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The Weather Channel

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The Weather Channel
TypeCable network (Weather/meteorology)
Country
United States
AvailabilityNational; affiliated services available internationally
OwnerLandmark Communications
Key people
Debora J. Wilson — President, The Weather Channel, Inc.
Launch date
May 2, 1982
Official website
weather.com
For the Australian Weather Channel with the same name, see The Weather Channel, Australia

The Weather Channel (TWC) is a cable and satellite television network that broadcasts weather and weather-related news 24 hours a day. The Weather Channel is headquartered in Marietta, Georgia, near Atlanta. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Landmark Communications. In addition to its cable TV programming, TWC also provides forecasts for terrestrial and satellite radio stations, newspapers, and websites, and maintains an extensive online presence at weather.com.

History

File:Sharon Resultan and Kristina Abernathy PM Edition.JPG
Kristina Abernathy (pictured from left) and Sharon Resultan (right) featured from a TWC broadcast in 1998.
File:Dave Schwartz.jpg
TWC's Dave Schwartz showing the national weather map, from a January 5, 2002 broadcast.
File:Jimcantore.jpg
Jim Cantore during Hurricane Ophelia on September 15, 2005.
File:Mike-seidel-hurricane-wilma.JPG
Mike Seidel during Hurricane Wilma when TWC was in "Storm Alert" mode on October 23, 2005.

The Weather Channel went on the air on May 2, 1982. The channel reports the weather and other meteorological information for the United States as well as other countries and regions of the world. TWC originally gathered its national region forecasts from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), and gathered its local forecasts from local National Weather Service offices, but since 2002 has done local forecasting in-house from Marietta, Georgia. However, current weather and forecast model data is still provided by the National Weather Service, and the ultraviolet index and air quality reports are from the Environmental Protection Agency. The Weather Channel does not have any local meteorologists outside of the Atlanta area.

The Weather Channel was the brainchild of former WLS-TV Chicago chief meteorologist and Good Morning America forecaster John Coleman, who took his idea to Landmark's then-chief Frank Batten.

In the early years of the network, there were many meteorologists in their 20s and 30s, except for Charlie Welsh, Bill Schubert, and hurricane expert John Hope.

On January 1, 2007, TWC began airing full-time in Hawaii, Since then, the forecast for Hawaii has typically been shown once every hour. It should be noted that Hawaii still receives less coverage than the Continental U.S.

Current

TWC uses special proprietary equipment that inserts local weather forecast and warning information if it is viewed on a cable TV system. The original WeatherStar technology has been upgraded on most cable systems to IntelliStar, including Vocal Local to announce the three-day local forecast. Satellite viewers see a roundup of local TWC forecasts for major cities across the U.S., as well as satellite and radar images, and severe weather watch and warning maps when active.

The Weather Channel produces a service, based on modified versions of WeatherStar technology, called Weatherscan on which a separate channel constantly displays local and regional conditions and forecasts along with The Weather Channel's logo and advertisements.

TWC's sister channel in Canada is The Weather Network in English and MétéoMédia in French, which uses similar technology that is currently in use in the USA. TWC also runs websites in Brazil (Canal do Tempo), the United Kingdom (Weather Channel), France (Meteo 123) and Germany (Wetter 123). Apart from their stake in The Weather Network/MétéoMédia, TWC only runs their US channel, although it does air an international forecast.

A definitive history of the network, The Weather Channel: The Improbable Rise of a Media Phenomenon, by Frank Batten and Jeffrey L. Cruikshank, was published by Harvard Business Press in May 2002, on TWC's 20th anniversary.

In March 2005, The Weather Channel announced that it would receive a new logo/tagline, "Bringing Weather to Life," replacing the 2001 "Live By it" campaign. This change began on August 15, 2005, with changes in formats and programming taking place as part of a subsequent gradual transition that lasted until December, it has increased airtime to weather forecasts by June 2006.

Overseas versions

Over the years, attempts to broadcast international versions of TWC (apart from Canada's The Weather Network/MétéoMédia and the Australian version of the Weather Channel) have failed.

  • TWC also ran The Weather Channel Latin America, which operated in Spanish in Mexico, Puerto Rico and South America, this network ceased operations in December 2002. The service's three original anchors were Paola Elorza, Sal Morales and Mari Carmen Ramos who left the channel within a year of its launch and went on to work for Univision in Miami, Telemundo in Los Angeles and CNN International. At one point, there was also a Portuguese version in Brazil.
  • On Time Warner's Oceanic cable system in Hawaii, The Weather Channel aired overnights on a local cable channel, and around the clock on digital [1]. However, its Weather STAR 4000 unit suffered from several technical difficulties during its run (including a persistent "Radar Temporarily Unavailable" notice, showing the Seattle-based radar map), its programming has since been dropped. However, up to 2000, The Weather Channel showed the Weather Star 4000's Travel Cities Forecast off the national feed if there's a problem when tuning in.

The Weather Channel's most recognized logo started out as a slightly-squished blue rectangular box that debuted on TWC’s first broadcast on May 2, 1982. This logo would later be revised in 1996, with the corners and "Weather Channel" text font less rounded. The URL text weather.com was permanently added underneath the logo in 1999. More recently, in August 2005, the logo was re-overhauled; the blue rectangle’s corners are straight, and "The Weather Channel" text is now in lower-case and left-justified, similar to the Weather Network in Canada.

Local on the 8s

The Local on the 8s (also known as the "Local Forecast" or "LOT8s") is the part of TWC's programming where viewers see the current conditions and local forecast for their respective area at times ending in "8" (e.g., 9:18).

Before this was implemented, the local forecast was seen about 8 times an hour at various times, depending on the time of day (more in the morning, less at night). The concept of Local on the 8s debuted in 1996, although it was initially implemented in mid-1995. TWC's Local on the 8s has confused some New York metro viewers and listeners into thinking it is owned by CBS Corporation because WCBS-TV and WCBS-AM has a similar service on its TV and Radio broadcast called "Traffic and Weather on the 8s."

Any cable company that carries The Weather Channel can install a Weather STAR unit in a cable headend and receive the information, which is then shown to viewers.

The current WeatherSTAR units in use are:

As of 2006, the majority of cable companies use the IntelliSTAR, the network's newest STAR system. Some cable companies in smaller markets continue to use the XL, 4000, or Jr units because the IntelliSTAR exceeds their budget. However, the IntelliSTAR has lower maintenance costs than older systems.

Cable viewers can see current weather conditions for their location and surrounding areas, weather forecasts, doppler radars of the region, almanacs (tidal information for most coastal locations), air quality conditions, and in larger metro areas, traffic conditions. Some viewers also see forecasts for popular vacation destinations.

Due to the non-locality of satellite television, things are different for its viewers. During this time, the segment includes hourly forecasts for 20 major cities, three-day forecasts for 40 U.S. cities, satellite loops and Doppler radars of the Northeast, Southeast, Midwest, Northwest, and Southwest, respectively. At :18 and :48 after the hour, the Northwest and Southwest radars are replaced by the a radar showing the entire West.

As of November 8, 2006, Dish Network viewers are now able to view local weather conditions and radar on The Weather Channel, based on their billing zip code, along with access to weather in other cities [2].

Music for the local forecasts comes mostly from commercially available music published with BMI. Tracks from the albums of popular jazz fusion artists such as David Benoit, Trammell Starks, The Rippingtons, Spyro Gyra, St. Germain and the Yellowjackets have been used as local forecast music in the past. Ryan Farish [3], Pat Metheny, Boney James, Charles Mingus, and Nestor Torres are some of the artists whose music is currently used on a regular basis for the local forecasts. The Weather Channel has also played music from the band Phish, The Allman Brothers, jazz legend Herbie Hancock and famed guitarist Eric Clapton.

Radio and newspaper presence

The Weather Channel provides forecasts for both the Sirius and XM satellite radio services in the United States. Both services run regional forecasts on one station and have a block of combined local weather and traffic stations for major metropolitan areas.

TWC also has content partnerships with a number of local radio stations in the USA to provide local forecasts, using announcers separate from the TV service. For some affiliates, TWC actually provides a limited amount of live coverage during local severe weather (with the Georgia-based announcers connected via ISDN). Similarly, TWC also provides weather reports for a number of US newspapers, including a half-page national forecast for USA Today.

Online services

TWC provides numerous customized forecasts for online users, including home and garden and event planning forecasts. They also provide WAP access for mobile phone users, desktop widgets for quick reference by computer users, and customized weather feeds for individual websites. They follow a two-tiered service model, with the free service bearing advertisements and their pay ("Gold") service lacking ads and having enhanced radar and mapping functions. Cell Phone customers can even have their local forecast sent to their mobile handsets from TWC for a fee via SMS by sending a text message with their zip code to 42278 which spells 4cast. Other services include Yahoo!, in which the weather pages are produced by TWC.

Programming

The Weather Channel was historically a network that simply gave weather forecasts and discussions. However, in 2000, that began to change with the debut of their 1st hour long feature program, "Atmospheres." Since then, The Weather Channel has continued to add numerous weather-related documentaries to their lineup.

Current programs

  • Abrams & Bettes: Beyond The Forecast
  • Day Planner
  • Evening Edition
  • Evening Edition West Coast
  • First Outlook
  • Forecast Earth
  • Full Force Nature
  • It Could Happen Tomorrow
  • PM Edition
  • Storm Stories
  • The Climate Code
  • The Weather Classroom
  • Weather Center
  • Weekend Now
  • Weekend Outlook
  • Weekend View
  • Your Weather Today

Future Programs

  • Epic Conditions (March 2007)

Programming Schedule

Source: The Weather Channel.

The following list is the current programming lineup provided by The Weather Channel (as of October 2006). Long-form programs are in orange while forecasting programs are in light blue.


(All Times Eastern)

Weekdays

Time Show Hosts
04:00AM-07:00AM First Outlook Nick Walker & Kim Perez

Travel: Jennifer Carfagno

07:00AM-10:00AM Your Weather Today Marshall Seese & Heather Tesch

Travel: Nicole Mitchell

10:00AM-01:00PM Day Planner Kevin Robinson & Kristina Abernathy

Bill Keneely & Kelly Cass

01:00PM-04:00PM Weather Center Jeff Morrow & Vivian Brown
04:00PM-07:00PM PM Edition Carl Parker & Jennifer Lopez
07:00PM-07:30PM Storm Stories Jim Cantore
07:30PM-08:00PM Storm Stories Jim Cantore
08:00PM-09:00PM Abrams & Bettes: Beyond The Forecast Mike Bettes & Stephanie Abrams
09:00PM-11:00PM Evening Edition Paul Goodloe & Alexandra Steele

Storm Tracker: Jim Cantore

11:00PM-11:30PM Storm Stories Jim Cantore
11:30PM-12:00AM Storm Stories Jim Cantore
12:00AM-04:00AM Evening Edition West Coast Rich Johnson & Sharon Resultan
  • Note: On Friday, Full Force Nature airs from 09:00PM-09:30PM; 12:00AM-12:30AM; and 02:00AM-02:30AM, and It Could Happen Tomorrow airs from 09:30PM-10:00PM; 12:30-01:00AM; and 02:30AM-03:00AM.

Saturday

Time Show Hosts
04:00AM-04:30AM The Weather Classroom N/A
04:30AM-07:00AM Weekend Outlook Mark Mancuso & Eboni Deon
07:00AM-11:00AM Weekend View Dao Vu, Bill Keneely & Kelly Cass
11:00AM-02:00PM Weekend Now Kevin Robinson & Kristina Abernathy
02:00PM-05:00PM Weather Center Bob Stokes & Kristin Dodd
05:00PM-05:30PM The Climate Code Dr. Heidi Cullen
05:30PM-06:00PM Forecast Earth Nick Walker
06:00PM-07:00PM PM Edition Bob Stokes & Kristin Dodd
07:00PM-07:30PM The Climate Code Dr. Heidi Cullen
07:30PM-08:00PM Forecast Earth Nick Walker
08:00PM-09:00PM PM Edition Adam Berg & Betty Davis
09:00PM-11:00PM Evening Edition Adam Berg & Betty Davis
11:00PM-11:30PM The Climate Code Dr. Heidi Cullen
11:30PM-12:00AM Forecast Earth Nick Walker
12:00AM-02:00AM Evening Edition West Coast Warren Madden & Cheryl Lemke
02:00AM-04:00AM Evening Edition West Coast (repeat) Warren Madden & Cheryl Lemke

Sunday

Time Show Hosts
04:00AM-04:30AM The Weather Classroom N/A
04:30AM-07:00AM Weekend Outlook Mark Mancuso & Eboni Deon
07:00AM-11:00AM Weekend View Dao Vu, Bill Keneely & Kelly Cass
11:00AM-02:00PM Weekend Now Kevin Robinson & Kristina Abernathy
02:00PM-05:00PM Weather Center Jeanetta Jones & Kristin Dodd
05:00PM-05:30PM The Climate Code Dr. Heidi Cullen
05:30PM-06:00PM Forecast Earth Nick Walker
06:00PM-07:00PM PM Edition Adam Berg & Betty Davis
07:00PM-07:30PM Storm Stories Jim Cantore
07:30PM-08:00PM Storm Stories Jim Cantore
08:00PM-09:00PM PM Edition Adam Berg & Betty Davis
09:00PM-09:30PM Full Force Nature N/A
09:30PM-10:00PM It Could Happen Tomorrow N/A
10:00PM-11:00PM Evening Edition Adam Berg & Betty Davis
11:00PM-11:30PM Storm Stories Jim Cantore
11:30PM-12:00AM Storm Stories Jim Cantore
12:00AM-12:30AM Full Force Nature N/A
12:30AM-01:00AM It Could Happen Tomorrow N/A
01:00AM-02:00AM Evening Edition West Coast Warren Madden & Cheryl Lemke
02:00AM-02:30AM Full Force Nature N/A
02:30AM-02:30AM It Could Happen Tomorrow N/A
03:00AM-04:00AM Evening Edition West Coast (repeat) Warren Madden & Cheryl Lemke

Personalities

Current OCMs

  • Kristina Abernathy
  • Stephanie Abrams
  • Adam Berg
  • Mike Bettes
  • Vivian Brown
  • Jim Cantore
  • Jennifer Carfagno
  • Kelly Cass
  • Betty Davis
  • Eboni Deon
  • Kristin Dodd
  • Paul Goodloe
  • Ryan Goswick (Substitute Anchor)
  • Rich Johnson
  • Jeanetta Jones
  • Bill Keneely
  • Cheryl Lemke
  • Sarah Libby (Weather.com Meteorologist & Substitute Anchor)
  • Jennifer Lopez
  • Warren Madden
  • Mark Mancuso
  • Nicole Mitchell
  • Jeff Morrow
  • Carl Parker
  • Kim Perez
  • Sharon Resultan
  • Kevin Robinson
  • Dave Schwartz
  • Marshall Seese
  • Mike Seidel
  • Alexandra Steele
  • Bob Stokes
  • Heather Tesch
  • Nick Walker
  • Alex Wallace (Weather.com Meteorologist)

Other Personalities

  • Dr. Heidi Cullen (Climate Expert and host Of The Climate Code)
  • Jorma Duran (Reporter)
  • Dr. Marcus Eriksen (Commando Weather)
  • Tetiana Anderson (Reporter)
  • Dr. Greg Forbes (Severe Weather Expert)
  • Danny Lipford (Home Improvement Expert)
  • Dr. Steve Lyons (Hurricane Expert)
  • Julie Martin (Reporter)
  • Jeff Mielcarz (Road Crew Host)
  • Dao Vu (Host: Weekend View)

Former OCMs

  • Janine Albert (occasionally does tropical reports)
  • Hillary Andrews
  • Will Annen
  • Carl Arredondo
  • Dan Atkinson
  • Ray Ban (current Senior Meteorologist)
  • Fred Barnhill
  • Diane Barone
  • Melissa Barrington
  • Andre Bernier
  • Mike Bono
  • Jill Brown
  • Mary Brown*
  • Don Buser
  • Declan Cannon
  • Kam Carman
  • Bob Child
  • Tom Chisholm
  • Janine D'Adamo
  • Gay Dawson
  • Sandra Diaz
  • John Doyle
  • Brian Durst
  • Dale Eck
  • Brad Edwards
  • Bruce Edwards (Kalinowski)
  • George Elliot
  • Paul Emmick
  • Neal Estano
  • Rick Griffin
  • John Hope* (former Tropical Weather Expert)
  • Liz Jarvis (former Morning Host)
  • Cheryl Jones
  • Paul Kocin (former Winter Weather Expert)
  • Bonnie McLaughlin
  • Vince Miller
  • Karen Minton
  • Tom Moore (current Senior Meteorologist)
  • Lisa Mozer
  • Myke Motley*
  • Jon Nese (former Storm Expert On Your Weather Today)
  • Stu Ostro (current Senior Meteorologist)
  • Dan Pope
  • Cindy Preszler
  • Kevan Ramer
  • Gene Rubin
  • Jodi Saeland
  • John Scala
  • Bill Schubert
  • Dennis Smith (current Senior Meteorologist)
  • Terri Smith
  • Lisa Spencer
  • Marny Stanier
  • Jerry Tracey
  • Melissa Tuttle
  • Dave Watson
  • Charlie Welsh*
  • Keith Westerlage (current On-Camera Meteorology Manager)
  • Colleen Wine

* indicates person is deceased.

Slogans

  • "We Take The Weather Seriously, But Not Ourselves" (1982–1984)
  • "Weatherproofing America" (1984–1986)
  • "You Need Us, The Weather Channel, For Everything You Do" (1986–March 1991)
  • "Weather You Can Always Turn To" (March 1991–1995)
  • "No Place on Earth Has Better Weather" (1996–1999)
  • "Keeping You Ahead Of The Storm" (2000)
  • "Live By It" (2001–2005)
  • "Bringing Weather to Life" (2005–present)

Hurricane coverage slogans

  • "Hurricane Central" (August–October 2005)
  • "Your Hurricane Authority" (October 2005-January 2006)
  • "The Hurricane Authority" (May 31, 2006- present)

Winter coverage slogans

  • "The Winter Weather Authority" (December 2006-present)

Trivia

File:Weather logo2006sun.gif
new sunny icon
  • During the commercial slogan of "Bringing Weather To Life" in 2005, the Guster song "Window" from the album Parachute was played.
  • Nick Walker, Host of First Outlook, is referred to as the "Weather Dude".
  • Stephen Arnold Music did all of the 2003-2005 show music.
  • Comedian Lewis Black, and John Salley (host of Fox Sports Net's The Best Damn Sports Show Period) have done The Weather Channel's "Celebrity Forecast"
  • Kristin Dodd and Jeanetta Jones are currently the only 2 non-certified weather anchors at TWC. However, there are reporters who are also not meteorologists, and Dao Vu, host of Weekend View, is also not a meteorologist.
  • Nicole Mitchell and Warren Madden are Hurricane Hunters.
  • Heather Tesch tells Marshall Seese what color clothing she is wearing the next day, and Marshall tries to wear a tie of a matching color.
  • As of December 12, 2006, weather icons that had been in use since 1998, were replaced by more realistic icons.
  • Dr. Heidi Cullen stirred up controversy when she declared in January 2007 that meteorologists who do not believe the "global warming" mantra of the Left should be stripped of their professional credentials. She also declared that the job of the Weather Channel is not to report the weather, but to keep people out of harm's way.

See also

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=The_Weather_Channel&oldid=101865768"