Florida Meteorologist Matt Devitt Was Fired from WINK, and Fans Are Not Happy

Local news casters are often celebrities inside of their communities, and while not everyone watches the local news anymore, plenty of people still do. What's more, the people who watch local news tend to be the people most likely to get outraged when a personality they like disappears from their network.

Meteorologist Matt Devitt, who worked for WINK in South Florida, is one such local news personality who has disappeared from his job in recent weeks. As fans begin to wonder what happened to him, here's what we know about why he's been absent from the show.

In a post on Facebook, Matt explained that he had been let go from his role as chief meteorologist at the network after more than a decade. Matt first found out that he had been fired on Jan. 8, and said the decision was not one that he expected.

"After 10 years, my time with WINK News has come to an end after being let go from my role as Chief Meteorologist on Thursday. This decision was not one that I expected or agreed with, and [I] was not given the opportunity to say goodbye on-air," he wrote.

"It was a complete shock to me, my family, and fellow coworkers," he continued. "Serving our Southwest Florida community for the past decade has been an honor and privilege, especially through Hurricanes Irma, Ian, Helene, and Milton. I always gave you everything I had with one goal in mind: keeping you safe and informed without the hype."

"While this chapter ended differently than I hoped, I wish WINK News, along with my previous coworkers and weather team, the best. I will still be providing weather updates on this page; it just won’t be on TV anymore. My new Facebook name is being changed to Matt Devitt Weather, which you’ll see shortly," he explained. He also added that he would be taking a brief pause from work to focus on his personal life and reset.

As of right now, we don't know why WINK decided to fire Matt after a decade of service. They have not made any statements about the firing, although they have already removed his profile from their website. Comments about Matt's firing have blown up his Facebook post, and are also populating posts on WINK accounts across social media.

"Very disappointed about the firing of Matt Devitt … Why should viewers be loyal to a disloyal news organization? He got us through 2 major hurricanes in the last 10 years and is a trusted name in weather. You can do all the town halls you want, but this one bonehead move shows you aren’t at all in tune with what really matters to viewers," one person wrote in the comments on a WINK story on Instagram.

Matt's firing has clearly touched a nerve, and now, many want the station to bring Matt back or at least offer an explanation for why he was fired.