Indiana forecaster’s retirement sparks weather department shuffle

WFIE Chief Meteorologist Jeff Lyons will retire in November 2026, ending a 40-year broadcasting career that included nearly four decades covering weather in Evansville, Indiana, and the surrounding Tri-State area and triggering several shifts in the station’s weather department. 

Lyons will make his final appearance on “14 News” on Thursday, Nov. 5, 2026, during the station’s 6 p.m. newscast. Veteran WFIE meteorologist Byron Douglas will succeed him as chief meteorologist.

Lyons joined WFIE in 1988, two years after beginning his broadcasting career at WTHI in Terre Haute, Indiana. An Evansville-area native, Lyons grew up watching WFIE and local broadcasters including Marcia Yockey, Mike Blake, David James and Ann Komis.

“I never thought that I would spend more than half of my life here doing work that I love to serve the Tri-State,” Lyons is quoted as saying in a story on the station’s website. “I literally grew up here at the station and had a lot of help and nurturing along the way.”

During his 38 years at WFIE, Lyons became a fixture of the station’s severe weather coverage while also making regular appearances at schools and community organizations throughout the region.

His retirement will bring several changes to the WFIE weather department.

Douglas, who has worked alongside Lyons for more than 32 years, will become chief meteorologist while continuing to handle the station’s morning weather coverage. Arden Gregory will remain with the weather team, including her role on WFIE’s midday newscast.

WFIE will also add two meteorologists in October 2026. Matthew Wine joined the weather team from Gray Media sister station WAVE in Louisville, Kentucky, to join WFIE’s evening team. Nathan Kitchens, who has been working in Peoria, Illinois, will become the station’s weekend meteorologist.

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Lyons plans to introduce both meteorologists to viewers on the air during October as the station transitions to its new weather lineup.

“Jeff Lyons has been the gold standard of local broadcasting and weather coverage in the Tri-State for nearly four decades,” WFIE Vice President and General Manager Jamie Bremer said. “His dedication to our viewers, his calm leadership during severe weather, and his deep connection to the community have made him a household name.”