LITTLE ROCK (KATV) — After nearly four decades of early morning alarms and forecasts, longtime Arkansas TV meteorologist Melinda Mayo is retiring, closing a career that made her a familiar face to generations of viewers and a steady voice during dangerous weather.

Before she became a household name, the Pine Bluff native worked behind the scenes as an overnight photographer and producer.

Bob Steel was the first to spot her potential and hired her straight out of college. He said she could do it all. “If you want her to do a story, she could do that. If you wanted her to shoot, she could do that. If you wanted to edit, she could do that. If you wanted her to write, she could do that she was extremely talented. Still is,” Steel said.

That versatility helped her land an on-camera role.

Chief Meteorologist Barry Brandt first met Mayo early in her career when they both worked at another Little Rock TV station. Brandt said, “You could just see she was working her way up through and there was nothing Melinda couldn’t do on the air.”

As she worked as a reporter and anchor, she was also studying meteorology.

In 1996, Mayo joined KATV News. Two years later, she officially became the first female certified broadcast meteorologist in Arkansas.

“I knew right from the beginning that she was going to get it. I just knew it and there was no problem. She just fit right into it,” said Ned Perme, Former KATV Chief Meteorologist.

“She’s gone from this effervescent young college student who is eager to please, to do anything, to a legend,” Steele said.

Brandt called Mayo a trailblazer, pointing to both her on-air skill and her scientific background. “She’s just a trailblazer. Obviously she’s so good on the air, but to have that science background that served her so well and it served Arkansas so well for so many years,” he said.

Viewers relied on Mayo’s calm presence through snowstorms, heat waves and tornadoes.

Steel said her steady approach mattered when it counted most. “She’s probably saved lives in her career, you know, and stayed calm in the storm. I mean, she is, she’s gonna be missed,” he said.

Colleagues also credited Mayo with mentoring others, particularly women entering the business. “She really did hold the hands of new reporters and new anchors along the way and who knows where we’d be if we didn’t have a strong female like Melinda to look up to,” Alyson Courtney, former Daybreak anchor, said.

Mayo also made time for viewers in everyday moments. “We’d be out in the field if somebody came up to her. She took time out to talk to him and speak to him. She didn’t run, get in the car and hide like she was, you know, some big superstar,” Marcus McDonald, former KATV Chief Photographer, said.

Mayo’s work also took her beyond the forecast, including interviews and live coverage from major events. She has interviewed Arkansas native Johnny Cash, covered the Clinton Presidential Library grand opening, and reported from the Country Music Awards in Nashville in 2016.

Her Daybreak adventures included trips to the beach, Branson and high school pep rallies across the state.

Chris Kane, former Daybreak anchor, said Mayo was the colleague he could count on for anything. “Whether its jumping off a pontoon boat during Daybreak, going on a rollercoaster at Silver Dollar City, Melinda was always my go to, hey, I need someone to do this with me, will you do it? And she’d always say yes which made it so much more fun,” Kane said.

He also said Mayo set the tone in the studio each morning. “You’re groggy and you’re still trying to wake up… you pour a cup of coffee and you see Melinda Mayo and you knew it was going to be a good day,” Kane said.

“She’s impacted so many people that she doesn’t even know how many people she’s impacted, but we hear it all the time,” Courtney said.

The longest-running on-air morning show host in Arkansas, is now turning off those morning alarms for good, but her legacy will continue to carry on.

Thank you, Melinda!