnight. They had a cot in the weather office for him,” James remembered.

A legend was born. Bill helmed every forecast for 72 hours straight, getting very little sleep in between newscasts. For an entire viewing area crippled under a historic snowfall, Bill Steffen was a beacon in the dark.

“He basically does not sleep. If he has four hours of sleep at night, that’s plenty for him,” Bill’s wife Gayle Steffen said.

Gayle Steffen knows her husband. She knew his devotion to her and their three daughters and she knew she would have to share.

“Most wives share their husbands with someone, so it might as well be West Michigan,” Gayle Steffen said. “His true love is telling people about the weather. That’s his true love.”

Bill and Gayle have been married for 44 years. His family said Bill’s devotion to forecasting is unmatched only by his devotion to his family. They say he is a man who views life as a space filled with more sunshine than storms. His daughters recall a side the television audience certainly recognized in Bill: pure enthusiasm.

“One of my favorite memories as a child is just running down sand dunes. He would just run down every sand dune and make it so much fun, even if it was freezing and cold and wet it was so much fun,” his daughter Marie Steffen said.

“His excitement is real. Every snowfall, he’s like a child at Christmas over weather,” she added.

In 2001, Bill made the move over to WOOD TV8, following in the footsteps of his old friend Craig James, who had done the same a few years earlier. When James retired in 2008, Bill took over the title of chief.

“Bill was always the go-to person when you needed to know about the weather,” longtime News 8 anchor Susan Shaw said. “Everybody loves him. Everybody loves Bill.”

Generations of viewers have shared Bill’s excitement about the weather thanks to his thousands of classroom visits and volunteer work. Storm Team 8 meteorologist Terri DeBoer said Bill’s sheer marketability as a personality, from mustache giveaways to memes, amplify his value for WOOD TV8 — Not to mention the parades.

“I typically go through a parade only once. Bill will ride through with a parade car, then he’ll go back and hop on a fire truck and then, of course, if it’s a Christmas parade, you’re going to see him up there right next to Santa!” DeBoer laughed.

“He knows everybody! Everybody has a story about Bill Steffen because he has been at every event throughout West Michigan,” Shaw remarked.

In 2020, at the beginning of the pandemic, Bill was confined to forecasting from the basement of his home. It was the kind of gift that only local television could provide: After decades of beaming into family rooms across West Michigan, viewers were treated to a glimpse into Bill’s.

Even in those cozy confines, lightning can still strike.  

“He’s always bragging that he’s super famous because of the million views because of his fighting cats during the pandemic,” DeBoer said.

Now the chief meteorologist emeritus for Storm Team 8, Bill is already busy writing his next chapter. Look for more on Bill’s Blog, speaking engagements and maybe a parade or two.

For Bill, you measure a career in the hours and the years worked to create the forecasts, and in blog and YouTube hits. But also in the lives and the love.

Bill Steffen: always the friendly beacon, our north star and a man for all seasons.