Various sides reacted with sadness to the death of weatherman Piet Paulusma. He died at the age of 65 from cancer.
His director at Omroep Max, Jan Slagter, calls it “incredibly brave” how Paulusma endured his illness and continued to work until the very end. “As long as it lasted, he wanted to continue working. On Thursday he presented for the last time on TV, on Friday he could still be heard on the radio. It is terribly sad that we will never see him again with his signature bouncer. oant moarn hear say.”
The KNMI calls Paulusma “a valued meteorological partner”. NOS weather forecaster Willemijn Hoebert praises the enthusiasm of her colleague. “A striking weatherman, full of passion.”
Paulusma started his career with the regional broadcaster of Friesland, Omrop Fryslân. There is great despair there, says editor-in-chief Sybren Terpstra. He knew Paulusma for more than 40 years.
“In the 36 years that he was a weatherman at Omrop Fryslân, he never renounced,” Terpstra told Omrop Fryslân. “In the first years there was no replacement and he even presented the weather on his holiday from the campsite. Later he got a permanent replacement on the radio and for a few years his daughter Martsje regularly took over the weather forecast on television from him. “
Oant moarn
In 1996 Paulusma became the regular weather forecaster of SBS6. In Piets Weather Forecast he came every day from a different outdoor location in the country with the weather forecast.
“That’s how he became a promoter of Fryslân and the Frisian language,” says Terpstra. “His daily oant moarn became a household name throughout the Netherlands.”
Paulusma was an unprecedented ambassador for the province of Friesland, says Omrop Fryslân editor-in-chief Ingrid Spijkers:
The King’s Frisian commissioner, Arno Brok, also says that Paulusma was an ambassador for Friesland and the Frisian language. “His weather forecast was an anchor point on the day for decades,” Brok said.
