Weatherman Mark Johnson Was Abruptly Let Go From Channel 5, but Why Was He Fired?

Although it's not uncommon for those who work in local television to find a better gig, there are plenty of TV news personalities who seem like they're settled for life. That's why so many people in Northeast Ohio were shocked by the news that Mark Johnson, the weatherman from WEWS Channel 5 news who has been with the station for more than 30 years, was no longer with the station.

Following the news that he was no longer employed by Channel 5, many fans wanted to know more about exactly what happened to Mark. Here's what we know.

ABC affiliate WEWS News 5 Cleveland issued a pretty vague statement on May 9 announcing that Mark had been fired, and making it sound as though he was proactively let go.

“We want our audiences to know that News 5 and its parent company, Scripps, take protecting our audiences’ trust very seriously by requiring our employees to adhere to the highest ethical standards,” Steve Weinstein, vice president and general manager of WEWS said in the statement.

“We cannot provide further details, as this is a personnel matter," the statement added.

Mark's online bio with the network has been wiped, but cleveland.com is reporting that there is no additional information about why Mark was let go. We do know that the network is planning to start the search for a replacement quickly but we don't have any additional information on what exactly happened to the long-time meteorologist.

Following the news of Mark's departure from the network, fans began posting on his Facebook page almost immediately wondering what had happened to him and why he had been fired.

"I am in complete and utter shock!!! This is unreal! I loved watching Mark Johnson on News Channel 5!!! I loved all his weather coverage!" one person wrote on his Facebook page.

"I am so done with News Channel 5 ... I only watched it because of Mark Johnson," another person added.

Although Mark has not spoken out about what happened, he has made some subtle changes to his Facebook profile. It seems like he plans to keep posting about the weather, though, and he's already posting about an earthquake that occurred just days after he was fired.

Given how much support he has from fans, it's definitely shocking to see that Mark was let go by the network.

The statement released by the network definitely alludes to some amount of wrongdoing on his part, but the specifics are left remarkably vague, and it's unclear whether we'll ever learn more about exactly why he was let go. For now, then, he still has a legion of fans cheering him on, which might make it easier for him to find another job.

After more than 30 years with one network, though, it seems like any change would be difficult. Until we know more about why he was let go, Mark's future will remain something of a mystery as well.