Hair Today, Gone Tomorrow: Mike Nelson Retires From Denver7

Mike Nelson's retirement as a television meteorologist after his final forecast on Denver7 today, December 12, marks the end of an era for Colorado broadcasting, as well as for the golden age of made-for-TV hair.

Nelson was more than a collection of spectacular follicles, as two members of Congress, Illinois's Eric Sorenson and Colorado's Yadira Caraveo, noted on the floor of the U.S. House of Representatives this week. He began his prognostication career in 1976 via a gig with the consulting firm Weather Central, where he helped pioneer the sorts of graphic systems still being used today; among his trainees on the gear was Today's Al Roker. Nine years later, in 1985, he stepped into the local limelight as the head weather guru for KMOV in St. Louis before heading to Denver and joining the staff at KUSA in 1991.

Over the course of his thirteen years at 9News, Nelson became the state's best-known forecaster, and a mentor to the next generation of weather pros. In a 2019 Westword interview, Kathy Sabine, Nelson's successor at the station in terms of both title and popularity, lavished him with praise. She called him "probably the best meteorologist I've ever seen," and added that he "really took me under his wing and taught me so much about weather in Colorado. He was just amazing."

From the beginning, Nelson was a stickler for accuracy. As noted in a 2002 Westword article, he was accustomed to being critiqued; he said the viewers who most frequently graded him were elementary school students working on class assignments. But no one was a tougher judge of his skills than he was. He kept records of his daily efforts for years, and his temperature predictions averaged out to within two and a half degrees of the mark during warm-weather months and three and a half degrees in the winter.

Still, he understood that getting forecasts right was only half the battle. "Ultimately," he told us, "people tune in to the weathercasters they feel comfortable with, and that will always be the case."

His on-camera appeal made him a bankable commodity, and in 2004, he cashed in big time, leaping from 9News to Denver7 for what was widely thought to be the largest-ever contract for a weather personality in the history of Mile High City television.

He definitely earned his keep, as Westword noted when naming him Best TV Weathercaster in 2005. "Mike Nelson, the new weatherman on Channel 7, is as comfortable for Denver viewers as an old shoe," we wrote. "When Channel 9 balked at his salary demands, Channel 7 tossed lotsa cash at Nelson, and since making the move, he's done a lot more than sit back and count his money. He's forecasting up a storm at his new home, and although it's too early to predict fair ratings for perennial loser 7News, Nelson's off to a strong start."

Granted, Nelson's presence didn't allow Denver7 to bypass 9News in viewership. But he has been the outlet's most recognizable face for all of the 21st century to date.

And then there was his coiffure, which was so perfect that it was hard to know if it was real — hence the 1992 decision to make Nelson the winner of a Best of Denver category created just for him: Best Is-It-Hair? on a Local TV Personality. But by the 2022 publication of an updated best-hair-on-Denver-TV-personalities roundup, we were sure that the stuff atop Nelson's head was the genuine item. "The dean of Denver forecasters, Mike Nelson has had great hair for decades," we wrote. "His ability to maintain this high level of quality even after its once-dark color has gone silver and gray is proof that the genetic jackpot can last for a very long time."

The rest of him did, too.