A native to the Washington area, Dave Dildine is no stranger to the region’s complex traffic and weather patterns.

Dave joined WTOP in 2010 when the station launched its very own in-house traffic service. You can hear him “on the 8s and when it breaks” from 2 p.m. to 7 p.m. on weekdays.

Dave assumed the afternoon rush hour helm when accomplished traffic reporter Bob Marbourg called it a career after 40 years. Following in the footsteps of his mentor, Dave takes the task of developing actionable afternoon traffic information seriously. Despite the advancement of navigation apps, he understands that thorough traffic reporting remains a relevant public service.

In addition to reporting on the 8s, Dave has covered many breaking weather stories for WTOP. He flew with the Hurricane Hunters into the eye of Hurricane Irene in 2011, reported live from the 14th Street Bridge as the 2012 Derecho tore through downtown D.C. and reported from Buffalo, New York, when parts of the city were buried in seven feet of snow. 

Dave has captured several dramatic photos of severe weather in the D.C. region that have gained national and international attention. In May 2018, his image of a lightning bolt behind the U.S. Capitol went viral, even becoming the setup for a joke on the Tonight Show Starring Jimmy Fallon. 

In July 2019, Dave’s photos of flooding in Northwest D.C. were seen around the world. One particular photo of a man standing on the roof of a submerged car landed on the front page of the Washington Post and Wall Street Journal and appeared on most major television news networks in the U.S. as well as the BBC.

The images of lightning and flooding both earned him Dateline awards in photojournalism from the Society of Professional Journalists.

In January 2020, Dave received a national media award for his fair, balanced and informative reporting on highway safety from the American Traffic Safety Services Association. He accepted the award at the association’s 50th Annual Convention and Traffic Expo in New Orleans. 

For his role in WTOP’s Crumbling Capital series, Dave won a Regional Edward R. Murrow and a Douglas Southall Freeman award. Dave was also recognized by the Chesapeake Associated Press Broadcasters Association for his original series Ghost Roads, an almanac of corroded, cursed and abandoned highways in the outer Washington suburbs.

When he’s not holed up in the Glass Enclosed Nerve Center, Dave enjoys running, playing tennis and photography.