A high desert snowfall as a young child sparked Ilya’s nearly lifelong passion for weather. It motivated him to study Meteorology and Geography at the University of Oklahoma, one of the nation’s top universities in the field. While he earned his Bachelors of Science degree, he began his hands-on experience in an Oklahoma City newsroom and out in the field tracking severe weather including floods, ice and snowstorms, severe thunderstorms, and tornadoes.
Having grown up in California, he was excited to return back to his beautiful home state where he got his official start in front of the camera as an on-air Meteorologist. Since then, he received a Master’s Degree in Geography from California State University, Northridge and has worked for stations all over Southern California. Blending the academic and broadcast aspects of meteorology, he earned his AMS Certified Broadcast Meteorologist designation.
With 20 years of experience in the field and a lifelong love of meteorology, Ilya is beyond excited to join the KBAK and KBFX news team to analyze, forecast, and present the weather for the wonderful people of Kern County!