“Hey all, I will be taking a leave of absence from THV 11,” KTHV chief meteorologist Ed Buckner announced, departing last week to take “time to heal” from complications of Tourette syndrome, a condition he has described several times on television since joining Channel 11 in 1996.
“Over time, my Tourette’s has really taken a toll on my health.”
Buckner broke the news in a Facebook post Feb. 8, but didn’t disclose how long he expects to be recuperating. Tourette’s causes twitches and involuntary movements that exhaust Buckner and complicate his job on the air.
“It wears me out,” he said in a previous interview aired on KTHV, “and it’s a constant effort to hide it. I try to hide it for two and a half minutes,” but sometimes the urge to stretch his arm or neck can be “so intense I’ll move offscreen to make a movement.”
He said viewers will be in good hands with his meteorology team: Nathan Scott, Sarah Fortner, Adam Bowles and Tracy Beene, “brilliant meteorologists who’ve got you covered while I’m out.”
Buckner said he hopes to be back soon. We wish him well.
