The real reason why a longtime 6ABC/Philadelphia meteorologist is leaving the station

A longtime meteorologist at Channel 6 in Philadelphia — a true favorite — has announced he is leaving the station. But why?

People rarely leave 6ABC

As we commented the other day before the news officially broke, we had the chances of Chris Sowers leaving the station at "incredibly low to almost zero." Boy were we wrong.

Simply put, very few on-air people at Channel 6 ever leave the station. That's what has made Action News such a mainstay in the region. The people you watched on TV when you were growing up are the same people that you are watching as an adult now.

So, for Sowers to announce his departure from the institution that is WPVI, it must be a very good opportunity.

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WPVI weather guy teases 'huge' career announcement

Earlier this month, meteorologist Chris Sowers took to Facebook and posted the following very simple message:

I have huge career news coming! I’ll be making an announcement soon.

As expected, social media went nuts. In under 24 hours, 1,600+ comments were posted, many wondering exactly what one of the top meteorologists in the city was up to.

The next day, Sowers announced he was leaving.

My family and I have come to the extremely difficult decision to move on from WPVI 6abc. A huge opportunity has presented itself and I will be joining the talented WPTV weather team in West Palm Beach, Florida in October. This is an opportunity for me to finally move off of weekends. I'm excited to work in one of the busiest weather markets in the entire country! You have no idea how difficult of a decision this was for me. Every single one of you have become like family to me over the past 13 plus years that I've been on the air here and I appreciate all your love and support. The dungeon segments, the constant updating on social media (even on days off), I hope you can truly see how much you all mean to me, and I hope you will all continue to follow me on my journey. I will be posting more over the next few weeks.

WPTV is the NBC affiliate in West Palm Beach, FL. And we couldn't help but notice that their studios are surrounded by palm trees -- not exactly something you'd see in front of Channel 6 on City Line Avenue.

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But what drove Sowers to leave? While this is entirely all speculation on our part, was it just a change in scenery or the fact that advancement at the station is very difficult?

From the station that made Jim O'Brien and Dave Roberts legends in the city, it's safe to say that their two big weather stars at the moment, Cecily Tynan and Adam Joseph, aren't going anywhere anytime soon. Tynan has been with 6ABC for nearly 30 years and Joseph is around the 20-year mark. They are both fantastic broadcasters that the region has learned to depend on.

And we'll make this prediction: if Good Morning America ever has an opening for a weather anchor, either Tynan or Joseph will get the spot. Quickly.

Sowers is also an absolutely amazing meteorologist with a terrific on-screen presence and his social media usage during bad weather events only stood to exponentially build his fanbase.

But circling back to his departure for West Palm Beach, the lack of upward mobility within an organization can be a big hurdle to jump (again, assuming that was a factor). Sowers is such a great talent that he deserves a big spotlight and his chances of getting that at Channel 6 likely wouldn't have happened for a really long time.

And the palm trees aren't too bad to look at, either.