CBS 17 meteorologist leaves the station after 6 years. Here’s what to know
AI-generated summary reviewed by our newsroom.
- Meteorologist Laura Smith announced her exit from TV news; final day at CBS 17 is Dec 5.
- Rachel Duensing will move from evening broadcasts to mornings starting Dec 8.
- CBS 17 hired two new meteorologists this year, Ross Whitley and Matthew Huddleston.
After six years at CBS 17, an on-air meteorologist is leaving the station.
But Laura Smith isn’t just departing the station; she’s also leaving the TV news business, she said in a social media post announcing her decision.
“This career has shaped me, pushed me, and given me memories I’ll carry forever,” Smith said in the post.
Her last day at the station is Friday, Dec. 5.
“I’m over the moon about turning off my 2 a.m. alarm clock for the first time in a decade, joining my husband in Greensboro, and seeing what the new year has to offer,” Smith said in the post.
For the past few years, Smith has been delivering weather forecasts on weekdays from 4:30-9 a.m. and at noon, according to her CBS 17 bio.
Before being named the weekday morning and noon meteorologist in 2022, she was a weather and traffic anchor.
Smith, a certified meteorologist from Charleston, South Carolina, is a graduate of the University of South Carolina School of Journalism and Mass Communications. She also completed the Broadcast and Operational Meteorology program at Mississippi State University.
Her broadcast career began in 2014, working as a morning anchor in Bangor, Maine. Then she moved to Charleston, where she covered weather, traffic and news for WCBD.
New weekend morning meteorologist
Rachel Duensing is moving from evening newscasts to mornings.
Starting Monday, Dec. 8, the meteorologist will deliver forecasts during CBS 17 News This Morning, along with its noon program.
“I’ve absolutely fallen in love with central North Carolina and I’m excited to be able to stay and give you the weather you need for your day, just at a different time,” Duensing said in a social media post.
Duensing has been part of the evening broadcasts for several years and joined CBS 17’s Storm Team in 2021, according to her CBS 17 bio.
Before coming to the Triangle station, Duensing worked at NBC2 in Fort Myers, Florida, as a weekend morning meteorologist. She also previously worked at WSIL-TV in Carterville, Illinois, as a weekend morning and weekday morning meteorologist.
A native of Illinois, she has a bachelor’s degree in Meteorology and Digital Media from Valparaiso University in Indiana.
Changes at CBS 17
Two other meteorologists, Dave Downey and Lance Blocker, left the station earlier this year.
CBS 17 later hired Ross Whitley and Matthew Huddleston to join its storm team.
This story was originally published December 5, 2025 at 3:02 PM with the headline "CBS 17 meteorologist leaves the station after 6 years. Here’s what to know."
