Meteorologist Lonnie Quinn Back on Air After Two-Month Absence — Here's Why He Was Away

At long last, Lonnie Quinn has finally returned to television! The beloved meteorologist returned to work on Monday, May 5, 2025, after nearly two months off the air.

During the May 5 broadcast, Lonnie shared how much he missed his colleagues, saying, "Listen, I missed you guys more than you know. I mean, this is a business where we're kind of connected to what we do, and I'm certainly connected with you guys."

So, what happened to Lonnie Quinn? Why was he off the air for so long? Here's everything you need to know about his absence.

Back in early March 2025, Lonnie Quinn shared the "not-so-great" news that he would be stepping away from his meteorologist duties for several weeks. The reason? A concussion he suffered earlier in the year.

During the WCBS-TV evening broadcast on Friday, March 14, anchor Kristine Johnson explained that Lonnie had "suffered a concussion" and initially thought he was recovering well, only to later realize that was far from the truth.

Lonnie announced that he "took a wallop on my head," which led to a hospital visit and symptoms that didn't appear until later.

"The big concern in the medical community, they want to see if there's a brain bleed because you can be dead in the morning if you don't treat that," he said, confirming that he had a "negative" CT scan. "So I was free to go home. And I got on with my life, as we all do when we bang our heads, right?"

Lonnie then described a frightening moment during an 11 p.m. EST newscast when he suddenly lost vision in his left eye.

"There was no way I could go on. And then just as quickly as it began, it went away. It lasted maybe 15 minutes," he recalled. "I did the newscast. But that's when our news director, who really looks out for her people, said, 'OK, you're not driving home. We're gonna get you a car. You're going to the hospital.'"

While at the hospital, Lonnie was advised to follow up with a neurologist, an appointment that revealed just how serious his injury actually was via an MRI.

"He 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,'" Lonnie recounted.

During his first broadcast back, Lonnie provided new details on his lengthy absence from the show. He clarified, "Once the MRI came back, and that's when the doctors came in and said, 'OK, well, this is actually a traumatic brain injury, not just a concussion. You've got to be out of work for six to eight weeks, and we just got to [stick to] rest and relaxation and get you back to it.'"

We don't know about you, but we're thrilled to see Lonnie Quinn back on the air and on the mend. Here's to his continued health and well-being!