UNI Alum In The Process of Being Verified For World Record

A former KWWL broadcaster is so close to being called a Guinness World Record holder. Jym Ganahl got his start right here in the Cedar Valley, so if he does end up being the world record holder for this very specific thing, we can all take credit for it.

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Originally from Cedar Rapids, Ganahl rose to national fame as a weatherman for KWWL. At the young age of 17, Ganahl gave his very first weather forecast on the Waterloo news station in 1966.

At the time, he was regarded as the youngest broadcast meteorologist in the country. After about 12 years, the beloved boy broadcaster moved on to Columbus, Ohio where he forecasted the weather for more than 50 years.

Award-winning broadcaster, talented meteorologist and now he's looking to add world record holder to this laundry list of accomplishments.

The Guinness Book of World Records committee is considering Ganahl for the title of longest-serving television weatherman for his half a century-plus on the job. This month will be his 56th year in the industry.

He still is giving the people of Ohio forecasts, even in his semi-retirement. Ganahl studied speech, math, and climatology at UNI. In a statement from the university that was made to celebrate this major accomplishment, a staff member said,

"We're proud of all our alums and it's exciting to see the success Jym has had in his record-breaking career," said Geography Department head Mark Welford.

"Geography is a major with applications in many different fields including weather forecasting, mobile maps, and even aerial drones."

According to his bio on his current station WSYX's website, he is in the middle of getting verified for this Guiness World Record. There is a lot of work that goes into getting this information verified. Sometimes it's almost a more difficult process than actually breaking the record itself.

The current record holder is Dick Goddard of Cleveland. He spend his entire 51 year career at WJW Channel 8.