News 12 Long Island's Bill Korbel announces retirement

Longtime News 12 Long Island chief meteorologist Bill Korbel announced on Facebook on Friday that he’s riding off into the sunset and retiring after more than 25 years at the TV station.

Korbel took to Facebook to write a lighthearted goodbye post and say his last day will be Sept. 27.

“First it was Eli Manning and now it is my turn. But unlike Eli, I am not being benched. It is my choice to step down at News12 after 25 years,” Korbel wrote. “Next Friday, September 27th will be my last day on air. This was not an easy decision but it is one I had to make. Time to set off on a new life journey. It’s been a great run. A quarter of a century on one station is very rare in this business. I will miss my coworkers and I will miss talking about the weather to all of you, even if it was a one-way communication. As Kenny Rogers sang in “The Gambler”. ..... “You got to know when to hold ‘em … know when to fold ‘em … know when to walk away”. Well, it’s time to fold ‘em and walk away ..... Love you all.”

 Altice USA, which owns News 12, said in a statement: "Bill has been an incredible asset to the News 12 team as a world-class meteorologist and an amazing leader and colleague in the newsroom. We thank him for his contributions to the network and wish him the very best in the future." 

According to his career biography, Korbel grew up in East Meadow. He graduated from New York University with a degree in meteorology. His career as a forecaster began in the Air Force where he was a weather officer in several states and in Southeast Asia. Korbel’s biography says the highlight of his time in the military was a two-year assignment at Andrews Air Force Base handling weather briefings for Air Force One flights. “It was quite an honor to be given so much responsibility,” Korbel wrote in the biography.

After active duty, Korbel remained in the reserves and then retired from the Air Force as a lieutenant colonel. Korbel’s first broadcasting job was at WCBS NewsRadio 880. He then spent 17 years on WOR Radio, his biography says. He began working at News 12 in 1993 and has been there ever since.

“I try to keep my reports light and easy to understand. I just try to let the viewer know what kind of a day lies ahead and whether they'll run into any weather problems,” he wrote in his biography.

For fun, he is an avid golfer and is also a commercially licensed pilot, his biography said.

Korbel's wife of 45 years, Sharon Korbel, died in June 2018.