Missouri forecaster returns to Columbia station after stint in Kentucky

Patrick Herion is returning to KOMU in Columbia, Missouri, as morning meteorologist.

Herion had been with NBC affiliate KOMU, which is owned the University of Missouri, from 2021 to 2025. He jumped to fellow NBC affiliate WLEX in Lexington, Kentucky, but left that station’s weather team in August 2026.

The station’s parent, E.W. Scripps Company, bought ABC affiliate WTVQ Aug. 1, 2026, and began to restructure its on-air team shortly after, with on-air personalities exiting from both stations as it began using the same team to produce newscasts on both stations.

It was not clear if Herion’s departure was directly related to those staffing changes. 

Herion graduated from Mizzou’s journalism school in 2022. He then completed a master’s in meteorology in 2025. During his time as a student, he worked as a reporter, weathercaster, producer and weather intern at the station. He became a meteorologist in 2023. 

With his return to KOMU, meteorologist Kesley Kobielusz will shift back to handling the noon and 5 p.m. newscasts with Herion taking over the morning shift alongside anchor Marvis Herring, according to a social media post by the station.