Last day at WTHR for meteorologist Chikage Windler

WTHR meteorologist Chikage Windler is packing up and leaving Indianapolis for Austin, Texas, the weather forecaster tweeted Tuesday. She’s switching networks, too.

“Finishing up @WTHRcom in #Indy and looking ahead to a new chapter at @keyetv in #Austin#ATX,” she wrote.

“So thankful for all the great friends I've made and all the loyal fans here in Indy! Had a wonderful last day.”

Windler will become the chief meteorologist at KEYE, the CBS affiliate in Austin. WTHR (Channel 13) is an NBC affiliate. Windler said the station contacted her about the job when she was on maternityleave back in November. Her resignation comes months before former WISH (Channel 8) forecaster Angela Buckman is expected to join WTHR in the fall.

“For me, nothing is ever certain. You don’t ever know what the future holds,” Windler said. “What I do know is that I had an awesome opportunity. I got a great job with a wonderful schedule in a terrific city.”

As chief meteorologist, Windler will be doing the 5 p.m., 6 p.m. and 10 p.m. daily weather forecasts.

“It’s a family-friendly schedule,” she said. “And because it’s Central time, the news is at 10 p.m., not 11 p.m.”

And having two little girls, a 5-year-old and a newborn, she said it’s better to live closer to family. From Austion, her parents live six hours away in Oklahoma.

Windler’s last WTHR show was Tuesday during the noon hour, she tweeted. She leaves at the end of the week and starts at her new job Monday.

Asked how she sees the WTHR lineup changing once she leaves and Buckman arrives later, she said, “Everyone knows something will happen, but no one knows exactly what.”

Windler previously worked at KSTP (Channel 5), the ABC affiliate in Minneapolis-St. Paul. During that time, Windler worked as a fill-in meteorologist on ABC's “Good Morning America” and “ABC World News,” according to her Facebook page. Windler also worked at WHDH-TV in Boston, WRC-TV in Washington, D.C., TXCN in Dallas, and WVEC-TV in Norfolk.

Windler graduated magna cum laude with a B.S. in meteorology and a B.S. in broadcast journalism from the University of Oklahoma. Chikage is an AMS Certified Broadcast Meteorologist and holds the AMS and National Weather Association Seal of Approval, according to her Facebook page.