A Nova Scotia meteorologist who was a comforting presence to Maritimers on television and radio for more than five decades died early Saturday.
Peter Coade, 82, had dementia and was hospitalized at the Hants Community Hospital since November, his son told CBC News.
With his down-to-earth demeanour and warm voice, Coade had an enormous passion for weather and was dedicated to sharing the latest predictions.
“It’s one of the most important elements we live by. It dictates our food supply, it dictates how we live, how we work,” he said upon retiring from CBC in 2016.
At the time of his retirement, he held the Guinness World Record for longest career for a weather forecaster, but the record has since been surpassed.
In retirement, the doting Coade spent his time with his son and daughter, four grandchildren and three great-grandchildren.
CBC anchor Tom Murphy reacted Saturday to Coade’s death by saying his name is synonymous with weather.
After 54 years at the job, CBC meteorologist Peter Coade retires Sept. 30, 2016.
“He was that calming, informative voice to help us cope on the eve of a hurricane or pick a sunny day at the beach,” said Murphy. “The audience repaid him with their respect. Above all, he was a tremendous colleague we all miss.”
Living in Nova Scotia meant Coade had the opportunity to call several high-profile weather events.
Memories of Hurricane Juan
In 2003, Hurricane Juan brought winds of more than 145 km/h and knocked out power to 300,000 homes and businesses and downed countless trees. Two people died as a result of the Sept. 29, 2003, Category 2 storm.
“A lot of people that weren’t listening to me were surprised at that storm,” said Coade.
He said some Maritimers watch U.S. TV stations for forecasts because the weather usually goes west to east. Hurricane Juan didn’t follow that pattern and instead came up straight due south of Halifax. As a result, it wasn’t on the radar of U.S. forecasters.
Remembering White Juan
A mere five months later, the massive snowstorm known as White Juan dumped 50 to 95 centimetres of snow on Nova Scotia.
Coade also predicted that, but he made one mistake.
“Stupidly though, I didn’t bring in a change of underwear or socks, even though I knew I wasn’t going home for a couple of days because I was trapped in the city,” he said.
How Coade got his start
Coade’s journey into forecasting weather began with less than noble intentions. In Grade 11 at St. Patrick’s High School in Halifax, the principal came into his class to talk about job-shadowing opportunities at the CBC. While students raised their hands when asked if they were interested in being a camera operator or television presenter, no one raised their hand when meteorologist was brought up.
“I was smart enough to think that this sounds like a day out of school,” said Coade, who ended up spending a day job-shadowing CBC meteorologist Rube Hornstein.
In the early days, Coade worked extensively in radio. In Happy Valley-Goose Bay in the late 1960s, he presented the weather each evening on CBC Television to an audience made up mostly of United States Air Force personnel and their families stationed in Labrador during the Cold War.
He later worked for Toronto radio station CFRB and was also the meteorologist for the Canadian International Air Show for many years.
Beginning in March 1990, Coade worked for ATV and ASN, before rejoining CBC in 2007.
