Breaking weather
Decisive live leadership through tornadoes, blizzards, floods, wildfires and hail.
First Alert Meteorologist · CBS News Colorado
Joe Ruch
Weather moves fast. Joe makes it clear.
Emmy-winning broadcast meteorologist, national weather contributor and digital storyteller serving Colorado on air, in the field and across social media.
ON AIR
EMMY WINNERCBS COLORADOCOLORADO WEATHER
FEATURED REEL
See the work in motion.
Live forecasting, severe-weather leadership, field coverage and audience-first storytelling across every screen.
Watch on YouTube JOE RUCH · DEMO REELPLAYBACK
01 / THE FORECASTER
Built for the moment the forecast becomes the story.
Joe pairs rigorous forecasting with an instinct for the audience—what they need to know, why it matters and how to make it stick.
In the studio, on the road and online, he brings the same standard: get the science right, find the human stakes and communicate with calm urgency. His work spans major-market live television, national weather content and independently produced social storytelling.
Digital growth
End-to-end social strategy, production and publishing with measurable organic reach.
Clear science
Complex atmospheric stories translated into concise, useful language.
Newsroom partner
Collaborative deployment, story development, mentoring and cross-platform execution.
02 / IN THE FIELD
Forecasting from the conditions.
For Joe, the only thing better than forecasting the weather is standing in it and showing viewers exactly what it means.
Storm field coverage
Ground truth from the storm
First Alert reporting from the conditions—bringing viewers the reality outside, not just the forecast on a map.
Live television
When weather becomes the story
Clear, composed live coverage from Colorado’s highest-impact conditions—on television, streaming and social.
03 / DIGITAL
Storytelling built for the phone.
Forecast, shoot, explain and publish—meeting people where they already are with reporting that feels immediate and real.
01Forecasting in the conditions
The weather is the graphic
The best way to explain weather is to stand inside it—using real-world conditions to make the forecast tangible, useful and memorable.
Open on Instagram02Nature-first field storytelling
I love Earth
A genuine love of the natural world drives Joe into the field to document atmospheric events where they happen—with immediacy, curiosity and a reporter’s eye.
Open on Instagram03Breaking wildfire coverage
Inform fast. Explain clearly.
When a new wildfire ignited and spread rapidly, Joe moved breaking information across television, social media and online in real time.
Open on Instagram04 / EXPERIENCE
Experience across broadcast, streaming and digital.
FEB 2024 — NOW
CBS Colorado
Meteorologist · Denver, Colorado
Primary weekend evening meteorologist and regular weekday fill-in. Leads coverage of major weather events in studio and from the First Alert Weather Tracker, including two hours of solo tornado coverage; designed and launched the sponsored Neighborhood Network graphics package in WSI MAX.
2025 — NOW
CBS News Climate Watch / CBS News Planet
Weather Content Contributor
Independently pitches, forecasts, scripts, records and edits weekly weather, climate and extreme-weather videos for national CBS audiences.
JUN 2022 — FEB 2024
KRDO NewsChannel 13
Meteorologist · Colorado Springs, Colorado
Delivered forecasts across television, radio, streaming and digital while covering wildfires, high winds, winter storms, flash flooding and severe thunderstorms; authored Colorado Weather Explained.
DEC 2020 — MAY 2022
ABC27 (WHTM) + WBRE / WYOU
Meteorologist · Pennsylvania
Presented localized television and radio forecasts and produced digital weather content while completing a B.S. in Meteorology and Atmospheric Sciences at Penn State.
05 / RECOGNITION
Emmy-winning weather storytelling.
- 2026 Heartland Emmy AwardWeather · “Where Won’t Joe Go?”
- Colorado Broadcasters Association AwardWinter storm coverage in Southern Colorado
06 / BEYOND THE FORECAST
Making weather feel close to home.
Joe completes more than 30 school visits each year, reaching roughly 2,000 students with accessible, high-energy weather education.
He mentors interns, trains colleagues on social strategy and emcees station and community events supporting science and technology education.
2,000students reached annually
LET’S TALK WEATHER