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The Weather Channel (TWC) is a cable and satellite television network that reports national 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

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* (now at KUSI San Diego), who took his idea to then-Landmark chief Frank Batten.

In the early years of the network, there were many meteorlogists in their 20s and 30s, except John Hope, Hurricane Expert and Bill Schubert. The local forecasts played some music with lyrics in 1982, until they abandoned it sometime in around 1984.

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.

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. A UK version of The Weather Channel ran from 1 September 1996 to 30 January 1998, when it was closed due to low viewing figures. TWC also ran The Weather Channel Latin America (TWCLA), 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. The Weather Channel aired overnights in Hawaii on local TV stations, but its WeatherStar 4000 unit suffered from several technical difficulties during its run, its programming has since been dropped. However up to 2000, The Weather Channel shows the Weather Star 4000's Travel Cities Forecast nationally if there's a problem when tuning in.

The Weather Channel logo

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. Image:Twc logo.gif|The classic Weather Channel logo, used from 1982 to 1996. Image:Twc logo resized.jpg|The old Weather Channel logo used from 1996 to 2005. Image:160x120_twc_logo05.jpg|The current Weather Channel logo, debuted August 15, 2005.

Local on the 8s

Local on the 8s airs about every 10 minutes. During this segment, weather information for the local area is given for cable users. Due to the non-locality of satellite television, those users are instead shown local weather for various major cities.

The reason for the name is that it airs at times that end in "8" (in general), for example 9:48. 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). This debuted in 1996.

During hour long themed programs such as Storm Stories, Forecast Earth, and It Could Happen Tomorrow local weather information is shown at :29 and :59 past the hour.

On cable, you can see current weather conditions in your city, conditions in surrounding areas, weather forecasts (7-day, 3-day replaces the 7-day at the :18 and :48 minute ones, and hourly ones), doppler radars of the region, almanacs, air quality conditions, and, in larger cities, traffic conditions in the area.

On satellite, the local on the 8s includes hourly forecasts of major metro areas, 3 day forecasts of major cities, and doppler radars of the Northeast, Southeast, Midwest, Northwest, and Southwest, in that order (on the local on the 8s that happen on the :18 and :48 minutes, the Northwest and Southwest radars are replaced by the a radar showing the entire West).

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, though as a general rule they provide only data feeds that are read by the station's on-air talent. Similarly, TWC also provides weather reports for a number of US newspapers.

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.

Yahoo!'s weather site is run by TWC.

Current live action programs

(All times Eastern)

  • First Outlook - 5-7am weekdays
  • Your Weather Today - 7-10am weekdays
  • Day Planner - 10am-noon weekdays
  • Weather Center - 12-4pm weekdays (2-5pm weekends)
  • Afternoon Outlook - 4-6pm weekdays
  • PM Edition - 6-8pm weeknights (6-8pm weekends "PM Edition Weekend")
  • Evening Edition - 9-11pm everynight
  • Evening Edition (West Coast) - 12am-4am overnight
  • Weekend Outlook - 5-7am weekends
  • Weekend View - 7-11am weekends
  • Weekend Now - 11am-2pm weekends

Current special programs

  • Storm Stories- 8pm-9pm 7 days a week
  • Forecast Earth- 5pm-6pm weekends
  • Full Force Nature- 9pm-9:30pm Fri-Sun 2 am
  • It Could Happen Tomorrow - 9:30-10pm Fri-Sun 2:30am
  • Weather Classroom, Saturdays and Sundays at 4am ET/PT

Past special programs

*

  • The Weather Channel top 10
  • Atmospheres
  • Exposures
  • Eye of the Storm (1987)
  • Clash of Seasons (1988)
  • Global Crisis (1988)
  • John Hope on Hurricanes (1988)
  • Bringing Home The Weather (1989)
  • Within Our Power* (1990)
  • Force Four* (1990)
  • Aftershock* (1990)
  • The Unforgiving Sky (1991)
  • Danger's Edge (1991)
  • Fire Safe (1993)
  • Out of the Blue (1993)
  • The Year The Sky Fell (1994)
  • Target Tornado" (1994)
  • The Burning Season* (1994)

List of current programming on The Weather Channel

Future Programs

  • Season 2: Full Force Nature
  • Season 2: It Could Happen Tomorrow
  • Epic Conditions (1Q 2007)
  • Abrams and Bettes: Beyond The Forecast(4Q 2006) every night from 8pm-9pm
  • The Climate Code, with Dr. Heidi Cullen(4Q 2006)
  • PM Edition- From 4pm-6pm weeknights (4Q 2006)
  • Afternoon Outlook will be dropped (4Q 2006)

On-Camera Meteorologists

Current

Other Personalities

Former Personalities

Slogans

  • "We Take The Weather Seriously, But Not Ourselves" (1982–1986)
  • "Weatherproofing America" (1984–1986)
  • "You Need Us, The Weather Channel, For Everything You Do" (1986–1991)
  • "Weather You Can Always Turn To" (1991–1995)
  • "No Place on Earth Has Better Weather" (1996–1999)
  • "Keeping You Ahead of the Storm" (1999–2001)
  • "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 )

See also

List of Firefox extensions - see "1-Click Weather" at the top; The Weather Network - The Canadian counterpart to TWC

External links

The Weather Channel | Meteorological institutions and stations | 1982 establishments | Cobb County, Georgia | XM Satellite Radio channels | Television channels

 

This article is licensed under the GNU Free Documentation License. It uses material from the "The Weather Channel".

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