Clayton Brough

ABC4-KTVX News Weathercaster and Climatologist, 1980-2008

ABC4-KTVX News Weathercasts of Clayton Brough

     Clayton Brough served as a television weather forecaster and climatologist for ABC4-KTVX News (in Utah) from 1980 to 2008. Brief samples from some of his weathercasts are available online via the links listed below.  The video of June 26, 2005 shows clips from 25 years on ABC4-KTVX (2:24 minutes); the video of November 23, 2008 shows clips from 30 years on television and his last weathercast and retirement tribute on ABC4-KTVX (6:28 minutes); and the video of April 19, 2018 shows him celebrating ABC4-KTVX "70 Years on the air" with an impromptu weathercast (4:43 minutes).  These weathercast videos can be viewed by clicking on the following links:

Clayton Brough's ABC4-KTVX Weathercasts: 1980-2005 (2:24 minutes)

Clayton Brough's ABC4-KTVX Retirement Tribute: November 23, 2008 (6:28 minutes)

Clayton Brough celebrates ABC4-KTVX "70 Years on the air" with an impromptu weathercast: April 19, 2018 (4:43 minutes)

(The above three videos are also available on YouTube)

Clayton Brough Retires after more than 30 Years on Television

ABC4-KTVX Television News Release, November 3-23, 2008:

     Clayton Brough, one of the nation's few "broadcast climatologists," will retire from KTVX-ABC4 by the end of November 2008, after spending more than 30 years on television and presenting thousands of weather forecasts.

     Brough, who is 58 years old and survived cancer in 2004, says he recently made the decision to retire from television in an effort to "conserve my energy, preserve my health, and spend more time with my wife, children and grandchildren."

     Brough worked at KUTV-2 from 1978 to 1980. In July 1980, he began working full-time at KTVX-ABC4, and since 1986 he's been Channel 4's weekend climatologist and weather forecaster. His more than 28 years of weather broadcasting on one television station places him in a unique crowd--as only a few television anchors, weather forecasters or sportscasters have ever enjoyed such a long run on one television station.

     Over the past thirty years, Brough has also worked as a full-time public education teacher, consulted and written extensively on Utah's weather and climate, served as an adjunct university instructor in geography at Brigham Young University and the University of Utah, and been president of one of the world's largest ancestral family history organizations. "After many years of working multiple jobs seven days a week, I'm getting older and slower," Brough said, "and I want to spend more time with my wife and family, and pursue more family history work." He says, "I will miss my television family, friends and viewers, and I greatly appreciate their years of support and encouragement; but I'm now putting my broadcasting days behind me, and I plan on spending the next several years teaching weather, climate and geography to my secondary and university students."

     Brough's last day on KTVX-ABC4 will be Sunday evening, November 23, 2008.

ABC4-KTVX Celebrates 70 Years On The Air, April 19, 2018

Clayton Brough celebrates ABC4-KTVX "70 Years on the air" with an impromptu weathercast: April 19, 2018 (4:43 minutes)

ABC4-KTVX Celebrates 70 Years On The Air - April 19, 2018 

     SALT LAKE CITY, Utah (News4Utah) [dated April 20, 2018] – On April 19th, 1948. ABC4 Utah began broadcasting television from its station in downtown Salt Lake City. Former employees took a look back at some of the biggest impacts the station has had on the community.

     Clayton Brough toured the station Thursday and was amazed by the new technology, and how sharp televisions in the studio make a broadcast look.

     When he came to Channel 4 in 1980 as a weather man, he often only had one satellite photo to show viewers about the forecast.

     “It only produced about one satellite photo, and a camera would have to come in and take a picture of that, and you hoped it was visible enough for the audience,” said Brough.

     The computer models at that time only had an accurate forecast for three days out.

     Former Sports Director Steve Brown knew all too well how hard technology made it to film certain events.

     “You’d have a 100 foot load or about two and a half minutes of film,” said Brown. “You would ask him to go get highlights of a game in the two and a half minutes. Well if you had shot your film and the last shot of the game was the winner…that’s too bad.”

     Brown also was able to cover one of the biggest events in Utah’s history in 1979 when it was announced in the New Orleans Jazz would be moving to Salt Lake City.

     “For this city that was a great story and for me individually personally a great opportunity to do it,” said Brown. “It was really a milestone.”

     Technology has improved broadcast news throughout the years. Now viewers can get local information from anywhere in the world. Brough notes while the tools may change the mission of broadcast news hasn’t.

     “No matter how slick it looks and no matter what you have in technology it’s still the person relating to people.”

ABC4-KTVX Celebrates 75 Years As The First TV Station In Utah - April 19, 2023

ABC4-KTVX celebrated 75 years as the first TV station in Utah on April 19, 2023

Weather and Climate Publications by Clayton Brough, ABC4-KTVX Climatologist (1980-2008) 

Utah's Tornadoes and Waterspouts: 1847 to the Present, Sixth Edition, KTVX, Salt Lake City, Utah, 1999, 27 pages

Utah's Weather and Climate, Publishers Press, Salt Lake City, Utah, 1996, 245 pages.

Utah's High Winds: Intensities, Frequencies and Distribution, KTVX, Salt Lake City, Utah, 1989, 60 pages

Utah's Comprehensive Weather Almanac, Publishers Press, Salt Lake City, Utah, 1987, 517 pages

Western Utah Climatography, Cenozoic Geology of Western Utah, UGA, Salt Lake City, Utah, 1987, 28 pages

Utah Weather Almanac and a Precipitation Projection to 2040, KTVX, Salt Lake City, Utah, 1986, 8 pages

The Greatest Snow on Earth: The Weather & Climate of Utah's Ski Resorts, KTVX, Salt Lake City, Utah, 1985, 6 pages

Conference vs. the Weather, ARI, Salt Lake City, Utah, 1983, 7 pages, (in newspapers: 1983, 2003, 2011, 2012; last update 2015)

Utah Weather Guide, Society for Applied Climatology, West Jordan, Utah, 1983, 46 pages

This humorous event happened more than forty years ago on ABC4-KTVX News

     During a 1983 ABC4-KTVX 10PM newscast, anchor Phil Riesen was ending the newscast with a story about a man who was predicting that World War III would happen in a few minutes.  Unfortunately, as Phil was concluding the story, the chair Clayton Brough was sitting on accidently fell off the raised news set, which caused Steven Brown and the camera crew to break out in laughter.  Phil initially tried to keep his composure but eventually gave in to the humorous event.  Watch this news story and event HERE.