Longtime Saskatoon weatherman Greg Barnsley dies at 83

A beloved weatherman and familiar face in Saskatoon media has died.

CTV Saskatoon publicly announced Tuesday the passing of Greg Barnsley.

The station reported Barnsley died on Jan. 2 after a short illness. He was 83 years old.

According to CTV, Barnsley was employed at the station – formerly known as CFQC – when it first went to air in 1954. He retired decades later in 1992.

Saskatoon–Grasswood MP Kevin Waugh worked with Barnsley for many years while a sportscaster at CTV Saskatoon.

“He never took life seriously. He loved the broadcasting end of it,” Waugh said Tuesday, adding the weatherman’s television persona matched the type of guy he was in real life.

“He enjoyed life and everything for Greg Barnsley was, ‘You know what? We fooled them today, we’re going back tomorrow.’”

Waugh reflected back most fondly on Barnsley and his iconic felt weather board.

“They never had the graphics that they have today of course. So you have that map of North America and Greg would throw the sun or the cloud or the thunderstorm on that area,” he said.

The board didn’t change much over the years, and eventually became a staple of all station tours.

“(The visitors) didn’t care about the personnel so much, it was Greg Barnsley’s weather board,” Waugh said.

Barnsley’s son, Jim, continues to work at CTV as a camera operator.