Today, the family of legendary KOMO 4 meteorologist Steve Pool shared the sad news that Pool died this week due to complications from early onset Alzheimer’s. A fixture in the local media landscape for decades, Pool was a talented, caring journalist who was known for his optimism and excellent forecasts. He will be deeply missed by many friends, colleagues, and KOMO viewers.
His passing was announced in a note posted by his family on Facebook.
Dear Friends,
I am here to share the sad news that my dear husband, my love, has passed away from early-onset Alzheimer’s disease. He fought this terrible disease privately for several years, and with every ounce of his being. He told me multiple times to “never count me out” and we never did. This past week it became too much and he passed away peacefully. We are so blessed to have had him in our lives. He was an extraordinary man, husband, father and good friend to many. Please know that he truly loved his job and this community and felt so privileged to be a part of your lives. You were all so good to him and thereby good to us. Our hearts are irretrievably broken. Please say a prayer for him and our family.
Much love, Michelle and our daughters Lindsey and Marissa
Our condolences to Michelle, Lindsey, Marissa, and the Pool family.
Born November 5th, 1953, Pool grew up in Western Washington. He went to Tyee High School in SeaTac and served his peers as student body president. He went to college at the University of Washington and became a KOMO intern during those years. After he graduated in 1978 with a major in communications, he was hired to work at the station full time as a reporter, covering hard news and sports.
A few years later, in 1984, when the station needed someone to take over the weather beat, Pool assumed his iconic role as KOMO’s chief forecaster, after returning to the University of Washington to study the atmospheric sciences. He would remain in that role for over three decades until his retirement in 2019.
Even when the weather was bad, watching Pool deliver a forecast was very enjoyable. His reassuring presence was something KOMO viewers could rely on.
In this clip created by our team at NPI from our local broadcast television media archives, you can see Steve at his best, delivering a forecast on a beautiful, sunny May spring day back in 2013, with a lead-in from anchor Dan Lewis.
Although Pool spent his career at KOMO, he was also nationally renowned thanks to his work filling as a guest forecaster on ABC’s Good Morning America.
“His awards include Seven Emmy Awards, a Sigma Delta Chi Society of Professional Journalism award, New York International Film Festival Gold and Bronze Medals, National Academy of Television Arts and Sciences, American Scene Award, a “Telly” Award, the premier award honoring outstanding local, regional, and cable TV commercials and programs, and an Academy of Religious Broadcasting Lifetime Achievement Award,” his official biography notes.
“He has appeared more than seventy times on ABC’s Good Morning America and is also part of the news team that was the 2001 and 2008 winner of the Edward R. Murrow Award for the best newscast in America. In 2004 he was inducted into the University of Washington Communications Hall of Fame.”
Pool’s colleagues during his more than forty years at KOMO included Lewis, Kathi Goertzen, Ken Schram, Lynn Espinoza, Elisa Jaffe, Bruce King, Bryan Johnson, Mary Nam, Connie Thompson, Molly Shen, and Eric Johnson.
The full list is much, much longer.
Lewis is now the only living member of that quartet.
Johnson, who succeeded King on the sports beat and remains with KOMO today, remembered his time working with Pool very fondly:
Steve Pool started working full-time at KOMO TV in 1977, although he’d already done some work for them as a student at the University of Washington.
He started with sports, did some straight news, and eventually settled on weather. His smooth, easy charisma lit up the TV screen for more than thirty years.
The old tapes don’t lie. He was a natural.
“Steve Pool is such a likeable guy,” Dan says.
“One of the most talented people I’ve ever known. I mean, beyond his great work with the weather, he was funny, he could sing.
Steve, I think, was a born entertainer.”
We talked a little about just how good he was.
So good that he filled in on Good Morning America.
So good that people were drawn to him like a magnet.
“People love Steve Pool, man, and I love Steve Pool,” Dan says. “He was such a fun guy to work with.”
And a fun guy to get weather updates from.
When the Apple Cup rolled around each autumn, the game frequently became an object of banter among the members of the Dream Team. Goertzen, a diehard Cougar fan, delighted in sparring on-air with Pool, a proud Husky.
The last Apple Cup of the Pac‑8/10/12 era will be played tomorrow.
The University of Washington offered this tribute: “RIP to UW alum Steve Pool, ’77. Always a staple in our Puget Sound community, Steve will be deeply missed. Steve’s legendary career with KOMO news spanned more than four decades, serving as one of our region’s most trusted weathermen.”
Seattle Mayor Bruce Harrell wrote: “A Seattle news legend and pioneer, Steve Pool was kind and authentic – he epitomized professionalism. I join in mourning his passing and send my heartfelt condolences to his family. Steve’s legacy will live on through the people and causes he supported.”
Essex Porter, one of our favorite reporters of all time, wrote: “Steve was already anchoring when I arrived in Seattle in 1982. His excellence and elegance helped to open the door and hold it open for me and all the other Black television journalists in Seattle. A legend. Condolences to his family and friends.”
Jesse Jones, another Seattle broadcast television icon, wrote: “RIP Steve. What an incredible man. Could have worked at any level anywhere. And yet, he stayed to serve our communities. Legendary.”
“Steve Pool’s excellence is a critical example for the mission and credibility of SABJ [the Seattle Association of Black Journalists],” said Jerry Brewer, SABJ’s President. “He was too good, too cool, too classy and too genuine to be denied. We’ll never forget that we stand on the shoulders of an incredible journalist whose talent was matched only by the kind and unselfish way he went about doing the job.”
Pool maintained his ties with KOMO, now owned by Sinclair, after concluding his employment there. “Steve continued to make contributions to KOMO 4 even in retirement,” the station explained. “He came up with the idea for the documentary How Seattle Changed The World, which premiered on KOMO 4 in February 2023. The documentary shares how people in the Seattle area created new products, services, and innovations that made life easier and better for people all over the world. The documentary was dedicated to Steve Pool.”
Steve Pool epitomized the best of Cascadia. He was a first-rate broadcaster, but more importantly, he was a good person. A true role model who treated others with kindness and respect. That is what our world desperately needs more of.
Thank you for everything, Steve.
Been watching him since 1974…
“Steve Pool The Weather Tool”
You will be missed!!!