Al Roker's 'Today' co-hosts bring him to tears with Christmas surprise after hospital stay

Al Roker is feeling extra loved after getting a Christmas surprise from his "Today" show colleagues while he's at home recovering from a health scare.

The longtime "Today" show weatherman, 68, has been absent from his work duties over the past month after a couple hospital stints for medical complications. Roker experienced blood clots that traveled to his lungs.

He returned home last week and made his first appearance on the show virtually Monday, but as yet to return to work. So Roker's colleagues decided to bring some holiday joy to him.

"When the Rockefeller Tree was lit this December, it felt like it was missing its brightest star: our own Al Roker," co-host Savannah Guthrie said in a segment that aired Wednesday. "Throughout his month-long hospital stay, we have all been waiting for the day we could wrap our arms around our sunshine. And, well, we couldn't wait any longer."

Previously: Al Roker hospitalized again due to 'some complications' after blood clot recovery

Roker's wife, Deborah Roberts, served as a "secret accomplice" for the "Today" show team as they set out to surprise their co-worker. Dozens, including Guthrie, Hoda Kotb, Jenna Bush Hager, Craig Melvin, Sheinelle Jones, Dylan Dreyer and the show's staff and crew, donned red Santa hats and stood outside Roker's door as they sang "Jingle Bells" and a take on "I'll Be Home For Christmas" that swapped "I'll" for "Al".

Roker, dressed casually in a sweatshirt from his alma mater, SUNY Oswego, was moved to tears. But he didn't miss a beat.

"I'm impressed you did that without a prompter," he joked. "I just want to thank you all. It's been a long, hard slog and I've missed you so very much. All these faces – it just means the world to me and to our family. Deborah has just been my rock and I just thank you so much."

"We love you so much, Al," Kotb told him. "Every single person couldn't wait to come out and sing to you."

More: Al Roker makes first TV appearance since hospitalization: 'Every day I feel a little bit better'

While appearing live on "Today" Wednesday morning, Kotb reflected that she had never seen Roker in the emotional state he was in when they surprised him.

"I think he realized – he knows he's loved, but I think sometimes you have to know just how much," she said.

Guthrie added: "It's hard. Boy, what he's been through is so hard and seeing and knowing how much he's loved – it meant so much to us, too."

On Monday, Roker, rocking a salt-and-pepper mustache, checked in virtually with his "Today" colleagues from his kitchen to talk about his hospital stay and when he might return to the show.

"You lose a certain amount of muscle mass for every week you are in the hospital. I was in the the hospital for four weeks," he said, noting he is doing physical and occupational therapy to help regain his strength.

But, he added, he feels good. "I feel strong and every day I feel a little bit better."

Roker's medical scare led him to miss hosting the Macy's Thanksgiving Day Parade Nov. 24, making it his first absence for the staple event in 26 years. NBC meteorologist Dreyer filled in for him.

Blood clots, or deep vein thrombosis, commonly occur in the leg but can also develop in the arm, according to Johns Hopkins Medicine. "Part of the clot, called an embolus, can break off and travel to the lungs," which can cut off blood flow to the lungs.

Roker has sat at the "Today" show weather desk since 1996 and has been transparent about medical issues in the past.

In 2020, Roker went public with his prostate cancer diagnosis in order to spotlight the number of men who are diagnosed with the disease.

Contributing: Elise Brisco, Amy Haneline, Cydney Henderson and Morgan Hines

This article originally appeared on USA TODAY: Al Roker surprised by 'Today' after health scare: See the sweet moment