A beloved Nebraska weatherman who recently struggled with voice issues has been diagnosed with stage-four cancer, he heartbreakingly revealed.

Kent Boughton, the chief forecaster for News Channel Nebraska in Grand Island, is battling small cell carcinoma that he says has spread throughout his body.

Boughton, 68, has been battling illness since January when he lost his voice from suspected laryngitis. 

He spent three weeks taking medication to treat the infection, but his voice remained raspy-sounding and strained. 

His doctor then ordered a CT scan which showed that the left side of his vocal cords were paralyzed.

Further tests revealed that a cancerous tumor in his lung had grown against his left tonsil, paralyzing it and causing his voice issues.

‘If that hadn’t happened, I wouldn’t have known I had cancer,’ Boughton said Friday in a social media video disclosing his diagnosis. 

‘I spent my entire career telling you about storms, trying to save your lives, for crying out loud. Now I’m facing my own storm, my own inside tornado, if you will.’ 

Kent Boughton, the chief forecaster for News Channel Nebraska, revealed in a heartbreaking social media post on Friday that he is battling stage-four cancer

Boughton, delivering a forecast on NTV News, has worked as a meteorologist since the 1970s

Boughton, with his wife Marcie Ryan, has already completed one round of chemotherapy and has another scheduled at the end of this month

Boughton has already completed one round of chemotherapy and has another scheduled at the end of this month. 

‘It isn’t an easy road for me. I am not walking it alone,’ he told his followers. 

‘I have an incredible family base, amazing colleagues, and a community here in Grand Island, and the entire state of Nebraska…helping me out and supporting me.’

Boughton said he plans to continue working at the TV station, even if his voice is impacted by his treatment. 

He vowed to ‘fight to the end’ and asked his fans to pray for him, just as they did when he drove his car into a semi-truck in 2009.

The meteorologist, who at the time was taking Chantix to quit smoking, crashed into the truck head-on after having taken an increased dose of the medication, as prescribed by his doctor.

He was freed from the vehicle with the so-called jaws of life and life-flighted to the hospital, where he underwent a four-hour surgery. His left hip and foot were shattered, and his left knee cap was broken in half. 

‘You supported me after my car wreck,’ Boughton recalled in his video Friday. ‘What was I doing? Driving a car into a semi. Seventeen years go – I survived that.’

Boughton crashed into a semi-truck head on in May 2009 and had to be freed from the vehicle with the so-called jaws of life

He was life-flighted to the hospital, where he underwent a four-hour surgery. His left hip and foot were shattered, and his left knee cap was broken in half

Boughton grew up in Grand Island, Nebraska and began working as a DJ at a local radio station when he was just 15 years old

He reminded his followers how for the last 50 years they have ‘laughed’ with him and ‘stood by me through every forecast.’

‘I don’t need anything from any of you, except your prayers,’ he continued. ‘Your kindness, your prayers, your messages, they all mean everything.’ 

Boughton acknowledged his own mortality, but said he is not yet ready to give up. 

‘There is no barcode anywhere on my body that gives me an expiration date,’ he said. ‘That’s pretty much true for all of us. We could all get run over by a car tomorrow. 

‘So I’m going to be here. Prayers last time got me through for 17 years,’ he said, admitting that he probably doesn’t have that long this time around. 

He added: ‘But I’m going to go as far as I can.’

Boughton grew up in Grand Island and began working as a DJ at a local radio station when he was just 15 years old.

He graduated from Brown Institute in 1977 and started his career as a sports and weather director in Idaho, before returning to Nebraska two years later.

The veteran Nebraska meteorologist married his second wife Marcie Ryan in October 2019

Boughton has two adult children and several grandchildren. The family is pictured together on Christmas last year

When he is not working, Boughton appears to enjoy hunting. He is also loves spending time with his family, traveling, and collecting rocks and antique beers cans

He worked at several TV stations across the Grand Island area and finally joined News Channel Nebraska last year.

He was married for 30 years to his wife Lori, who passed away in 2017. The couple shared a daughter Nikki and son Chad, both of whom still live in the area with their respective families.

Boughton remarried in October 2019. He and his second wife Marcie Ryan appear to be very involved in their grandchildren’s lives. 

When he is not working, Boughton enjoys spending time with his family, traveling, and collecting rocks and antique beer cans, according to his KLKN TV biography. He also appears to enjoy hunting.