Beloved NYC TV Meteorologist, Lonnie Quinn, Makes Surprising Decision To Step Away From tv… For Now

He’s one of the most recognizable faces in the New York City TV news landscape, but for the foreseeable future he won’t be on our TV screens.

Lonnie Quinn will be stepping away from the weather desk at WCBS TV (CBS 2 New York) “temporarily.” He revealed the news during the station’s broadcast Friday evening.

What went into the decision to step away?

Lonnie Quinn Takes "Wollop" On His Head

Quinn revealed during a telecast on Friday evening (March 14) that earlier this year he suffered a concussion, but he said that his symptoms weren’t immediately discovered.

Get our free mobile app

As a result of that recovery, Quinn said he would be stepping away from the station’s weather desk for a while. Lonnie currently anchors the station’s weather coverage at 5 p.m., 6 p.m., and 11 p.m. daily.

Quinn says the injury originated when he recently “took a wallop on his head.” Shortly after he visited the hospital and had a ‘negative’ cat scan, he said.

READ MORE: Bill Ritter Departs ABC 7's News at 11 

"So I was free to go home. And I got on with my life, as we all do when we bang our heads, right?” Quinn said on the telecast.

Quinn Began Suffering Scary Symptoms

His symptoms however slowly crept up including a recent evening when “all of a sudden” he couldn’t see out of his left eye before an 11 p.m. broadcast.

Further medical treatment and an MRI revealed that his body hadn’t fully recovered from the initial injury.

READ MORE: Major Shakeup! 14 Year Veteran Leaves CBS New York

“(The doctor) said, ‘Look, it's going to be just fine, but you cannot just think it's going to go away on its own. It's got to be treated,” Quinn announced during Friday's show. 

Lonnie Quinn to Be Gone for Several Weeks

As a result, his treatment plan is now to take some time to rest and recover from the injury.

"When you bang your head, your brain recovers nicely, but it only recovers while the body is sleeping," Lonnie said.

He's expected to make a full recovery and rejoin the broadcast team later this spring.

Quinn, who contributes to the network's evening news program (CBS Evening News), mentioned on that show that he would be stepping away for “a good four weeks” for physical rehab and cognitive therapy.