Spencer Christian is an American television broadcaster, best known as the former weather forecaster for ABC's Good Morning America from 1986 to 1998. He currently is the weather forecaster for ABC-owned KGO-TV in San Francisco. Christian is also the author of several children's books.
Biography
Christian was born in Newport News, Virginia in 1947. He began his broadcasting career at WWBT in Richmond, Virginia as a news reporter, covering state and local politics, the public school system, and landmark cases in the Fourth US Circuit Court of Appeals. His first stint as a weatherman came in 1975, in Baltimore, Maryland, when he was hired by news director Ron Kershaw at WBAL-TV to join the station's Action News team which included Sue Simmons, Mike Hambrick, Ron Smith, Curt Anderson and Joe Krebs. In Baltimore, Christian quickly gained a respectable following because of his quick wit and not so dry humor. Additionally, he frequently made appearances at many community and charitable events held at shopping centers, elementary schools and little leagues. From there, Christian moved to New York City's WABC-TV, where he served as a general assignment reporter, weatherman and sportscaster for Eyewitness News from 1977 to 1986. In August 1986, Christian joined Good Morning America as their weather forecaster. In addition, he occasionally traveled throughout the United States and abroad, reporting on a wide range of topics from current events to human interest stories. From 1992 to 1993, Christian was also seen on the Black Entertainment Television cable network as the host of the musicgame showTriple Threat. For decades, Christian had a serious gambling addiction. He describes his addiction and his recovery in his 2018 book, You Bet Your Life: How I SurvivedJim Crow Racism, Hurricane Chasing, and Gambling. Christian left Good Morning America at the end of 1998 and began doing weather forecasts at KGO-TV in San Francisco, California in January 1999, a position he holds to this day. He was host of HGTV's Spencer Christian's Wine Cellar from 1995 to 1999. Christian has also hosted the PBS train series Tracks Ahead since 1997. In 2006, he began hosting the popular afternoon show in San Francisco, The View from the Bay. In June, 2014, Christian temporarily returned to the set of Good Morning America as a substitute weather forecaster while Ginger Zee was having her wedding. He also returned on November 19, 2015, to celebrate the 40th Anniversary of Good Morning America. He is a member of the Beta chapter of Iota Phi Theta fraternity.
