britta goes big

Charming Houston TV weather personality lands major national gig

The amiable Merwin is headed to Fox Weather.

In late May, widely popular meteorologist Britta Merwin announced she was leaving her morning post at KPRC-TV (Channel 2), much to the chagrin of hundreds of thousands of fans. The cheery, amiable weather personality posted this message on Facebook, which read, in part:

It is bittersweet to say goodbye to Houston but I am accepting a job (stay tuned for details) that will allow us to move back east to be by our family. I am excited for my kids to have their aunts and uncles at their games, to be by their grandparents and for their great-grandparents to have the opportunity to hold them often.

Now, we have those details. Merwin, who has been with Channel 2 for seven years, will now serve as morning co-host at Fox Weather, Fox News Media’s new streaming weather service. Merwin is one of six new hosts to helm programming for the platform. She will serve alongside host Jason Frazer, per a press release.

“Weather has always been my passion since I was a little girl and I am thrilled to be a part of the leading edge of broadcast meteorology,” Merwin tells CultureMap.

“Houston will always have a special place in my heart and I am happy I will still be able to guide Houston through hurricanes and floods while tracking Nor’Easters for the northeast, covering wildfires out west and tracking lake effect snow for the Great Lakes. I might be in New York City but I’ll always be there for Houston with FOX Weather.”

Fans will recall that Merwin, a Texas native, quickly rose through the ranks to become the station’s morning weather forecaster, covering Hurricane Harvey, multiple, devastating floods, and Winter Storm Uri and its effects on Houston.

Merwin, a graduate of SUNY Stonybrook with a degree in atmospheric sciences and meteorology, launched her career at News 12 Long Island, New York. Later, she moved to NBC Weather Plus, where she covered Hurricane Gustav and the 2008 midwestern floods for NBC’s national cable news networks, including MSNBC and CNBC, per a bio.

She’s not the only Houstonian to take a post at Fox Weather. Stephen Morgan, who served as KRIV/Fox 26’s weekend morning weather anchor since 2019, is also on tap to host.

tv media celebrities

Settling Down

Houston earns top-10 rank among best places to retire in Texas in 2026

A Houston park with a bench and a little free library

Photo by Kenny Perez on Unsplash

Retirement unlocks more opportunities to spend time outdoors.

Houstonians getting ready to give up the daily grind are already living in a good place for their next chapter in life. Houston has just been named the No. 6 best city to retire in Texas, and it lands as the 82nd best city in the U.S., according to a new WalletHub report.

The study examined 182 U.S. cities and ranked them based on 45 "retirement-friendly" livability metrics across four key dimensions: affordability, activities, quality of life, and health care.

Perhaps unsurprisingly, Florida dominated the top 10, with Orlando, Miami, and Tampa locking in the top three spots and Fort Lauderdale ranking eighth on the list.

Houston fared best in the "affordability" category, ranking 35th nationally. This encompassed the local cost of living, taxpayer-friendliness, the costs for in-home services, and other factors. Costs were a significant factor in the report, as many retirees live on a fixed income.

Finances and affordability also play a huge part in determining where to live once it's time to put up those work boots, WalletHub analyst Chip Lupo said.

"As a result, the best cities for retired people are those that minimize taxes and expenses, as well as have good opportunities for retirees to continue paid work for extra income, if they choose to do so," he said. "In addition, the top cities provide high-quality health care and offer plenty of enjoyable activities for retirees."

The city also earned a respectable rank as No. 43 in the "activities" category, which analyzed attractions and entertainment venues for seniors, like the number of per capita museums, theaters, book clubs, senior centers, and bingo halls.

Houston fell behind in the remaining two nationwide categories for the best "health care" (No. 158) and "quality of life"(No. 167) for retirees.

Elsewhere in Texas, Austin topped the list as the No. 1 best place to retire statewide, and it ranked No. 23 nationwide. San Antonio ranked No. 2 statewide and 47th nationally, and Dallas claimed the No. 3 spot statewide and was the only other Texas city to rank among the national top 50.

This is how other Texas cities ranked in the report:

No. 75 – Plano
No. 78 – Fort Worth
No. 82 – Houston
No. 87 – Brownsville
No. 91 – Grand Prairie
No. 101 – Garland
No. 107 – Irving
No. 123 – El Paso
No. 124 – Arlington
No. 134 – Corpus Christi
No. 140 – Laredo
No. 143 – Amarillo
No. 155 – Lubbock

wallethub reports retirement city life rankings