Meteorologist Ron Smiley first joined the WDSU Weather Team in May of 2006. You can watch him forecast the weather on weekend mornings and Wednesday through Friday at midday.

Ron said he feels he was destined to become a television weatherman.

“I had one neighbor to my right who worked at the Little Rock National Weather Service. Right across the street I had another neighbor who had retired from anchoring the news in Little Rock. I was always over their homes picking their brains and I was just hooked, fascinated with both of their worlds.”

A native Texan, Ron grew up in and considers Little Rock, Ark., home. After graduating from high school he headed down Interstate 40 to Arkansas Tech University. That’s also where he met Michelle, his wife of seven years.

After graduating he moved to Greenville, Miss. to take his first on air job. ‘Greenville was a lot different from anything I had experienced before. As soon as I saw the world famous brown faucet water I knew I was in a different world. The great thing though is Greenville was the perfect training ground for me.’

He also worked on the nation’s highest-rated 10 p.m. newscast at KAIT in Jonesboro, Ark.

Ron is a member of both the American Meteorological Society and the National Weather Association. When he’s not predicting the weather, Ron enjoys spending time with his wife and ‘T-Rex’ his black lab.

Ron also loves sports and plans to be a fixture at many New Orleans Saints and Hornets games along with taking in the occasional Zephyrs’ baseball game as well.