SPOKANE, Wash. — For more than 30 years, Tom Sherry brought the weather forecast and, frequently, a laugh or two to the Inland Northwest.
However, when the weather turned serious, so did Tom Sherry. This meant he was the one to guide the community through everything from an epic ice storm to a historic heatwave.
Here are some of the most historic weather events that Tom Sherry guided the community through:
Ice Storm 96
November 19, 1996
November 1996 is likely frozen in the memory of any longtime Spokane resident.
Ice Storm 96 was Tom Sherry's first big weather event as the KREM 2 chief meteorologist. More than an inch and a half of freezing rain fell, coating power lines, trees and roads.
"Everybody, as you know, lost power, including KREM TV. And so we had the live truck out in the driveway, jerry-rigged by the greatest engineers ever," Tom recalled. "And so we were doing our broadcast out of the newsroom, lit and we only had very little power. So literally, it would be Charles and Nadine and Tom. And then we'd share the mic."
As trees crashed under the weight of the ice, more than half of Spokane's residents- 180,000 people- were left in the dark.
"It was dangerously, dangerously cold and people were without power for a week to ten days to two weeks," Tom said. "I personally was without power for almost ten days."
Four people would die during the ice storm and damages would climb to $22 million, making this ice storm one of the worst on record in the Inland Northwest.
"We're pretty hardy people here in the Inland Northwest. At the same time, you start getting to a week to ten days to two weeks," Tom recalled. "Everybody just about cracked during that period. That was a big deal and it went on for a long time."
Snowpocalypse
December 2008-
More than a decade after the dangerous ice storm, the Inland Northwest would be hit with another storm of epic proportions.
In December of 2008, Tom Sherry would take to the air to report that nearly two feet of snow fell within a 24-hour period.
"I do remember that people here at work made heroic efforts to get to work because their neighborhoods were snowed in," Tom said. "And, of course, schools were closed. So everybody had to make adjustments. Their parents couldn't go to work. Sometimes work wasn't open. I mean, I just remember it being extremely, extremely difficult."
Spokane Police would declare all city streets closed. The city was shut down.
For the next two weeks, the snow continued to come down. It would be a record-setting winter snowfall.
However, the next winter would shatter those snow totals.
Once again, travel became nearly impossible. Roofs collapsed under the incredible weight of the snow.
Windstorm 2015
2015
Snow wasn't the cause of widespread damage throughout the Inland Northwest in 2015; it was wind.
"It wasn't just branches breaking off as we've seen in previous or since windstorms, it was actual trees being uprooted," Tom recalled. "And it's because they're kind of a shallow-rooted tree. And then we had a lot of water. So it kind of was a perfect storm is what it was. And again, we lost power."
180,000 people would lose power during this windstorm and some residents would be left in the dark for weeks. At least 375 trees went down across Spokane, piercing roofs and blocking roads.
2021 Heat Wave
This past summer meant guiding the Inland Northwest through a legendary heat dome. Spokane would post the hottest summer on record and the hottest temperature ever recorded in Spokane - 109 degrees.
Spokane's medical examiner would end up reporting 17 heatwave-related deaths.
"It was extremely important in times of not severe weather to just give [viewers] good, factual weather and hopefully, a smile along the way and kind of be a little bit of a break from the rest of the news, which many times is not pleasant," Tom said. "And then in times of severe weather, then be their go-to guy."
From a dangerous heatwave to record-breaking snowstorms, Tom Sherry guided the Inland Northwest through it all for more than 30 years.
"There are a lot of meteorologists across the country that are very breathless," Tom said. "And I just never wanted to be that guy. I wanted to just let the facts and give it an A-measured tone. Nobody has to invite you into their home. So the fact that people would let me come into their home to deliver weather or do some shenanigans, I never took that lightly. That's an honor. And I was never going to be ungrateful for that."