The Weather Channel (also
TWC) is a U.S.
cableCable television is a system of providing television to consumers via radio frequency signals transmitted to televisions through fixed optical fibers or coaxial cables as opposed to the over-the-air method used in traditional television broadcasting in which a television antenna is required...
and
satelliteSatellite television is television delivered by the means of communications satellite and received by a satellite dish and set-top box. In many areas of the world it provides a wide range of channels and services, often to areas that are not serviced by terrestrial or cable providers.-History:The...
television networkA television network is a distribution network for television content whereby a central operation provides programming for many television stations. Until the mid-1980s, television programming in most countries of the world was dominated by a small number of broadcast networks. Many early...
that broadcasts weather forecasts and
weatherWeather is a set of all the phenomena occurring in a given atmosphere at a given time. Weather phenomena lie in the troposphere. Weather refers, generally, to day-to-day temperature and precipitation activity, whereas climate is the term for the average atmospheric conditions over longer periods...
-related
newsNews is the communication of information on current events which is presented by print, broadcast, Internet, or word of mouth to a third party or mass audience.- Etymology :...
24 hours a day. 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. The Weather Channel debuted its
high-definitionHigh-definition television is a digital television broadcasting system with higher resolution than traditional television systems...
simulcastSimulcast is a portmanteau of "simultaneous broadcast", and refers to programs or events broadcast across more than one medium, or more than one service on the same medium, at the same time. For example, Absolute Radio is simulcast on both AM and on satellite radio, and the BBC's Prom concerts are...
on September 26, 2007.
History
The Weather Channel was founded in 1981 by
John ColemanJohn Coleman is an American TV weatherman. Along with entrepreneur Frank Batten, he founded The Weather Channel , and presently works as an on-camera weathercaster at KUSI-TV in San Diego.- Professional career :...
and
Frank BattenFrank Batten is widely known as the founder of the first nationwide, 24-hour cable weather channel, The Weather Channel...
. It was launched on May 2, 1982.
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 Weather Star technology has been upgraded on most cable systems to the
IntelliStarIntelliStar is the fifth generation successor to the WeatherStar systems used by the American cable TV and satellite TV channel The Weather Channel , for inserting local forecasts and current weather information into TWC's programming...
, including
Vocal Local to announce the current conditions, weather bulletins, and the detailed local forecast. Satellite and
IPTVInternet Protocol television is a system through which digital television service is delivered using the architecture and networking methods of the Internet Protocol Suite over a packet-switched network infrastructure, e.g., the Internet and broadband Internet access networks, instead of being...
viewers see a roundup of local TWC forecasts for major cities across the U.S., as well as satellite and
radarRadar is an object detection system that uses electromagnetic waves to identify the range, altitude, direction, or speed of both moving and fixed objects such as aircraft, ships, motor vehicles, weather formations, and terrain. The term RADAR was coined in 1941 as an acronym for RAdio Detection And...
images, and severe weather watch and warning maps when active. For both cable and satellite viewers,
Smooth JazzSmooth jazz is a sub-genre of jazz which is influenced stylistically by R&B, funk and pop.Beginning in the early 1970s, it was an evolution into jazz with a modern, electronic sensibility...
music plays in the background during these segments.
The Weather Channel produces a service, based on modified versions of Weather Star technology called
WeatherscanWeatherscan is a TV channel offered by The Weather Channel. The channel is carried on select cable systems in the United States. The channel features uninterrupted local weather information, with graphics on a continuous loop...
, on which a separate channel constantly displays local and regional conditions and forecasts along with The Weather Channel's logo and advertisements.
The Weather Channel is headquartered in the Cumberland/Galleria area, immediately northwest of
AtlantaAtlanta is the capital and most populous city in the state of Georgia, as well as the urban core of one of the fastest-growing metropolitan areas in the United States....
, overlooking the "
Cobb CloverleafThe Cobb Cloverleaf is the name given to the interchange between Interstate 75 , Interstate 285 , U.S. Route 41 and Georgia State Route 3 in Cobb County, Georgia, northwest of Atlanta. Despite the name, the interchange has only two cloverleaf-style ramps...
" interchange from a
high-riseA high-rise is a tall building or structure. Normally, the function of the building is added, for example high-rise apartment building or high-rise offices. Compare: low-rise...
in the Interstate North complex. TWC's sister channel in
CanadaCanada is a country occupying most of northern North America, extending from the Atlantic Ocean in the east to the Pacific Ocean in the west and northward into the Arctic Ocean...
is
The Weather NetworkThe Weather Network is a Canadian English language cable television specialty channel that provides weather information 24 hours a day. Based in Oakville, Ontario, The Weather Network also operates a French language channel called MétéoMédia. The station has a separate feed for the Greater Toronto...
in
EnglishEnglish is a West Germanic language that developed in England during the Anglo-Saxon era. As a result of the military, economic, scientific, political, and cultural influence of the British Empire during the 18th, 19th, and early 20th centuries, and of the United States since the mid 20th century,...
and
MétéoMédiaMétéoMédia is a 24-hour Canadian French language cable television specialty channel and web site, which provides weather information 24 hours a day. It primarily serves viewers in Quebec, although some cable TV systems in Ontario and New Brunswick carry the channel as well. It is available...
in
FrenchFrench is a Romance language globally spoken by about 65 million people as a first language , by 50 million as a second language, and by about another 200 million people as an acquired foreign language, with significant speakers in 57 countries. Most native speakers of the language live in France,...
, which use similar technology that is currently in use in the USA. TWC also runs websites in
BrazilBrazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is a country in South America. It is the fifth largest country by geographical area, occupying nearly half of South America, the fifth most populous country, and the fourth most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Atlantic Ocean...
(
Canal do Tempo), the
United KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands...
(
Weather Channel),
FranceFrance , officially the French Republic , is a country located in Western Europe, with several overseas islands and territories located on other continents. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean...
(
Météo 123) and
GermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium,...
(
Wetter 123). Apart from its stake in The Weather Network/MétéoMédia, TWC only runs their US channel, although it does produce international forecasts.
A definitive history of the network,
The Weather Channel: The Improbable Rise of a Media Phenomenon, by
Frank BattenFrank Batten is widely known as the founder of the first nationwide, 24-hour cable weather channel, The Weather Channel...
and Jeffrey L. Cruikshank, was published by
Harvard Business Press in May 2002, on TWC's 20th anniversary.
On July 6, 2008,
NBC UniversalNBC Universal, Inc. is a media and entertainment company formed in May 2004 by the combination of General Electric's NBC with Vivendi Universal Entertainment, part of the French Media Group. The deal excluded the French Canal+ operations, which were retained by Vivendi. GE owns 80% of NBC Universal...
,
Bain CapitalBain Capital LLC is a Boston-based private equity firm founded in 1984 by partners from the consulting firm Bain & Company. Originally conceived as a leveraged buyout and venture capital fund, Bain Capital today manages approximately $57 billion in assets, and its strategies include private equity...
and
Blackstone GroupThe Blackstone Group, L.P. is an alternative asset management and financial services company that specializes in private equity, real estate, and marketable alternative investment strategies, as well as mergers and acquisitions , restructuring, and fund-placement advisory services.Blackstone's...
agreed to purchase The Weather Channel from
Landmark CommunicationsLandmark Media Enterprises LLC is a privately held media company headquartered in Norfolk, Virginia and specializing in cable television, broadcast television, print publishing, and Internet publishing...
. NBC Universal also owned
NBC Weather PlusNBC Weather Plus was a 24-hour, commercially-sponsored, weather-oriented broadcast/cable television network jointly owned by NBC Universal and the local affiliates of the NBC network. It debuted on November 15, 2004 and shut down on December 31, 2008...
, a rival service which was carried by and featured content from its local affiliates; that service announced its discontinuation three months later. Subchannels carrying Weather Plus have moved to The Local AccuWeather Channel, kept the Weather Plus engine, or switched programs (e.g. to
This TVThis TV is a general entertainment television network designed for digital television subchannels...
or the
Retro Television NetworkThe Retro Television Network is a system of television stations primarily airing classic television programming from the 1950s through the 1980s, such as Leave it to Beaver, Kojak, McHale's Navy, Adam-12, Emergency!, and The Rockford Files, as well as the horror film showcase Midnight Monster Hop...
). Some have shut down entirely.
From November 2008 through February 2009, The Weather Channel terminated seven long-time on-camera meteorologists: Kristina Abernathy, Eboni Deon, Kristin Dodd, Rich Johnson, Cheryl Lemke, Mark Mancuso and Dave Schwartz. With the exception of Eboni Deon, all had been on the air for more than ten years. Three of them had been employed by the network for more than twenty years.
Inevitably, the merger of NBC on-air meteorologists began in May 2009. Todd Santos, formerly of NBC Weather Plus, first appeared on the network on the second day of the month. Al Roker of NBC's "Today" show began a one-hour morning program with meteorologist Stephanie Abrams as co-host, later in the summer. However for New York-based forecasting operations (those utilized for MSNBC and CNBC forecasts, for instance), the former NBC Weather Plus forecasting, radar, and graphics systems remain in place, with banners changed to fit the Weather Channel graphics scheme.
International versions
Over the years, attempts to broadcast international versions of TWC (apart from Canada's The Weather Network/MétéoMédia and the
AustraliaAustralia , officially the Commonwealth of Australia, is a country in the Southern Hemisphere comprising the continental mainland , the island of Tasmania, and numerous smaller islands in the Indian and Pacific Oceans...
n version of
the Weather ChannelThe Weather Channel is an Australian 24 hour cable and satellite channel that broadcasts weather news and information. The Weather Channel is available on Foxtel, Austar and Optus Television.-History:...
) failed. TWC also operates
websiteA website is a collection of related web pages, images, videos or other digital assets that are addressed with a common domain name or IP address in an Internet Protocol-based network...
s for online localized forecasts in
BrazilBrazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is a country in South America. It is the fifth largest country by geographical area, occupying nearly half of South America, the fifth most populous country, and the fourth most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Atlantic Ocean...
,
FranceFrance , officially the French Republic , is a country located in Western Europe, with several overseas islands and territories located on other continents. Metropolitan France extends from the Mediterranean Sea to the English Channel and the North Sea, and from the Rhine to the Atlantic Ocean...
,
GermanyGermany , officially the Federal Republic of Germany , is a country in Central Europe. It is bordered to the north by the North Sea, Denmark, and the Baltic Sea; to the east by Poland and the Czech Republic; to the south by Austria and Switzerland; and to the west by France, Luxembourg, Belgium,...
,
IndiaIndia, officially the Republic of India , is a country in South Asia. It is the seventh-largest country by geographical area, the second-most populous country, and the most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Indian Ocean on the south, the Arabian Sea on the west, and the Bay of Bengal...
,
Latin AmericaLatin America is a region of the Americas where Romance languages – particularly Spanish, Portuguese, and variably French – are primarily spoken. Latin America has an area of approximately 21,069,501 km² , almost 3.9% of the Earth's surface or 14.1% of its land surface area...
, and the
United KingdomThe United Kingdom of Great Britain and Northern Ireland is a sovereign state located off the northwestern coast of continental Europe. It is an island country, spanning an archipelago including Great Britain, the northeastern part of Ireland, and many small islands...
, but some of these sites appear to have not been developed further since 2003. The Weather Channel also shares radar and forecasts with The Weather Network, particularly for the Weather Channel's Canadian forecasts.
- A UK version of The Weather Channel ran from September 1, 1996 to January 30, 1998, when it was closed due to low viewership. It timeshared with Sky Movies Gold/Sky Box Office 2
Sky Box Office may refer to:* Sky Box Office, BSkyB's Pay Per View system available in the UK.* SKY Box Office, SKY Network Television's Pay Per View system available in New Zealand....
, The Racing ChannelThe Racing Channel was a defunct British subscription television channel which used to extensively cover horse racing. It ran between 1995 and its closure in January 2003....
, and GalavisionGalavisión is a Miami, Florida based Spanish language cable network owned by Univision Communications, Inc. The station is unrelated to the Mexican channel of the same name, other than sharing the Televisa-produced programming.-History:...
, airing five hours a day.
- TWC also ran The Weather Channel Latin America, which operated in Spanish
Spanish or Castilian is a Romance language in the Ibero-Romance group that originated in northern Spain and gradually spread in the Kingdom of Castile, evolving into the principal language of government and trade in the Iberian peninsula...
in MexicoThe United Mexican States , commonly known as Mexico , is a federal constitutional republic in North America. It is bordered on the north by the United States; on the south and west by the Pacific Ocean; on the southeast by Guatemala, Belize, and the Caribbean Sea; and on the east by the Gulf of...
, Puerto RicoPuerto Rico , officially the Commonwealth of Puerto Rico , is a self-governing unincorporated territory of the United States located in the northeastern Caribbean, east of the Dominican Republic and west of the Virgin Islands...
and South AmericaSouth America is the southern continent of the Americas, situated entirely in the Western Hemisphere and mostly in the Southern Hemisphere, with a relatively small portion in the Northern Hemisphere...
; this network ceased operations in December 2002. The service's three original anchors were Paola Elorza, Sal Morales, and Mari Carmen Ramos; they left the channel within a year of its launch and went on to work for UnivisionUnivision is a Spanish-language television network in the United States. It has the largest Latin American audience, largely due to repurposed telenovelas and other Mexican programs produced by Grupo Televisa...
in Miami, TelemundoTelemundo is a Spanish-language American television network. Angel Ramos launched the brand with a TV station in San Juan, Puerto Rico in 1954 -- and it evolved into the second-largest Spanish-language content producer in the world...
in Los Angeles, and CNN InternationalCNN International , usually known on-air as simply "CNN" to viewers outside the United States and Canada, is an English language television network that carries news, current affairs and business programming worldwide...
, respectively. At one point, there was also a PortuguesePortuguese is a Romance language that originated in what is now Galicia and northern Portugal. It is derived from the Latin spoken by the romanized Pre-Roman peoples of the Iberian Peninsula around 2000 years ago...
version in BrazilBrazil , officially the Federative Republic of Brazil , is a country in South America. It is the fifth largest country by geographical area, occupying nearly half of South America, the fifth most populous country, and the fourth most populous democracy in the world. Bounded by the Atlantic Ocean...
.
Radio and newspaper presence
The Weather Channel provides forecasts for the Sirius XM Radio
satellite radioA satellite radio or subscription radio is a digital radio signal that is broadcast by a communications satellite, which covers a much wider geographical range than terrestrial radio signals....
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 weatherSevere weather phenomena are weather conditions that are hazardous to human life and property.- Examples Include :Severe weather can occur under a variety of situations, but three characteristics are generally needed: a temperature or moisture boundary, moisture, and , instability in the...
(with the Georgia-based announcers connected via ISDN). Distribution of TWC radio content is currently handled by
Dial GlobalDial Global is a radio syndication company. It is a wholly owned subsidiary of Triton Media Group.Dial Global was founded as X Radio Networks as a division of Excelsior Radio Networks. It merged with Dial Communications and Global Media in 2006, from which it derived the Dial Global name...
.
Similarly, TWC also provides weather reports for a number of US newspapers, including a half-page national forecast for
USA TodayUSA Today is a national American daily newspaper published by the Gannett Company. It was founded by Al Neuharth...
.
Online services
TWC provides numerous customized forecasts for online users, including home and garden and event planning forecasts. They also provide
WAPWireless Application Protocol is an open international standard for application layer network communications in a wireless communication environment...
access for
mobile phoneA mobile phone or mobile is a long-range, electronic device used for mobile telecommunications...
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 ("Desktop Max") 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
SMSShort Message Service or Silent Messaging Service is a communication service standardized in the GSM mobile communication system, using standardized communications protocols allowing the interchange of short text messages between mobile telephone devices...
by sending a text message with their ZIP code to 42278 which spells 4cast. Other services include
Yahoo!Yahoo! Inc. is an American public corporation headquartered in Sunnyvale, California, , that provides Internet services worldwide...
, in which the weather pages are produced by TWC.
2007 global-warming controversy
The web site
Capital Weather published an interview with WJLA meteorologist Brian van de Graaff. In this interview, Mr. van de Graaff stated:
Global warming was voted the #1 in
100 Biggest Weather Moments100 Biggest Weather Moments is a 2007 five-part miniseries on The Weather Channel, that premiered on April 15th and aired nightly through Thursday, April 19, and is the biggest documentary effort in The Weather Channel’s 25-year history....
.
On December 21, 2006, Dr. Heidi Cullen reacted to this by posting "Junk Controversy not Junk Science" in a blog on The Weather Channel's web site. In her blog, Dr. Cullen reacted by stating:
While the anthropogenic view of global warming is aligned with the
Intergovernmental Panel on Climate ChangeThe Intergovernmental Panel on Climate Change is a scientific intergovernmental body tasked to evaluate the risk of climate change caused by human activity. The panel was established in 1988 by the World Meteorological Organization and the United Nations Environment Programme , two organizations...
(IPCC), the position of decertifying or censuring dissenting meteorologists was perceived as a call to marginalize or silence opposing opinions. Cullen's position was derided by a large portion of her blog's responders as politically motivated. Responders included AMS meteorologists who also attacked her position, in particular
James SpannJames Spann is a television meteorologist based in Birmingham, Alabama. He currently works for ABC 33/40, whose studios are located in Hoover, Alabama but which has transmitters in Tuscaloosa and Anniston. Spann has worked in the field since 1978...
a TV meteorologist in Alabama who also runs a weather/climate blog on his site and disagreed with Dr. Cullen's position. In a follow up blog entry
"A Very Political Climate", Dr. Cullen and The Weather Channel denied any political motivation.
The Weather Channel HD
The Weather Channel HD is a
1080i1080i is the shorthand name of a format of high-definition video modes. 1080 denotes the number of horizontal scan lines - also known as vertical resolution - and the letter i stands for interlaced. In the alternate format of high-definition video mode, known as 1080p, the p would stand for...
high definition simulcast of The Weather Channel that launched on September 26, 2007.
DirecTVDirecTV is a direct broadcast satellite service based in El Segundo, California, which transmits digital satellite television and audio to households in the United States. Its primary competitors are Dish Network and cable providers. DirecTV currently has 18 million subscribers...
was the first provider to add it. At that time, no programming was actually presented in high definition, except for a national "satellite" version of the Local on the 8s. On October 1, 2007, two new high definition programs,
Epic ConditionsEpic Conditions is a series shown on The Weather Channel that premiered on 4 March 2007. The show's main emphasis to show viewers about how weather can affect athletic and sports events. Epic Conditions and WeatherVentures launched as TWC's first HD programs on 1 October 2007 - studio HD shows...
and
WeatherVenturesWeatherVentures was a program on The Weather Channel hosted by Jeff Mielcarz. It debuted 1 October 2007 and was canceled in early 2009. WeatherVentures was one of the first HD programs on The Weather Channel along with Epic Conditions....
, premiered. A new high definition series,
When Weather Changed HistoryWhen Weather Changed History is a high-definition television series from The Weather Channel. It chronicles major events in history and the effect weather had on them.-Program History:...
, premiered on The Weather Channel on January 6, 2008.
Throughout the final months of 2007 to the early months of 2008, various cable companies had started to add The Weather Channel HD to their cable lineups, including the Boston, MA, Austin, TX, San Antonio, TX, and Baton Rouge, LA markets. It was added to
Dish NetworkDish Network Corporation is a direct broadcast satellite service provider that offers satellite television, audio programming, and interactive television services to households and businesses in the United States. Dish Network services were launched in March 1996. Today, the company competes...
systems on May 13, 2008. Recently, Comcast began adding the channel in some select markets like Chicago, IL.
Time Warner CableTime Warner Cable is an American national cable television company that operates in 27 states and has 31 operating divisions. Its corporate headquarters are located in New York, NY, and has other corporate offices in Charlotte, North Carolina; Herndon, Virginia; and Denver, Colorado...
and Cablevision, both of which serve
New York Metropolitan AreaThe New York metropolitan area, also known as Metropolitan New York, Greater New York, or the Tri-State Region, is the most populous metropolitan area in the United States and is also one of the most populous in the world. The metropolitan area is defined by the U.S...
have also recently picked up the HD channel in late July 2008. No Weather Star currently serves the HD feed, but Cablevision New York viewers get an HD forecast produced by TWC master control in Atlanta. DirecTV added Local on the 8's to its HD feed on September 29, 2009.
TWC began studio HD programming on June 2, 2008. The new HD studio features various environmentally-friendly technologies. All of TWC's schedule (except
It Could Happen TomorrowIt Could Happen Tomorrow is a television series that premiered on January 15, 2006 on The Weather Channel. It explores the possibilities of various weather and other natural phenomena severely damaging or destroying America's cities...
,
Full Force NatureFull Force Nature is a television series that premiered on January 15, 2006 on The Weather Channel. It showcases some of the most unbelievable weather moments caught on tape.-Plot:Full Force Nature focuses on extreme weather and weird weather on tape....
, and older episodes of
Storm StoriesStorm Stories is a non-fiction TV series aired on The Weather Channel and Zone Reality hosted and narrated by meteorologist and Storm-Tracker Jim Cantore. Storm Stories showcases various types of severe weather, such as tornadoes, hurricanes, and blizzards. Each episode features a famous severe...
) is currently in HD.
Forecasting programs
- Day Planner
Day Planner is a television show on The Weather Channel.-Program history:Day Planner was added in 2003 as one of the last programs to be added to The Weather Channel's morning programming block. For all intents and purposes, its format is similar to Your Weather Today, but the primary focus for the...
- First Outlook
First Outlook is a morning weather program produced by The Weather Channel.-Program history:First Outlook and Your Weather Today both premiered in 2000, taking significant portions of time out of Weather Center AM, which soon disappeared. At launch, the original pair of meteorologists for First...
- PM Edition
PM Edition is a weather program on The Weather Channel. It focuses on weather conditions for the evening commute. It also recaps the day's weather and delivers the forecast for tomorrow.-Program history:...
- Sunrise Weather
Sunrise Weather is an early morning weekend program airing on The Weather Channel. Its emphasis is on straight-forward forecasts.-Program history:...
- Wake Up With Al
Wake Up With Al is a morning weather program on The Weather Channel that premiered on July 20, 2009.The program is hosted by Today weather anchor Al Roker and The Weather Channel meteorologist Stephanie Abrams. Roker hosts from a studio in New York City that contains a large touchscreen for...
- Weather Center
- Weekend Now
Weekend Now is a weekend weather program on The Weather Channel. The program, which originally featured unique segments including world weather, lifestyle-oriented weather, and light weather news, debuted in 2001 as the first of multiple weekend programs on The Weather Channel.-Program...
- Weekend View
Weekend View is a weekend weather program on The Weather Channel, airing from 5am to 7am and 7am to 11am Eastern Time. Because of this timeslot, it can be considered the weekend equivalent to Your Weather Today...
- Your Weather Today
Your Weather Today with Abrams & Bettes is a morning television program on The Weather Channel airing from 7AM to 10AM Eastern Time on weekdays...
Long-form programs
- America's Worst Weather: Caught on Camera (coming Q2 2010)
- Cantore Stories
- Full Force Nature
Full Force Nature is a television series that premiered on January 15, 2006 on The Weather Channel. It showcases some of the most unbelievable weather moments caught on tape.-Plot:Full Force Nature focuses on extreme weather and weird weather on tape....
- High Seas Rescue (Airs Weekends from 10:00PM-11:00PM)
- It Could Happen Tomorrow
It Could Happen Tomorrow is a television series that premiered on January 15, 2006 on The Weather Channel. It explores the possibilities of various weather and other natural phenomena severely damaging or destroying America's cities...
- Storm Stories
Storm Stories is a non-fiction TV series aired on The Weather Channel and Zone Reality hosted and narrated by meteorologist and Storm-Tracker Jim Cantore. Storm Stories showcases various types of severe weather, such as tornadoes, hurricanes, and blizzards. Each episode features a famous severe...
- The Weather Classroom
The Weather Classroom is an educational program for children that has aired on The Weather Channel since the 1990s. It is part of the Cable in the Classroom initiative, and airs at a time when the show can be recorded for later showing in the classroom....
(E/IE/I, which stands for "educational and informative," refers to a type of children's television programming shown in the United States. The Federal Communications Commission requires that every full-service television station in the U.S...
)
- Storm Hunters (coming Q3 2010)
- Tornado Road (Airs Sundays from 8PM-11PM/2AM-4AM)
- When Weather Changed History
When Weather Changed History is a high-definition television series from The Weather Channel. It chronicles major events in history and the effect weather had on them.-Program History:...
- WeatherProof (coming January 10, 2010)
Series and Specials
- Why I Love Winter (January 18-24, 2010)
- Tornado Week (No confirmed date)
- Why I Love Spring (March 22-27, 2010)
- Green is Universal (No confirmed date/NBC also does this coverage and is partnered with TWC on this)
- Great Escapes (May 3rd-9th, 2010)
- Hurricane Week (June 6th-12th, 2010/August 1st-7th, 2010)
- Why I Love Summer (No confirmed date)
- Back-to-School Week (No confirmed date)
- Survival Week (No confirmed date)
- Why I Love Fall (October 12th-18th, 2009)
- Holiday Week (No confirmed date)
- Celebrate! (No confirmed date)
(Info from twcmediakit.com)
On-camera meteorologists
- Stephanie Abrams
Stephanie Abrams is an on-camera meteorologist for The Weather Channel, a 24 hour American cable television weather program.- Early life :Stephanie Abrams was born in Miami, Florida, in 1978. Raised in Lake Clarke Shores and Wellington, Florida, Abrams attended Meadow Park Elementary in West Palm...
A1 - Abrams came to The Weather Channel with several bachelors degrees. Her first was in geographyGeography is the study of the Earth and its lands, features, inhabitants, and phenomena. A literal translation would be "to describe or write about the Earth". The first person to use the word "geography" was Eratosthenes...
from the University of FloridaThe University of Florida is a public land-grant, sea-grant, space-grant major research university located on a campus located in Gainesville, Florida, in the United States. The university traces its origins to 1853, and has continuously operated on its present Gainesville campus since the fall...
(with a minor in mathematicsMathematics is the science and study of quantity, structure, space, and change. Mathematicians seek out patterns, formulate new conjectures, and establish truth by rigorous deduction from appropriately chosen axioms and definitions....
), and the second degree was a Bachelor of ScienceA Bachelor of Science is an undergraduate academic degree awarded for completed courses that generally last three to five years ....
in MeteorologyMeteorology is the interdisciplinary scientific study of the atmosphere that focuses on weather processes and forecasting . Studies in the field stretch back millennia, though significant progress in meteorology did not occur until the eighteenth century...
from Florida State UniversityFlorida State University is a space-grant and sea-grant public university located in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is a comprehensive doctoral research university with medical programs and significant research activity as determined by the Carnegie Foundation...
. She began on-air work for TWC in 2003 after having started at WTXLWTXL is the ABC affiliate station for Tallahassee, Florida, Thomasville, Georgia, and Valdosta, Georgia, broadcasting on channel 27. The station is owned by Calkins Media, Inc., a Pennsylvania-based mass media company that owns several small newspapers in Pennsylvania and two other television...
in Tallahassee, FloridaTallahassee is the capital of the State of Florida, USA, the county seat of Leon County , and the 133rd biggest city in the USA. Tallahassee became the capital of Florida in 1824. In 2008, the population recorded by the U.S...
.
- Jim Cantore
James M. Cantore is an American meteorologist. He is best known as an on-air personality for The Weather Channel.- Career :...
A1 - Cantore graduated from Lyndon State College in 1986; The Weather Channel gave him his first job out of college in July of that year, and he has worked with the channel since. Since the sale of TWC to NBC he's been seen on NBC Nightly NewsNBC Nightly News is the daily evening news program for NBC News and broadcasts from the GE Building, Rockefeller Center in New York City. It has been known by this name since August 3, 1970. Currently, weekday broadcasts are anchored by Brian Williams, and weekend editions of the show are anchored...
.
- Mike Seidel
Michael "Mike" Phillip Seidel is an American meteorologist who works for the The Weather Channel. He is most noted for his reporting live at the site of hurricanes and snowstorms. Seidel first appeared on air at The Weather Channel in March 1992.- Early career :Seidel's interest in weather started...
- Mike's experience covers both television and radio broadcasting. He worked for five local radio stations during high school and college.
- Al Roker
Albert Lincoln "Al" Roker, Jr. is an American television broadcaster, best known as the weather anchor for NBC's Today show. On July 20, 2009, he began co-hosting his new morning show Wake Up with Al on The Weather Channel, which airs weekdays from 6am to 7am ET, one hour away from Today show...
- Wake Up with Al! with Stephanie Abrams on The Weather Channel, which airs weekdays from 6 AM to 7 AM ET.
- Warren Madden and Nicole Mitchell
Nicole Mitchell is a retired Jamaican sprinter who specialized in the 100 metres. She also competed on the successful Jamaican team in the 4 x 100 metres relay, winning an Olympic bronze medal in 1996....
- have unique second jobs; both are also USAF Reserve Officers (Major and Captain respectively) and fly as Aerial Weather System Officers with the 53d Weather Reconnaissance Squadron on USAFR WC-130 aircraft into hurricanes to gather weather data.
Other personalities
- Dr. Greg Forbes (Severe Weather Expert) - Greg studied violent weather at the University of Chicago. He earned his Doctor of Philosophy
Doctor of Philosophy, abbreviated PhD , for the Latin , meaning "teacher of philosophy", or alternatively, DPhil, for the equivalent , is an advanced academic degree awarded by universities...
there and studied under Dr. Theodore Fujita (the scientist who devised the Fujita scaleThe Fujita scale , or Fujita-Pearson scale, is a scale for rating tornado intensity, based on the damage tornadoes inflict on human-built structures and vegetation...
).
- Danny Lipford
Danny Lipford is an American contractor and television personality known to TV audiences as Host and Executive Producer of the nationally-syndicated home improvement show Today's Homeowner with Danny Lipford and for his appearances on The Weather Channel and The Early Show on CBS.- Construction...
(Home Improvement Expert) - Danny came to TWC in 2000 with a history as a home remodeling expert and provides tips on home improvements in short segments shown throughout the week.
- Bill Nye
William Sanford "Bill" Nye , popularly known as "Bill Nye the Science Guy", is an American comedian, television host, science educator and mechanical engineer...
(Forecast Earth Contributor) - Bill is known for his many talents. He's worked as a stand-up comedian, but his contributions at The Weather Channel are more closely related to his in-depth knowledge of science, math, and engineering topics. Nye holds a bachelor of science degree in mechanical engineering from Cornell UniversityCornell University is a private university located in Ithaca, New York, USA, that is a member of the Ivy League.Cornell counts more than 255,000 living alumni, 28 Rhodes Scholars and 41 Nobel laureates affiliated with the university as faculty or students...
and was awarded honorary doctorate degreesAn honorary degree or a degree honoris causa is an academic degree for which a university has waived the usual requirements...
by Rensselaer Polytechnic InstituteRensselaer Polytechnic Institute, or RPI, is a private research university located in Troy, New York, United States.RPI was founded in 1824 by Stephen Van Rensselaer for the "application of science to the common purposes of life", and is the oldest technological university in the English-speaking...
, Goucher CollegeGoucher College is a private, co-educational, liberal arts college located in the northern Baltimore suburb of Towson in unincorporated Baltimore County, Maryland, on a 287 acre campus. The school has approximately 1,475 undergraduate students studying in 31 majors and six interdisciplinary...
, and The Johns Hopkins University.
- P. Allen Smith
P. Allen Smith is an American television show host and gardening expert. His television show P. Allen Smith's Garden Home is shown on PBS member stations and in syndication on other networks.-Life and work:Born and raised in central Tennessee, P...
(Gardening Expert) - Smith brings his love of perennials and garden design to short segments on TWC. He is also seen on other television shows where he passes on details of gardening and nursery topics. He majored in garden history and design at the University of ManchesterThe University of Manchester is a "red brick" civic university located in Manchester, England. It is a member of the Russell Group of large research-intensive universities and the N8 Group for research collaboration...
in England.
Notable alumni
- Rich Johnson
Rich Johnson is a meteorologist from Baltimore, Maryland. He graduated from the Florida State University in Tallahassee, Florida, with a B.S...
- Rich joined The Weather Channel in 1983. He worked as a graphics technician, a product coordinator, and then forecaster, before becoming a senior meteorologist. He graduated from the Florida State UniversityFlorida State University is a space-grant and sea-grant public university located in Tallahassee, Florida, United States. It is a comprehensive doctoral research university with medical programs and significant research activity as determined by the Carnegie Foundation...
in Tallahassee, FloridaFlorida is a state located in the southeastern region of the United States, bordering Alabama to the northwest and Georgia to the north. It was the 27th state admitted to the United States...
, with a B.S.A Bachelor of Science is an undergraduate academic degree awarded for completed courses that generally last three to five years ....
in Meteorology.
- Mark Mancuso
Mark Mancuso is an American meteorologist formerly employed by The Weather Channel in Atlanta, Georgia and now with AccuWeather in State College, Pennsylvania. He graduated from Pennsylvania State University with a B.S. in Meteorology.-Career:Mark was a meteorologist for WITN-TV in Washington,...
- Mark was one of TWC's first on-camera meteorologists. He had previously worked at WITN-TV in Washington, North CarolinaWashington is a city in Beaufort County, North Carolina, United States. The population was 9,583 at the 2000 census. In 2006, it was estimated that the town population was 10,060. It is the county seat of Beaufort County...
.
- Norm Sebastian
Norm Sebastian was a television meteorologist whose credentials included stops at The Weather Channel and WNYT in Albany, New York....
- Mr. Sebastian was one of the personalities during the early years of TWC. His later professional meteorology experience was at WNYT in Albany, New YorkAlbany is a city in the United States of America; it is the capital of the state of New York and the county seat of Albany County. Albany is roughly 136 miles north of the city of New York, and slightly south of the confluence of the Mohawk and Hudson Rivers. The city sits on the Hudson River and...
. His health began to suffer and he died in 2000.
- Bob Stokes
Robert Elton "Bob" Stokes, Jr. is an American television meteorologist, and formerly for The Weather Channel from 1996 through 2008. He co-anchored the weekend morning show Weekend Outlook during his last several years at the station....
- Stokes graduated from the University of Arkansas at Little RockThe University of Arkansas at Little Rock is a public research university located in Little Rock, Arkansas, United States.Established as Little Rock Junior College by the Little Rock School District in 1927, the institution became a private four-year university under the name Little Rock...
with a B.A. in radioRadio is the transmission of signals by modulation of electromagnetic waves with frequencies below those of visible light. Electromagnetic radiation travels by means of oscillating electromagnetic fields that pass through the air and the vacuum of space...
, televisionTelevision is a widely used telecommunication medium for transmitting and receiving moving images, either monochromatic or color, usually accompanied by sound. "Television" may also refer specifically to a television set, television programming or television transmission...
and filmFilm encompasses individual motion pictures, the field of film as an art form, and the motion picture industry. Films are produced by recording images from the world with cameras, or by creating images using animation techniques or visual effects....
. He joined TWC in 1996 after having spent his earlier career at stations in Arkansas, New York, and Tennessee. He is a native of TaipeiTaipei is the largest city in Taiwan and has served as the de facto capital of the Republic of China since the Chinese Civil War in 1949. It is situated on the Danshui River, almost at the northern tip of the island, about 25 km southwest of Keelung, its port on the Pacific Ocean...
, TaiwanTaiwan , also known as Formosa , is the largest island of the Republic of China in East Asia. Taiwan is located east of the Taiwan Strait, off the southeastern coast of mainland China...
, and holds a Certificate of Broadcast Meteorology from Mississippi State UniversityMississippi State University is a land-grant university located in north east-central Mississippi, United States, adjacent to the town of Starkville and is situated 125 miles northeast of Jackson and 23 miles west of Columbus. With an enrollment of 18,601, it is the largest university in the...
. He was popular with viewers, but was dismissed in February 2008 after an arbitration ruling that favored the sexual harassment accusations of his co-anchor Hillary Andrews.
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" (June 1986–March 1991)
- "Weather You Can Always Turn To" (March 1991–March 1996) (U.K. October 1996 - April 1998) (also used in currently in NOAA Weather Network)
- "No Place on Earth Has Better Weather" (March 1996–March 1998)
- "Weather fans you're not alone" (1997-1998, paired with The Front)
- "Live By It" (June 2001–August 15, 2005) (also currently used in Australian version
The Weather Channel is an Australian 24 hour cable and satellite channel that broadcasts weather news and information. The Weather Channel is available on Foxtel, Austar and Optus Television.-History:...
)
- "Bringing Weather to Life" (August 15, 2005–February 2008) This slogan is still used on weather.com and certain other materials, e.g. mailing labels
- "The Weather Has Never Looked Better" June 2–late 2008 (also slogan for HD
High-definition television is a digital television broadcasting system with higher resolution than traditional television systems...
broadcastingBroadcasting is the distribution of audio and/or video signals which transmit programs to an audience. The audience may be the general public or a relatively large sub-audience, such as children or young adults....
)
- "The Sounds of Weather: Hear It. See It. Live It." (June 2009-Present)
Hurricane, severe weather, and winter coverage slogans
- "Hurricane Central" (August
-Portal:Current events:- News collections and sources :* Wikipedia:News collections and sources.* Wikipedia:News sources - This has much of the same material organized in a hierarchical manner to help encourage NPOV in our news reporting....
–October 2005)
- "Keeping You Ahead of the Storm" (used occasionally since the late 1990s)
- "Your Hurricane Authority" (2005, 2006 and 2008 season)
- "Your Winter Weather Authority" (January 2008-present)
- "The Winter Weather Authority" (2006-2007 winter season)
- "The Hurricane Authority" (2006, 2007 and 2009 seasons)
- "Your Severe Weather Authority" (March 2009-September 2009)
- "The Severe Weather Authority" (September 2009-present)
- "Alert Mode" ( -2002)
- "Storm Alert" (2003-present)(Mostly used during hurricane coverage)
See also
- The Weather Network
The Weather Network is a Canadian English language cable television specialty channel that provides weather information 24 hours a day. Based in Oakville, Ontario, The Weather Network also operates a French language channel called MétéoMédia. The station has a separate feed for the Greater Toronto...
- (the Canadian counterpart to TWC and 30% owned by it)
- WeatherStar
WeatherStar refers to the technology used by The Weather Channel to generate their Local Forecast segments on cable TV systems nationwide. The hardware takes the form of a computerized unit installed at a cable television headend...
- Weatherscan
Weatherscan is a TV channel offered by The Weather Channel. The channel is carried on select cable systems in the United States. The channel features uninterrupted local weather information, with graphics on a continuous loop...
External links