Janice Dean said she is stepping away from her role after more than 22 years, citing health reasons tied to multiple sclerosis. In a video message posted on X on June 25, 2026, she said the early mornings that once came with the job have become harder to manage.
Dean, a senior meteorologist and a regular on Fox & Friends, said getting up at 2:30 in the morning and performing live is especially difficult for someone living with MS. She said she was diagnosed early and has spent over two decades on different therapies, but her symptoms have progressed enough that her doctors agreed she needed to step away.
Her departure matters now because she has been one of the network’s long-running weather faces for years, also contributing to Fox Weather and building a broader audience through podcasting and books. She is the author of Mostly Sunny and Make Your Own Sunshine, and she has also written a series of children’s weather books.
MS has no cure, Dean said, and the daily demands of live television have become a poor fit for the illness as she describes it. She said lack of sleep and stress are among the biggest triggers for her symptoms, which helps explain why the schedule she once handled for so long is no longer sustainable.
Media said it fully supports Dean’s decision to step away from her role as senior meteorologist on FOX & Friends and praised her 22-year career for its warmth, resilience and dedication. Dean also said she has read the comments, prayers and words of support from viewers, and left the door open just enough to say goodbye may not be forever. What remains unresolved is whether this is a final exit or only a step back from the early-morning grind.
