WSOC-TV meteorologist John Ahrens charged with assaulting wife

WSOC-TV (Channel 9) meteorologist John Ahrens was arrested and charged with misdemeanor assault on a female on Saturday.

WSOC-TV said on its website that the charge is domestic-related and that Ahrens “has adamantly denied any role in the accusations made by his spouse.”

[Updated story: WSOC meteorologist arrested, accused of assault by wife.]

Charlotte-Mecklenburg police arrested Ahrens shortly before 11 a.m., according to the Mecklenburg County jail website. He was listed as still being in the jail Saturday night.

Ahrens, 38, of Charlotte, has a court hearing at 9 a.m. Monday, according to the jail website.

“WSOC management does not comment on any employee’s personal matters,” the station said.

Ahrens joined the station as weekend meteorologist in 2006 from WCBD in Charleston, where he covered several hurricanes, according to his biography on Channel 9’s website. He also went to Mississippi to witness Hurricane Katrina’s wrath.

Ahrens previously was a meteorologist at KTVO-TV in Kirksville, Missouri, in the heart of “tornado alley,” according to his biography.

In 2002, he received the “Seal of Approval” from the American Meteorological Society. In 2009, he earned the American Meteorological Society’s Certified Broadcast Meteorologist designation.

Ahrens graduated from Kent State University in Kent, Ohio, with a degree in broadcast journalism.

Joe Marusak

This story was originally published October 24, 2015 at 6:52 PM with the headline "WSOC-TV meteorologist John Ahrens charged with assaulting wife."