Signing Off in the Big Easy

One of the better TV meteorologists in the industry is about to put down the clicker.

WVUE (New Orleans) Met David Bernard is leaving the station at the end of the November book and will pursue a career in social work.

Bernard said he enrolled at Tulane University this fall and plans to graduate with a master's degree in social work at the end of 2023.

"I want to become a therapist," he said in a video posted by the station. "I want to help people just like I have been for the last 30 years but on a more intimate and direct level."

Bernard has been at WVUE for the past 7 years.

Several other factors also played into Bernard's decision, he said, including a desire to spend more time with his family and a recent battle with toxoplasmosis, a disease caused by a parasitic infection. 

Although Bernard said he's feeling better now, the toxoplasmosis left him with lasting muscle weakness that rendered him nearly unable to stand while reporting on Hurricane Zeta in 2020. Though Bernard said he's loved his time as a meteorologist, it can be a "demanding" and "grueling" job. 

"It's a commitment and it's one that I've kept for 30 years," he said. "But I need to do something now that's going to give me a little more flexibility in my life." 

In November, Bruce Katz will take the helm as Fox 8's chief meteorologist, the station said.

H/T WVUE