Rich Marriott is one of the most recognized meteorologists in the Pacific Northwest. He spent decades forecasting weather for Seattle viewers on KING 5 News.
His career began not in a TV studio, but in the mountains, tracking snowpack and avalanche danger.
Who is Rich Marriott?
Rich Marriott is an American meteorologist based in Seattle, Washington. He is best known as the longtime weather forecaster for KING 5 Mornings.
Before he ever appeared on television, Marriott built a career in mountain meteorology. He worked as a Forest Service meteorologist and helped found an avalanche forecasting center.
That background gave him a scientific foundation that shaped his approach to broadcast weather. He became known for explaining complex forecasts in a clear, approachable way.
Early Life of Rich Marriott
Marriott grew up in Long Beach, California. Rain was rare there, and that scarcity is part of what drew him north.
He often saw weather fronts moving over Washington state on maps and told his parents he needed to live there one day.
That early fascination with rain eventually shaped his entire career path.
However, Marriott has never shared any details about his parents’ and siblings’ names and their professions.
Rich Marriott Age
In 2026, Rich Marriott will be 75 years old, having achieved extraordinary achievements at this age.
As a legendary KING 5 meteorologist, his outstanding career spans nearly four decades of trusted morning broadcasts.
A true pioneer, he co-founded the Northwest Avalanche Center and received many awards for his vital contributions to mountain meteorology, cementing a lasting legacy of public safety.
Rich Marriott Education
Marriott spent eight years in college at the University of California, Los Angeles. He earned a bachelor’s degree in physics and a master’s degree in meteorology.
While at UCLA, he worked in the meteorology department researching the Earth’s upper atmosphere. His work included computer modeling of global atmospheric circulation.
He later moved north for graduate work in atmospheric sciences at the University of Washington. There, he focused on avalanches and mountain weather, subjects that would define the next chapter of his career.
Rich Marriott Career
Mountain Weather and Avalanche Forecasting
Before television, Marriott spent 15 years working for the Northwest Avalanche Center, known as NWAC, which he helped co-found. For 12 of those years, he was also stationed as a forest service meteorologist at the National Weather Service office in Seattle.
His team provided detailed mountain weather and avalanche forecasts to government agencies, private companies, and the public. He also taught avalanche safety courses and helped install some of the first remote mountain weather stations in the region.
That fieldwork put him in dramatic circumstances more than once. In 1980, his job took him into the restricted red zone at Mount St. Helens, where he and NWAC co-founder Mark Moore supplied avalanche hazard information to scientists studying the volcano ahead of its eruption.
Getting Into Local News
Marriott’s path to television came almost by accident. Through his mountain weather work, he met longtime Seattle weathercaster Harry Wappler, who encouraged him to try local news.
Wappler helped arrange an interview at KING 5. The station hired Marriott to work weekend evening newscasts while he kept his NWAC job.
He balanced both roles for three years. KING 5 then offered him a full-time position forecasting weekday mornings, and he made his on-air debut at the station in 1987.
Life at KING 5
Marriott became a fixture of KING 5 Mornings for decades afterward. In December 2022, the station marked his 35th anniversary on air, a milestone that made him one of the longest-serving meteorologists in Seattle television history.
Among his most memorable career experiences, Marriott has cited flying with the Blue Angels and helping cover the Vancouver Winter Olympics. He continued producing weather coverage for the station in the years since that anniversary.
Rich Marriott Awards and Recognition
Marriott earned an Emmy Award for his work on a special report about climate change. He also holds professional memberships that reflect his scientific background.
He belongs to the American Geophysical Union and the American Meteorological Society, where he holds the organization’s Broadcast Seal. Rich is also a member of the Canadian Meteorological and Oceanographic Society.
These credentials set him apart from many broadcast meteorologists. His scientific training, not just his on-air presence, is central to his professional reputation.
Rich Marriott Personal Life
Marriott keeps most details about his personal life private. He has not shared any details about his wife.
His years spent studying snowpack, glaciers, and mountain weather in the Cascades and Olympics shaped both his career and his personal interests.
However, Rich is the father of three: he has two accomplished, grown-up children, a few grandchildren, and a younger son.
Marriott actively protects his family’s privacy, choosing not to share further personal details, names, or photos of his spouse and kids.
Rich Marriott Net Worth
Rich Marriott’s exact net worth is around $3 million as of 2026.
Following a highly successful broadcasting career spanning over 39 years as the premier morning forecaster in Seattle, alongside his pioneering research work with the Northwest Avalanche Center, he has built a solid financial foundation.
This wealth reflects his decades of top-tier television salaries and specialized atmospheric consulting expertise.
Rich Marriott Social Media
Marriott maintains a presence on Instagram, where he shares updates related to his work and interests. He has also published bylined weather coverage for KING-TV in recent years.
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The Bottom Line
Rich Marriott built a rare kind of career, one that started in avalanche country and ended up on Seattle television screens every morning.
His scientific background, from UCLA physics to mountain forecasting with NWAC, gave his weather reports a depth that made him a trusted name across the Pacific Northwest.
We hope you enjoyed reading about Rich Marriott. Feel free to share your thoughts in the comments below!
