CHICAGO — It was an announcement that stunned viewers of Channel 9 yet produced an outpouring of love and support for one of America’s most beloved meteorologists.

Tom Skilling announced on Thursday’s WGN Evening News that he was retiring after a successful 45-year run at the station. Since then, many have shared their memories of his time in Chicago on social media, flooding our channels with best wishes after nearly a half-century on the air.

Skilling will officially sign off in February, with many tributes planned for him up until then, including a segment on Friday’s WGN Morning News.

We welcomed Tom onto the set for a discussion on his career along with a few times he took part in a few segments for the show – who could ever forget “Tom Freakin’ Skilling” from 2008!

Larry Potash, Lourdes Duarte, Pat Tomasulo, and Paul Konrad talked about that and more on his decision to retire from Channel 9 after 45 years during the 8 a.m. hour.

You can hear Tom’s discussion with the hosts from the October 13 show in the video above.