William L. Read (born 1949 or 1950) is an American meteorologist who served in the United States Navy, the National Weather Service (NWS), and as consultant for television stations such as KPRC-TV during his career.

[1] He joined the National Weather Service in 1977 at the test and evaluation division in Sterling, Virginia.

He then served as a forecaster in the Fort Worth and San Antonio, Texas offices before becoming the severe thunderstorm and flash flood program leader at the National Weather Service headquarters in Silver Spring, Maryland.

Read became Deputy Director of the Tropical Prediction Center (TPC), which includes the National Hurricane Center and two other divisions, in Miami, Florida, in August 2007 until he was selected for the position of director in January 2008 and served until June 4, 2012 when relieved by Richard Knabb.

Under his leadership, the Houston/Galveston forecast office conducted an annual Houston/Galveston Hurricane Workshop, which was considered the largest meeting of its kind in the United States.