Legendary, Well Loved Portland Weatherman Jim Bosley Dies at 73

Among many other things, Jim Bosley will always be remembered for his trademark weather forecast detail called "Rate the Day."

Jim Bosley Photo courtesy: natas-seattle.org/

(PORTLAND, Ore. ) - KATU Television in Portland reports that meteorologist and AM Northwest host Jim Bosley has died. He was 73. KATU says they were informed Monday morning by his wife, Karen, that Bosley died Sunday evening from congestive heart failure.

With the nickname "The Boz," Jim was a longtime icon at KATU, Portland's ABC station, where he anchored the weather department for over 30 years. He began his career with KATU in 1962.

The station says Jim Bosley did not start out doing weather. "He had done some weather forecasting while working at a station in Klamath Falls but came to KATU to work in sales."

But when the news program suddenly came up short in the weather department, KATU's news director at the time tapped Jim to fill in due to his experience in Klamath Falls.

The station says the rest is history.

"He was also the popular host of KATU's morning show, AM Northwest, which he hosted from its inception in 1975 until his retirement 25 years later."

Jim Bosley will always be remembered for his trademark weather forecast detail called "Rate the Day." He used this catch phrase to rank the forecast for the next day on a scale of 1 to 10.

KATU says that after retiring, "the gregarious Bosley spent extended periods of time in the Fiji islands, where he held the title "Honorary Consul" for the Northwest, according to KATU meteorologist Rhonda Shelby. Shelby said Bosley had diplomatic plates on his vehicle while in the island nation and could park most anywhere he wanted."

Funeral arrangement details have not yet been released.