BOISE, Idaho — After 32 years calling the Treasure Valley home, Jay Breidenbach, the warning coordination meteorologist with the National Weather Service is retiring.
The forecaster graduated from Florida State University. He and made Idaho his home soon after, raising his family and being a large part of Idaho's biggest weather events.
From Boise River flooding after "snowmageddon," to forecasting one of the warmest winters ever recorded just last year, Breidenbach has been a pivotal part of weather prediction in southwestern Idaho.
“I couldn't have done anything without this amazing group of people that I've had the unbelievable privilege to work with all of these years. So I'm just so thankful,” he said.
On Friday, colleagues from across the Gem State came to celebrate his career and showcase the impact he has had on the state's weather monitoring.
Briedenbach is an avid skier and mountain biker and plans to do plenty of that in retirement, but says the forecast will still very much be a part of his life and will continue to keep up with the forecast
“Weather doesn't go away from me ever. I, you know, we were talking about how I got interested in this when I was, you know, in, in grade school, and I'm gonna take this with me in retirement for sure. You know, I have lots of friends that are all asking me, Jay, what's, what's the weather like?,” he said.
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