Ed Buckner, longtime THV11 chief meteorologist, passes away

LITTLE ROCK, Ark. — Longtime THV11 meteorologist Ed Buckner has passed away at age of 59 after a courageous battle with cancer.

Ed Buckner, born on June 17, 1965, grew up in Houston, Texas where he graduated from St. Pius X High School in 1983. From there, he went to school at Stephen F. Austin State University and later earned his meteorology degree at Mississippi State University.

He would then join the THV11 weather team in 1996 where he would become chief meteorologist and help inform our audience of severe weather threats for nearly 25 years.

Although he covered many storm events over the decades, it’s his work during the January 21, 1999 tornado outbreak that many Arkansans will remember. On that day Ed, along with the weather team, would cover and track 56 tornadoes which included an F3 tornado that struck Little Rock.

That day would become a main feature at the Museum of Discovery for Tornado Alley Theater. The exhibit gives museum goers a seven-minute look at the events that unfolded and played videos of Ed’s coverage of the outbreak

Tom Brannon, who worked alongside Ed for many years, said it was an opportunity and privilege to work with him. Brannon called him both a great friend and a mentor.

“He was truly Arkansas’s Weatherman. He had this calm urgency when tracking severe weather and I know fellow Arkansans felt safe and comfortable with him leading the way,” Brannon said. “He will be missed.”

For Craig O’Neill he remembers Ed as a man who was true to his word and “his compassion was second nature.”

“There’s a word that sums up his career, his life, his legacy: trust. Our trust in Ed never wavered and is why our memory will never die,” O’Neill said.

But beyond his work at the television station, Ed was known for his love of playing guitar. That love for music led to Ed releasing an album back in 2001 called “Weather Songs for Kids” and including songs like “Puffy the Cumulus Cloud” and “Roy G. Biv”.

Ed would step away from his meteorology work at the station in early 2020 citing complications with Tourette Syndrome. He would tell Dawn Scott in 2007 that he first noticed symptoms around the age of 13 and wouldn’t be diagnosed until he was in his 30s.

He will be remembered by those who got the chance to work with him as a passionate meteorologist. He led his life with kindness and that reflected in the dedication he had to make sure people were safe.

Ed is survived by wife Carolyn Buckner, his children Brooke Buckner, Morgan Buckner, Grant Lewis, Kristan Hendricks and 7 beautiful grandchildren. One daughter, Ashton Eakin, preceded him in death in 2019, also from cancer.