“THEY BOTH STARTED CRYING.” Dylan Dreyer’s Touching Tribute to Family Leaves Viewers in Tears — The Hidden Meaning of “Rusty.” .QN

For Today show meteorologist Dylan Dreyer, 2021 was a year of love, chaos, and emotion — one that brought her a new baby, a new book, and a memory her family will never forget.

In an exclusive interview, Dylan opened up about welcoming her third son, Russell “Rusty” James, who arrived six weeks earlier than expected. His surprise debut came right as she released her first children’s book, Misty the Cloud: A Very Stormy Day — and though her days were filled with feedings and storytime, one heartfelt family moment stood out most of all.

“When you have a third boy, you start to run out of names,” Dylan laughed. “So, we decided to do something meaningful — to name him after both our dads.” Russell, after her husband Brian Fichera’s father, and James, after her own dad. “It was really special to tell them,” she recalled. “To see two grown men tear up like that… it made us cry, too. It was one of those moments that just stops time.”

The couple’s touching tribute made baby Rusty’s arrival even more emotional for their family. “It’s hard to make dads cry,” Dylan said softly, “but that did it.”

Now, with three boys under six — Calvin, Oliver, and Rusty — Dylan admits her household is “beautifully chaotic.” “We’re embracing the madness,” she said with a smile. “Calvin rushes home from school to hug and feed the baby, and Oliver — who I wasn’t sure about at first — watches his big brother and follows right along. There’s so much love.”

Still on maternity leave, Dylan found herself juggling newborn life and book promotion, often doing interviews between diaper changes. But her biggest critic, she says, isn’t a journalist — it’s her oldest son. “Calvin’s been my co-editor from the start,” she revealed. “He saw Misty the Cloud when it was just a Word document. Watching his face when I opened the finished book for the first time… I wish I’d caught that on camera. It was pure magic.”

The book, which uses weather to teach children about emotions, was born from Calvin’s own questions about how to handle feelings like sadness and frustration — something Dylan says made writing it deeply personal. “I wanted to create something that helps kids understand their storms don’t last forever,” she said.

And as for her real-life “stormy days”? Dylan’s learned to find calm in the whirlwind. “Life as a family of five is messy, loud, and unpredictable,” she said. “But every time I look at my boys, I think — this is exactly what it’s supposed to be.”

From tearful family moments to laughter-filled chaos, Dylan’s story reminds us that sometimes, the most beautiful things come from life’s unexpected storms — and that even the smallest baby can change everything.