Austin Mayor Kirk Watson declares Feb. 28 as 'David Yeomans Day'
On Tuesday, City of Austin Mayor Kirk Watson officially declared Feb. 28 as David Yeomans Day in the City of Austin.
AUSTIN (KXAN) -- On Tuesday, City of Austin Mayor Kirk Watson officially declared Feb. 28, 2024, as "David Yeomans Day" in the City of Austin.
KXAN announced the departure of Chief Meteorologist David Yeomans, who has been with the station for 12 years. His last day on-air will be Wednesday.
"Donning his iconic pocket squares and white accent collars, David Yeomans has always jumped into action to guide Austinites through whatever unpredictable event Texas weather has thrown at us," the proclamation said in part.
In an interview with KXAN Live Anchor Will DuPree, Yeomans said this has been a bit of a rollercoaster.
"It's not an easy decision," he said. "I've never worked anywhere else professionally. I've been here since I was in graduate school when KXAN took a chance on a guy right out of college with not a lot of skill at doing this. But I've grown so much here. I've learned so much from all my colleagues and our managers, and I've really enjoyed just being with our community for 12 years."
Yeomans said he has called Austin home since 2001.
"I'm going to miss it all," he said. "Moving is going to be a huge change. It's a really exciting, new chapter that we're beginning. It's really sad, and it's a huge decision to close this chapter, at least for now."
Yeomans was first introduced to KXAN as a weather intern under former Chief Meteorologist Jim Spencer.
Temporarily, viewers will see a familiar face filling in on our evening newscasts — Jim Spencer.
In January 2021, Jim announced his semi-retirement after 30 years as KXAN’s chief weathercaster. He is the longest-serving weathercaster in the history of Austin television.
One Austin City Council member honored Jim with a proclamation officially designating Feb. 25, 2021, as “Jim Spencer Day” in the city.
Watson said in the proclamation, "The Mayor of Austin is arguably a chicken and refuses to make a determination as to whether David Yeomans or Jim Spencer is at the top of the leaderboard for all-time correct weather predictions."
Yeomans said he hopes everyone understands that sometimes a new challenge is needed.
"Sometimes you want to see what you're capable of, and sometimes you need a change of scenery after a long time in one place. That's what this is going to be for me. Austin is always going to be home for me," Yeomans said.