By Joe Pisani
FAIRFIELD — By his own admission, Paul Piorek, the chief meteorologist at WICC and fifth-grade teacher at St. Thomas Aquinas School, hasn’t worked a day in his life. Well almost.
You see, as he tells his students, “If you love what you do, you’ll never work a day in your life.” And he clearly loves what he does in his career, which has been a convergence of three lifelong passions for meteorology, teaching and radio.
Seven days a week, Piorek broadcasts the weather for WICC 600 AM and 107.3 FM — five of those days he does it live from his fifth-grade classes at St. Thomas Aquinas, where he is known for inspiring his students with a love of science and mathematics.
Piorek’s own story began when he was a student at Andrew Warde High School in Fairfield. With his diploma barely in hand, he set out for adventure and told his parents he was pursuing a career in radio. They told him he was crazy. Well, he was just crazy enough to drive downtown Bridgeport and knock on the door of the city’s premier radio station, WICC, and ask for a job. And he got one.
“I always wanted a career in radio or TV, so I went to WICC on State Street and knocked on the door, and told them, ‘I’d love to be on the air.’ I was 18,” he recalls.
The stars must have been in alignment (Piorek also loves astronomy), because the station manager said, “You’re in luck — our overnight host is leaving, and you can start on Monday.”
“So I went home and told my father and mother, and they were in shock,” he said.
That was back in 1978. In his new job, Piorek got to the station at 10 pm to prepare and was on the air from midnight to 6 am, playing records and engaging nocturnal fans on the phone in discussions about rock ‘n’ roll and timely events. It was the beginning of his radio career. He worked there from 1978 until 1986, until returning a year ago to do the weather sevens days a week.
Piorek also had an acclaimed career in television as the long-time morning meteorologist at News 12 Connecticut, where he was honored to receive a New York Emmy in 2007, five Emmy nominations, and the Associated Press Broadcasters’ Association award for Best TV Weathercast in Connecticut four times, along with two Communicator Awards of Distinction.
Piorek’s other great love is teaching. He taught at Greenwich Catholic Elementary School from 1990 to 1995, and in 2016, he started at St. Thomas Aquinas School.
“I love every minute of it,” he says. “The best part is that I teach science and math. I have a love for all things science — geology, earth science, physics, and weather,” he said. “When you bring that passion to the classroom, students can recognize it. And I tell them they can make a career out of this too because if you do what you love and love what you do, you’ll never work a day in your life.”
Piorek also enjoys teaching religion because faith is a fundamental part of his life. A lifelong member of St. Pius X Parish in Fairfield, he had the distinction of being baptized in the church just days after it opened in 1958 and was a member of the first class to attend all eight grades at St. Pius X School from 1964 to 1972. Over the years, in service to the parish, he has been a lector, a catechist, an usher and an Extraordinary Minister of Holy Communion.
One of his fondest memories was working with the renowned Dr. Mel Goldstein, a meteorologist who was revered by his colleagues around the state. Piorek describes him as “the best and most well-respected meteorologist in Connecticut.”
“I learned meteorology from Dr. Mel at Western Connecticut State University,” he recalls. “Then, he hired me as an on-air broadcast meteorologist at WCSU for a host of radio stations, which ultimately led to my position at News 12 Connecticut.”
He was also responsible for typing the very popular weather column by Dr. Mel into the computer and sending it to newspapers statewide for many years. He credits Dr. Mel with giving him the inspiration to start his own weather blog, titled, “Paul’s Local Weather Journal for Southwestern Connecticut” at (www.localweatherjournal.blogspot.com)
So, you might ask, where does he get his weather? Piorek formulates his own forecasts and starts working on them early in the morning.
“I get up at 4:15 and use my own weather models to put together my forecasts,” he says. “When I’m asked about how accurate I am, I say, ‘I do it to the best of my ability.’ I don’t do any percentages, and I am wary of 10-day forecasts.”
So if you want to hear him broadcasting live from St. Thomas Aquinas, tune in to WICC 600 AM or 107.3 FM during the week at 7:46 am, 8:16 am and 8:46 am.
