James Spann wished his former colleague and fellow meteorologist Taylor Sarallo well after she announced last Friday marked her final day with ABC 33/40 after nearly four years with the Birmingham station.

“I owe it to you all to let you know that Friday was my last day at ABC 33/40,” Sarallo said this week in a statement posted on Twitter and Facebook.

No reason was given for her departure.

Spann took to Twitter Monday night to pay tribute to Sarallo, praising her weather acumen and professionalism.

“Taylor is simply the best,” Spann tweeted. “Amazing knowledge of the science, a servant’s heart, incredible work ethic, and a love for the people she serves. We will miss her greatly here; it was my honor to work alongside her for four years.”

“I am so grateful to have had the opportunity to work with such a talented group of people at ABC 33/40 and, of course, learn from one of the absolute best Meteorologists in the country,” Sarallo said in her statement. “I am honored to have served the people of central Alabama for the last 4 years. Thank you to all the viewers who have turned to us and trusted our coverage on tough days. You all are family and I care for you all deeply.”

Born in Plano, Texas, Sarrallo was raised in Georgia where she ultimately attended the University of Georgia in Athens where she graduated second in her class and was the first woman to obtain a B.S. in Atmospheric Sciences from UGA.

Sarallo’s first on-air job was chief meteorologist at WDHN News in Dothan before she joined WKRG in Mobile where she covered multiple hurricanes including Hurricane Michael.

She joined ABC 33/40 in 2019. She would appear with James Spann during severe weather events when the station would break in for coverage.

“Life is about learning, growing and change,” she concluded in her statement. “I am in a season of change, but all I can hope is that I learn and grow from it and come out on the other side a better person for it.”

In a January 2023 interview with AL.com, Spann also said about Sarallo, “She’s brilliant. She’s absolutely brilliant. Her academics from the University of Georgia were stunning.”

Spann told AL.com he checked with some professor friends of his at UGA before hiring her while she was working in Mobile, “and both of them said hire her immediately, and we did.”

“In addition to being a brilliant scientist with these incredible credentials, she has the heart of a servant,” Spann continued. “She loves people. She’s had a chance to go to big markets, but she’s stayed here because she loves Birmingham.”

Spann also said he would not want anybody else on set while coverage severe weather events. “During that severe weather coverage, she becomes your soul mate,” he said. “She knows what I want before I call for it. She’s always over there, and she’s an astute observer. She’s got my back.”

He also said Sarallo was a great role model for young women and girls dreaming of careers in meteorology.

“She’s absolutely brilliant, and a great, great, great role model for women who want to do science,” he said, noting many students he encounters while speaking at schools in Alabama express they admire her and want to do what she does for a living.