WFMJ-TV New meteorologist weathers change just like a breeze

Taking his forecasts on the road has been a learning experience.
By NANCILYNN GATTA
VINDICATOR CORRESPONDENT
YOUNGSTOWN -- There's a new guy in town.
You've probably seen him, at 6 and 11 p.m., on WFMJ-TV. Dave Trygar is the most-recent addition to the evening news -- the chief meteorologist.
"I'm new to the Valley, but I'm not new to the weather," said Dave Trygar. He grew up in Moscow, Pa., a small town nestled in the northern end of the Pocono Mountains. It's a section of the country that is similar to here, weather-wise. It also has four seasons.
"I let people know that I'm new. It's a cry for help," he said. "I might say Vee-enna instead of Vy-anna or Campbell instead of Camel, I haven't done that yet."
Weekend job
While attending Penn State University, majoring in meteorology, Trygar started working weekends at the NBC affiliate, WBRE in Scranton.
"It was time for me to move on. After seven years, you really start to wonder why you're not moving up through the system. It was just they had a different image of me. I had been that college kid that made it. I wanted to go somewhere. There were possibilities, but this was the best opportunity," said Trygar.
Budding interest
His interest in weather began as an elementary school student.
"When I was a little kid, I'd always been watching this station in Scranton. There were these weather school questions and I was getting them right. At the same time, The Weather Channel was starting to hit all the major cable operations.
"Obviously, when it's going to snow kids want to know if they're going to have the day off," he explained. "I'd hope for a snow day. I'd watch the news and the guy would say, 'We're going to get six to 10 inches.' We would get an inch or two and not even have a delay. I was thinking to myself, 'Why is it raining instead of snowing?' I dug a little bit deeper. I started watching The Weather Channel a little bit more and I got my interest."
To introduce Trygar to the locally owned stations' viewing public, "Trygar's Travels" was created. These trips away from the studio gave him an opportunity to learn about The Mahoning Valley.
Last week, Trygar did live remote broadcasts as part of the 6 p.m. newscast. He visited Belleria Pizza in Struthers, Schwebel's, St. Anne's Ukrainian Catholic Church and Boardman Lanes.
Since he really likes to talk to people, he enjoyed these events.
What does he think about us?
From these excursions, Trygar has gathered a few opinions about area residents.
"The people here are ultra friendly. I was told that and I've gotten the idea of that in my own newsroom. People are walking up to me and saying 'Hey, we watch you. You do a tremendous job.' I'm thinking, that's pretty nice. You find me approachable. I like that. This is a very intimate news market. People feel like they know you," said Trygar.
"I was at Belleria on Tuesday. They took me right in the kitchen and I learned all this stuff. When I went out into the dining room, people walked right up to me and said, 'Hey you're that new guy, Dave. We watch you all the time.'"
Serious job
Even though Trygar considers himself to be an approachable person, he takes his position as chief meteorologist and the weather forecast very seriously.
"I want people to say, 'When I want a weather forecast, when I want to know what's going on, and I want to have confidence that my plans are riding on this,' I want them to turn to me. I am a chief meteorologist. A chief meteorologist is someone who you turn to. I'm the go-to guy in the weather center, but it also means that I want to be the one that you turn to for the most accuracy and important details. If it's a weekend and we're getting a snowstorm. I'm going to be here. That's what I'm all about," said Trygar.