'Today Show' Reveals Al Roker's Replacement

By Daniel S. Levine

Somara Theodore, a meteorologist from WRC-TV in Washington, D.C., replaced Al Roker for the Today Show on Tuesday morning. Theodore is the normal meteorologist for NBC's Weekend Today and has also appeared on CNBC and MSNBC for weather forecasts. Theodore also worked in Georgia and won an Emmy during her time in Ohio.

Theodore appears to have just joined Instagram, as she excitedly shared her first forecast from Tuesday's Today Show broadcast. "Filling in for Al this cold morning! Holiday travel will yield delays as a result of this storm moving thru such a wide swath of the country," Theodore wrote.

Next, Theodore shared a behind-the-scenes photo, showing off a portion of the vibrant orange dress she wore inside Studio 1A. She also posted her longer forecast, about the major storm expected to hit the eastern half of the country. "46 million people are already under alerts and that number will continue to grow," Theodore wrote.

It is unclear if NBC will continue bringing in Theodore as Roker's replacement while he continues to recover from ongoing health problems. If the peacock network does keep her, there will be few complaints, since she earned widespread praise from fans for her work. "Bringing brightness and energy to an otherwise not great forecast," one person wrote on Theodore's Instagram page. "Young talent. Congratulations," another added.

Theodore is a Maryland native and graduated from Penn State University with a major in Meteorology, according to her WRC-TV bio. She began her meteorologic career in Savannah, Georgia before moving to Cleveland, Ohio, where she won an Emmy for her forecast of a deadly plane crash. She moved to Washington, D.C. in 2017 and has been at WRC-TV ever since. Over the summer, NBC News hired her as the Weekend Today meteorologist, but she remains in Washington during the week.

Roker has been missing from Today since early November when he was hospitalized for blood clots in his leg and lungs. He was released from the hospital to spend Thanksgiving with his family but was rushed back for treatment for complications. He was released from the hospital on Dec. 8 and continues to recover at home. Last week, Hoda Kotb, Savannah Guthrie, and the rest of the Today team went to Roker's house to sing "Jingle Bells" and "I'll Be Home for Christmas."

"I've missed you all so, so very much, all these faces," Roker told the Today crew. "It just means the world to me and to our family and my Deborah, who's just been my rock. I thank you so much. I really appreciated it... I love you more than you'll ever know." 

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