European Stars and Stripes (Newspaper) - September 29, 1991, Darmstadt, Hesse The forecasts in it never Rains on Afna a . Kominicki senior staff writer of 10 reasons not to like Robert Rios no. 10 a he s too darn Good at everything. No. 9 a he knows it. Actually that about covers it. That is not to suggest that Rios the american forces network Weatherman is not likeable. On the contrary he is so infectiously Good natured so genuinely Nice that it s hard not to Admire the Guy. Think of him As Willard Scott in Eric Estrada s body. But there remains the nagging problem of All that competency. He a a crack weather forecaster a brutal Tennis player and an accomplished bicyclist. He a a world class Texas two stepper and bakes a what else a a mean Apple Pic. He has to quote one female staffer at the network a a great Rios does t have a hint of television training but he handles the nightly broadcast As if he were born with a Lavaliere microphone attached to his Chest. To top it All off he has a classic metallic Blue 1967 Mustang that his brother gave him. Arentt we supposed to hate people like this on a recent weekday morning Rios was sitting in his fourth floor office in the Abrams building in Frankfurt Germany using coloured markers to highlight what appeared to be unrelated squiggles on a weather map. Although he san air Force technical sergeant assigned to the s v corps weather office the an broadcast constitutes the bulk of his duties. On most Days other members of the office arrive before him to sketch out weather briefings for corps pilots and commanders. Rios who checks in around 10 a.m., rides Herd on the maps and satellite photos until Early afternoon then Heads off for the to station. Much of forecasting is a generating models of what will happen if the weather does what the Laws of nature say it should. A obviously it does no to always do that a Rios said. A so its always Nice to have other forecasters Rios 30, landed the to Job 2vi years ago after an air Force Friend alerted him to the opening. Head been working As a forecaster at Caris Weli fab Texas after a stint supporting the at fort Riley Kan. An air Force brat a a Home was w Here you woke up in the morning a Rios grew up at Clark a in the Philippines and at assorted bases in the Lone Star state. Originally head wanted some sort of computer Job but the air Force prodded him into meteorology. After 10 years in the career Field Rios in t complaining. A a in a fortunate to have stumbled across a Job in a Good at that stun a he said. Rios trades the gentle banter of the weather office for the sometimes cutting repartee of the an newsroom at about 2 . He writes and records his radio forecast first then scripts and polishes the to broadcast until it s time to head into the studio for taping at 5 . Rios is the sixth air Force forecaster to hold the Job since the network added the weather Slot to the evening news lineup in the late 1970s. Before that assorted network broadcasters did the segments amps Jim do Rheim Robert Rios an airman on the air a the Weatherman always has to he smiling a with information provided by the air juice a it really did t work out Quot said Gary Bautell the networks assignment editor and an an staffer since 1966. A your people could never really understand those High pressure the networks first authentic forecaster Randy Ravasio was a scholarly intensely private Man who never relished the broadcasting part of the Job although his dry professorial presentation eventually developed something of a cult follow ing. A the used a Pointer and in the beginning his hand was so shaky you could t Tell where he w As pointing a Bautell said. The forecasters have been a never belter Quot since Ravasio. According to Ann Mulligan the an news director. In her opinion Rios is the Best of the Bunch. A a he a the most Well rounded and he s made the most changes to the broadcast. He s always when Rios arrived in Germany for example the Weatherman worked with a simple map of Europe and an assortment of stick on Clouds and suns and partly cloudies. Worse the broadcast stuck pretty much to reviewing the Days weather. A a in a just arrived a Rios said a and i was sitting in the hotel watching the broadcast and waiting for the tomorrow map to come up. Nothing. And he s got More moxie than any other forecaster we be had on Long Range forecasting and he s usually right about it a Gary Bautell an assignment editor l thought. We be got to Haw a map show my to Morrow s . That s the Whoric pm pose to forecasting Quot in time. Rios and an engineers tagged up a system in which something called a Chroma Kev melds computer graphics and satellite photos with Rios stand up. Giving the weather segment the feel of big time to. One drawback the pro Cess requires that Rios stand in front of a teen Wall pointing at graphics and pictures that exist Only for the viewer. Only his monitors mounted to his right and on the camera in front of him. Allow Rios to see what the viewers get at Home. A the does t like to toot his own said Rios Boss at v corps. Maj. David a. Mcclurkin. A but his efforts helped replace 1940s an staffers Praise Rios relaxed delivery and the shut pah he exhibits in forecasting the week end s weather As Early As tuesday or wednesday. Quot lie s got More moxie than any other we be had on Long Range Bautell noted Quot and he s usually right about if there is a complaint its that Rios occasion ally tries to hog More air time than the two minutes allotted him. Quot we have to Cut him off some titles Quot said proper one of the network s news anchors. Quot its like Icv Rob this is the weather its not that interesting a Rios also has been known to throw in a few Loo Many technical terms a a Thermal discontinuity Quot for one a and to stray a bit too far in the Pursuit of just the right adjective. During one Long hot spell for example Rios forecast a sultry Quot that got a few remarks a Rios admitted. A people asking a can he say that on television a outside the studio Rios spends his free time playing Tennis or racquetball and tin weekends hitting country and Western nights on the club circuit. I in prefers Reading to watching to and enjoys Hunting Down Small gifts for his two kids Back in Texas. He is divorced Anil has no steady Girlfriend. Which brings us to the viewers. Some like the Van Load of women who once followed him Home from the studio or those who Semi him fan mail in perfumed envelopes decorated with glitter Are easy to Deal with. But others like to hold the Weatherman personally accountable for the weather. A it does t matter if you forecaster rain for a week. If its raining there a always someone who wants to give you a hard time. If it s Nice people Are asking when it s going to rain. If it s raining they re asking when its going to Stop. A the Weatherman always has to he Rios said. A a you re always a target for tech. Sgt. John Gamash who had the an weather Job before Rios arrival agrees Quot livery one in the military Community recognizes said Gamash now a weather forecaster at Aviano a in Italy. A a in a a private sort of person and i never really enjoyed living in a Glass House. Quot when your forecast is Good you generally Don t hear from people. When its off a and i d be the first to admit i did t hit them All you hear about it. People seem to remember when you get it viewer complaints aside Rios seems to relish the celebrity to enjoy being the weather whale m a sardine sied sea. Quot in be seen him at the commissary Quot Bautell said Quot and he passes through like he s some sort of local politician smiling waving shaking but Rios who must one Day return to the rank and file of air Force lore casting believes lie la be ready to give it All up when the time comes. Quot i was m pans once Quot Rios said eager to prove the Point. Quot i m walking Down the Stickl and this american woman rushes up she s acc Nam cd me you can see it m Lief Eves i know von she save i know Yon you re John Yamash Quot 29 1tj1 of Finay a
