Why Greg Fishel remains a big deal in the Triangle 7 years after leaving WRAL
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- Former WRAL meteorologist Greg Fishel is back in the Triangle.
- He has around 1,030 subscribers on Patreon, where he posts weather forecasts.
- Despite many years off air and away from NC, Fishel has a loyal following.
Triangle television viewers have favorites when it comes to local news. They tune into a particular channel to see familiar faces day after day, year after year. With time, they may even come to think of anchors and reporters as friends.
That’s how many in the Triangle treated Greg Fishel.
A Pennsylvania native, he started delivering weather forecasts for WRAL in 1981. Eight years later, he was promoted to chief meteorologist, a role he kept for about 30 years.
Though he has been off the air since 2019 — and until a couple of months ago, not even living in North Carolina — Fishel still has a local fanbase.
As of earlier this year, Fishel is officially back in the Triangle, where he can be closer to friends, professional contacts and other meteorologists.
People who haven’t seen Fishel since his days on air at WRAL might notice some physical changes. His hair is parted differently — down the middle now — and is nearly all white. But when it comes to weather forecasts, Fishel is just the same. He still throws in the occasional joke and offers an explanation not just of what’s happening, but why.
“I’ve just been so surprised that I’ve gotten the recognition since I’ve been back that I’ve gotten,” he told The News & Observer in a March interview at his home in Fuquay-Varina. “Because I honestly thought that my time had passed me by. But there’s an awful lot of nice people here that still remember me and are nice enough to still follow. I guess all I can say is thank you, and maybe I don’t have to know the reason why.”
Staying connected to the Triangle
Fishel moved a couple of times after leaving the Triangle, first to West Palm Beach, Florida, and then to Myrtle Beach, South Carolina.
During that time, he took up a variety of jobs, which he continues: driving for ride-hailing and delivery companies, creating regular forecast videos as a spokesperson for Blanton’s Air, Plumbing and Electric, and informing Triangle residents about the weather via Patreon, a platform that allows him to monetize his content.
He started posting video forecasts on Patreon in 2022, following the advice of his sons, Austin and Brandon Fishel.
In his videos, Fishel gives a seven-day weather outlook, starting with the forecast and finishing with an explanation of the science behind it. Each video lasts around eight minutes, much more time than meteorologists usually have on air.
“It’s just nice not having somebody telling me to shut up after three minutes,” Fishel said. “Because for a TV newscast, everything is rigidly timed, and if I go over, then I’m usually cutting into sports, and that’s not fair to them.”
As of Wednesday, March 11, Fishel had around 1,030 Patreon subscribers, who pay $3 or $5 per month to access the forecasts — a rate that hasn’t changed in four years.
Not looking for a return to TV
Though Fishel still loves talking about the weather, and finding interesting ways to do it — he writes computer programs to build graphics for his forecasts — he doesn’t think he’ll return to television, he said.
“The industry has, I think, really changed in the sense that everything now is about getting people’s attention,” Fishel said.
Since his return to the Triangle, viewers have told Fishel that it seems like some stations give every day’s weather special attention.
“The thing about it is, if every day warrants all this attention, then how does the public tell the difference between a situation that really warrants their attention and all the other days that it doesn’t,” Fishel said.
Like other Triangle meteorologists, Fishel has seen rampant misinformation about weather on social media, particularly during the winter storms earlier this year.
People shared computer model forecasts showing a major snow storm over North Carolina 16 days in advance, far too early to be accurate, according to Fishel. The reason these forecasts were posted was for attention, he said. And with attention comes opportunity for monetization.
“It isn’t about public service. It’s about self-service, in my estimation, and I am not going to ever go that route,” Fishel said.
Why people still want the ‘O’Fishel’ forecasts
In early February, Fishel invited Facebook followers to join him at a Raleigh Panera Bread later that month.
Gina Eaves, who had never met Fishel before, drove an hour from her home near Henderson to “reconnect with someone who felt like an old friend,” she told The N&O by phone.
Eaves grew up watching Fishel on WRAL, and like many, trusts him. She now subscribes to his Patreon to get accurate weather forecasts that aren’t sensationalized and often have a bit of humor.
“That’s what people are looking for these days,” Eaves said. “They’re looking for someone who relates to them and does so in a compassionate, genuine, authentic manner.”
Joe Pessolano brought his family to the meet-and-greet at Panera. After moving to the Triangle in 2005, he quickly became a fan of Fishel because of the way the meteorologist connected with viewers, teaching them about the science behind forecasts.
Pessolano followed Fishel on social media after he left North Carolina and subscribed to Fishel’s Patreon years ago. He watches local stations, Pessolano said, but finds Fishel’s forecasts to be the most accurate.
Fishel was genuine and friendly, Pessolano said, and took time to speak with everyone who came to meet him.
“It’s nice to meet somebody that you admire,” Pessolano told The N&O in a phone call.
What’s next for Fishel
Now that he’s officially back in the Triangle, Fishel has some ideas for what the future may hold.
His goal is to gain enough Patreon subscribers to support himself financially and retire in a few years. He may continue posting on Patreon during retirement but wouldn’t mind ending the ride-hailing and delivery driving, he said.
That would leave free time, which he imagines would be spent traveling.
A lifelong baseball fan, he’d like to take a road trip to all the major league stadiums. He’d like to visit Utqiagvik, Alaska, (formerly Barrow), the northernmost community in the United States, to experience a day without sunshine. He’d like to improve his golf game, ideally in Scotland. He’d like to see Australia, too, if he could overcome “being cooped up in a metal tube for 22 hours, or whatever it is.”
He’ll also continue playing the tuba, as he has done nearly his whole life, and would be interested in more public speaking opportunities.
“I’m all of a sudden sitting here realizing that this is my last year in the 60s,” Fishel said. “How did that happen?”
This story was originally published March 18, 2026 at 7:30 AM.
