Returning to Storm Team 27 summer of 2022, Ryan Halicki has been forecasting weather in the Valley since 2010. He started his career on WKBN’s sister station, WYTV, doing weekend weather in 2010. In 2011 he began forecasting for WKBN’s weekend evening newscasts, working alongside WKBN veterans Don Guthrie and Rich Morgan. He continued in that role through early 2015. He also reported on news stories across the Valley as a general assignment multimedia journalist between 2010-2014 for both stations. Halicki returned to sister station WYTV in January 2015 to be the weeknight evening meteorologist. He spent more than seven years in that role, helping folks plan their days and teaming up with Storm Team 27 when severe weather threatened the area. Ryan is thrilled to be returning to Storm Team 27 and working alongside one of his closest friends and mentors, Storm Team 27 Chief Meteorologist Paul Wetzl. Ryan will cover forecasting duties on WKBN 27 First News at 10 on Fox Youngstown and WKBN 27 First News at 11 PM.
Born and raised in the Mahoning Valley, Ryan grew up in Hubbard. He is living out his childhood dream. His fascination with weather began when he was seven years old. In between watching cartoons as a kid, he’d turn to The Weather Channel and force his family to endure hours of forecasts and storm coverage. Though there isn’t a specific event that sparked his interest in weather that he can recall, he does remember family talking about the tornado of 1985 as a kid, passing only about a mile north of his grandmother’s farm in Hubbard township. His infatuation with the weather as a child never waned. As he got older, friends would call to ask whether or not they’d have a snow day in the winter or if they needed to go to the basement when it was storming. His first weather “broadcasts” date back to his senior year of high school when he gave weather forecasts on the morning announcements at Hubbard High School through his senior year. Ryan attended Youngstown State University after high school, graduating magna cum laude in 2010 with two bachelor’s degrees.
In his downtime, you can often find him in the kitchen. Ryan loves cooking and baking. He is a lover of dogs and has two rescues he adores. He also enjoys doing CrossFit and running. While his happy place is in the sand and by the water, he loves the Valley and is delighted to have a career he loves in his hometown. He is honored to continue helping people in the Valley plan their days and keeping folks safe from severe weather in the community that always has been and always will be home.
