Al Roker Celebrates 45th Anniversary at NBC – See Him Through The Years (PHOTOS)

Al Roker seen back on the set of 'Today Show' on January 6, 2023 in New York City.
Raymond Hall/GC Images

Today celebrated Al Roker‘s 45th year as a part of the NBC family on Monday (December 11), expressing heartfelt sentiments.

In the video below, co-hosts Craig Melvin, Savannah Guthrie, and Hoda Kotb celebrate the long-time anchor and tease him with archive footage of him in the field talking to penguins. Today notes that Roker “has had more than 7,000 wake-ups at 3:45 am, 27 Thanksgiving Day parades, 13 Olympics, and more!”

Roker joined NBC in 1978 at WKYC in Cleveland, then moved to WNBC-TV in New York as the weeknight weathercaster in 1983, succeeding Dr. Frank Field. He filled in for Willard Scott on Today from 1990 to 1995 and became the regular weekday weatherman in early 1996 after Willard Scott‘s retirement.

Check out the footage and look at Roker throughout the years in our gallery below.

American television weatherman and writer Al Roker, New York City, 10th June 1988.
Barbara Alper/Getty Images

1988

Roker early in his career.

Al Roker during Al Roker at Rockefeller Center at Rockefeller Center
Ron Galella/Ron Galella Collection via Getty Images

1990

Roker caught picking up food near Rockefeller Center.

NBC weatherman Al Roker broadcasts live from the back of a firetruck 10 October outside NBC studios at Rockefeller Center in New York.
JON LEVY/AFP via Getty Images

1996

Al Roker broadcasts live from the back of a firetruck outside NBC studios at Rockefeller Center in New York after a five-alarm fire in the early morning led to the evacuation of the television studios and offices on October 10.

Al Roker, Katie Couric, Matt Lauer during the 1998 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade
NBCU Photo Bank

1998

Roker, Katie Couric, Matt Lauer during the 1998 Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.

Al Roker, Katie Couric, Matt Lauer during the 2001 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade
Eric Liebowitz/NBCU Photo Bank

2001

The trio together again three years later.

Al Roker, Katie Couric, Matt Lauer at the 2003 Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade
NBCU Photo Bank

2003

Roker is looking slim!

Co-Anchor Meredith Vieira, Weather and Feature Reporter Al Roker, and News Anchor Ann Curry celebrate Meredith Vieira's one-year anniversary on NBC News' 'Today'
Virginia Sherwood/NBC NewsWire

2007

Meredith Vieira, Al Roker, and Ann Curry mark Vieira’s one-year anniversary on  Today on September 13, 2007.

Hoda Kotb and Al Roker at The 125th Tournament of Roses Parade
Vivian Zink/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images via Getty Images

2014

The 125th Tournament of Roses Parade.

NBC weatherman Al Roker attends the 90th Annual Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade
John Lamparski/WireImage

2016

The NBC weatherman attends the 90th Annual Macy’s Thanksgiving Day Parade.

Al Roker on Today - Season 68
Nathan Congleton/NBCU Photo Bank/NBCUniversal via Getty Images via Getty Images

2019

Roker’s iconic purple frames enter the fray.

TODAY -- Pictured: Al Roker on Tuesday, April 20, 2021 -- (Photo by: Nathan Congleton/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images)
Photo by: Nathan Congleton/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank via Getty Images

2021

The newsman doing what he does best just one year before his health scare, which saw him take a leave of absence, resulting in him missing the Thanksgiving Day Parade for the first time.

Al Roker seen back on the set of 'Today Show' on January 6, 2023 in New York City.
Raymond Hall/GC Images

2023

Roker doing the news on the day of his return to Today, January 6, 2023. Welcome back, sir!