Dick Goddard, a Cleveland broadcast legend, dies at 89

CLEVELAND — Legendary Cleveland meteorologist Dick Goddard has died, according to his daughter.

Kimberly Goddard confirmed in Junethat her father tested positive for COVID-19.

Today she posted to Facebook: "My HERO, my DADDY, THE GREATEST ANIMAL LOVER is now an ANGEL."

Goddard first appeared on television in 1961, becoming a fixture in living rooms across Northeast Ohio for decades. He spent 55 years forecasting the weather for Fox 8 before retiring in November 2016.

In an article about Goddard's last broadcast, Plain Dealer television reporter Mark Dawidziak said it best when he wrote that Goddard had an "epic TV run as a weatherman."

The National Weather Service released a statement following the death of Goddard.

Among Goddard’s accomplishments was the annual Woollybear Festival that celebrates the so-called weather-predicting caterpillar. Northeast Ohioans of a certain vintage will also recall his appearances on the "Big Chuck and Lil' John Show."

An animal rights activist, Goddard successfully lobbied for what is called Goddard’s Law, which Gov. John Kasich signed in 2016. The law makes knowingly causing serious physical harm to a companion animal a felony.

Goddard was 89.

To read the Akron Beacon Journal's story on Goddard's retirement from Fox 8, click here.