Meteorologist Patrick Hammer, who was let go from KSTP last year, is back on the air for KARE 11.

He's temporarily filling in on the weekends while Laura Betker is on maternity leave. She gave birth to her daughter Gwen Marie on Jan. 5.

"Laura went into false labor on New Year's Eve, and I was contacted by KARE last minute," Hammer told the Pioneer Press. "Luckily, the champagne hadn't been uncorked yet, so I scrambled in on New Year's Eve."

He told the newspaper it was "surreal to be in the KARE backyard" and he "felt a part of the team right out of the gate."

Some local journalists and weather watchers reacted to Hammer's return on Twitter: