Al Roker Addresses Eventual Retirement After Hoda Kotb's “Today” Exit News: 'You Know When You Know' (Exclusive)

The longtime weatherman tells PEOPLE about his own future on television at the Food & Wine Classic in Charleston

Al Roker knows what's coming.

The weatherman, who has been a mainstay on the Today show since 1996, has retirement on the mind after his longtime colleague Hoda Kotb announced her exit from the show on Sept. 26 — but that doesn't mean it's happening soon.

"You know when you know," he tells PEOPLE of the major decision while at the first Food & Wine Classic in Charleston.

"That was the kind of the beautiful thing for Hoda. You even look at...Joe Biden. It's like, everybody has a reason that they decide it's time to go."

Related: When Is Hoda Kotb's Last Day on the Today Show? What to Know

Though he knows "that time will come," he assures us that it's not quite yet.

"I don't feel like that's my time yet, but who knows. Maybe a year or two. Maybe not, but I'm enjoying it. I love this," Roker, 70, says. "You don't get off the train until the last stop."

Kotb, 60, announced that she'll be leaving Today in early 2025 in a tearful moment surrounded by her colleagues Roker, Craig Melvin, Savannah Guthrie, Jenna Bush Hager and Sheinelle Jones.

"I had my kiddos later in life and I was thinking that they deserve a bigger piece of my time pie that I have. I feel like we only have a finite amount of time. And so, with all that being said, this is the hardest thing in the world," Kotb said through tears.

"I'm gonna be here through the first of the year — past the first of the year — and I'm gonna stay in the NBC family, but it's kind of a big deal for me."

Related: Tamron Hall Says She 'Understands' Why Hoda Kotb Is Leaving Today: 'Not Easy' (Exclusive)

Roker told PEOPLE he is "just so thrilled for her that I can't possibly feel any sadness" days after she shared the news.

"I would feel much worse if she was leaving, but she's just doing something else within our NBC News family," he said, before sharing that he relates to Kotb's reasoning for taking a step back.

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"And look, I'm very fortunate in that I've watched my kids grow up. Especially when Courtney was younger, I was in local news, so I was home in the morning with my kids. But she's got two young daughters, Haley and Hope... Those moments, those kids grow up. I mean, it's cliché, but because it's true. It's like you blink," he added. "So I understand exactly why she did it."

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