Remembering Dr. Frank Field, Legendary TV Weatherman With Ties To LI

LONG ISLAND, NY — Legendary TV meteorologist Dr. Frank Field died over the weekend. He was 100.

Field lived for many years in Bellmore and Massapequa before spending his final years in Florida.

A generation of viewers first got their "five-day forecast" from Field on WNBC, where he began in the late 1950s.

Before Field, "Weather Girls" would most likely tell the nightly conditions.

"I was probably the first one to break that barrier," Field told me in a 2017 interview. "It was really amateur night in the weather department in those days."

He was a mainstay of the station for more than 25 years until he went to rival WCBS for another 11 years.

"I had no competition," Field recalled. "There was nobody that was capable of doing a science report with any integrity or ability."

Field learned meteorology at Brown University and MIT and was the Army Air Force meteorology officer in the European theater during World War II.

But he deepened his education and ultimately his skill set, with a bachelor's degree in Optometry from Columbia University and a doctorate on the faculty of Albert Einstein College of Medicine.

As science editor, Field was in the unique position to report on important health news. He famously brought viewers into the ER for a live kidney transplant.

Whether introducing the Heimlich maneuver or teaching how to escape a fire, Field used airtime to address safety issues.

Field also introduced a new generation to the world of weather, including longtime WCBS Radio meteorologist Craig Allen.

"He really, really wanted me to succeed," Allen, of Merrick, told Patch. "He mentored me for several years."

Allen, who has been delivering daily forecasts on 880 for 43 years, credits Field for helping him achieve his success.

"I doubt I would be where I am if not for his guidance," Allen admitted. "He was just that type of person--always willing to give back and pay it forward."

Field's son Storm (born Elliott), who graduated from Bellmore's Mepham High School, was a fixture on WABC's "Eyewitness News" in the late 1970s and 1980s.

Field's wife of 75 years died earlier in 2023.