End of an era: Veteran Charlotte weather forecaster moving to ‘whole new role’ at WCNC-TV
Beloved TV weatherman Larry Sprinkle will celebrate 40 years as a full-time staff member at WCNC in Charlotte by doing two things that will be a big change for him.
One, he’ll get to start sleeping in a little. And two: He’ll be — gasp! — stepping away from forecasting the weather.
Sprinkle told The Charlotte Observer on Wednesday morning that, after 27 years as a member of the station’s morning team, he is leaving the show and will “have a whole new role here, doing the feature stories, doing the community involvement, doing all the ‘Tailwagger’ segments, with the animal adoptions. ...”
Next week, he said, will be his last on WCNC’s morning show, with longtime morning traffic anchor/midday meteorologist Chris Mulcahy replacing him in the higher-profile a.m. position on Monday, April 7.
In an interview with the Observer just last week, Sprinkle hinted that a change might be coming.
“As far as the getting up at 1:30 in the morning, the reality is (I can’t do that forever),” he said then. “But here’s another thing I need to honestly look at: There is someone in that studio who works with me that deserves (my job). Chris Mulcahy — good friend — has been there, and at some time, I’ve gotta say to myself, Be fair, because there are other things you could do.
“I want to be at this TV station until television is no more,” Sprinkle continued. “But maybe moving away from getting up at 1:15 to a more normal time, and letting someone who deserves the job come in and take the job.”
For years now, Sprinkle has dabbled in working on feature stories and specials that have aired throughout WCNC’s newscasts, in addition to his spotlighting of adoptable dogs and cats during the “Tailwagger” segments. The new role, however, will mark the end of an era. Along with WCNC chief meteorologist Brad Panovich, Sprinkle is one of the station’s two most famous faces when it comes to weather coverage; since joining the station in 1985, he’s covered virtually every major weather event that’s touched the Charlotte area.
“As far as weather, I’ve seen it and done at all. So now,” Sprinkle said, “it’s time for me to get out there — just be out in the community more — something I love doing anyway.”
Sprinkle added that it’s not yet clear exactly how his new work schedule will shake out, other than it’ll involve “working more normal hours.”
Oh, and it’ll also involve a certain catharsis.
“I’m going to smash that alarm clock, finally,” he said, chuckling. “I mean, I’m gonna annihilate it. I’m gonna bring it to work and smash it in front of everybody.
“You can come see me do it.”
Last week’s interview with Larry Sprinkle
In addition to dropping a hint about a change in his role at WCNC, the beloved Charlotte weatherman talked about the time he had to prove his last name was real to a Carolina Panthers star, and much more.
This story was originally published March 26, 2025 at 12:47 PM.
