Miami mourns the death of a familiar TV weather forecaster
South Florida viewers and TV colleagues were mourning this week after learning that a familiar weather personality had died in a plane crash.
Roland Steadham, formerly a meteorologist at three major stations in South Florida, WSVN-Channel 7, WTVJ-NBC 6 and WPLG Local 10, was killed in a small plane crash Tuesday morning outside Boise, Idaho, where he’d moved about 10 years ago, the Idaho Statesman reported.
After his South Florida years on the air — which spanned several hurricanes — Steadham, a commercially licensed pilot, relocated out west to Utah, eventually becoming chief weatherman at Boise CBS affiliate KBOI-TV.
According to media reports, investigators believe the plane clipped a power line, then crashed into the icy Payette River. An unidentified male passenger also was killed.
“For the past decade, Roland Steadham guided people through storm after storm in Idaho,” read KBOI-TV’s online eulogy. “He loved to study the weather and shared it with people across Idaho. Roland’s excitement for the weather was contagious. He helped forecast in cities coast to coast, but fortunately, he made the Boise area his home.”
Channel 7’s Craig Stevens shared his former colleague’s obituary on Facebook Wednesday evening.
“So sorry to see this,” he wrote. “Thinking of his family.”
Underneath, condolences poured in from folks from Steadham’s onetime home, including from former CBS News Miami’s entertainment reporter Lisa Petrillo: ”So, so sad to hear this.”
Other local commenters on Stevens’ post said they remembered watching the avid outdoorsman and father of six in their youth on TV. The 67-year-old Steadham was hailed as a “class act,” “gentleman” and “true professional.”
Also mourning his predecessor on X was NBC 6’s John Morales, who’s been running in the same weather circles as the late forecaster for decades.
“Strength to his family,” wrote the industry veteran.
This story was originally published January 28, 2026 at 12:46 PM.
