The Weather Channel Type Cable network (Weather/meteorology) Country United States Availability National; affiliated services available internationally Owner The Weather Channel, Inc. Key people Debora J. Wilson — President, The Weather Channel, Inc. Launch date May 2, 1982 Website http://www.weather.com 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. Contents 1 History 1.1 Overseas versions 1.2 The Weather Channel logo 2 Local on the 8s 3 Current Weather Channel Schedule (Every Hour) 4 Radio and newspaper presence 5 Online services 6 Current programs 7 On-Camera Meteorologists 7.1 Present 7.2 Past 8 The Weather Channel Radio Network team 8.1 Current 8.2 Past 9 Slogans 9.1 Hurricane coverage slogans 10 See also 11 External links History Kristina Abernathy (pictured from left) and Sharon Resultan (right) featured from a TWC broadcast in 1996. TWC's Dave Schwartz showing the regional weather map, from a January 5, 2002 broadcast. Jim Cantore during Hurricane Ophelia on September 15, 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. 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. The classic Weather Channel logo, used from 1982 to 1996. The old Weather Channel logo used from 1996 to 2005. 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. Current Weather Channel Schedule (Every Hour) 0:00 Weather Channel Forecast 0:05 station break 0:08 Local Forecast 0:10 Weather and Lifestyles 0:15 station break 0:17 Local Forecast 0:20 Travel Planner 0:23 Station break 0:25 Occasional weather segment? 0:26 station break 0:28 Local Forecast 0:30 Weather Channel Forecast 0:35 station break 0:38 Local Forecast 0:40 Weather and Lifestyles 0:45 station break 0:48 Local Forecast 0:50 Tropical Update (only during Hurricane Season) (Storm Update is in only a major severe weather alert.) 0:53 station break 0:54 International Weather Forecast 0:55 station break 0:58 Local Forecast 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 programs Weather Classroom, Saturdays or Sundays at 4am ET/PT List of current programming on The Weather Channel On-Camera Meteorologists Present Kristina Abernathy Stephanie Abrams Hillary Andrews Adam Berg Mike Bettes Vivian Brown Jim Cantore, Storm Tracker Jen Carfagno Kelly Cass Betty Davis Eboni Deon (former TWC Radio Network team) Kristin Dodd Greg Forbes, Severe Weather Expert Paul Goodloe Ryan Goswick Rich Johnson Jeanetta Jones Bill Keneely Cheryl Lemke Sarah Libby Jennifer Lopez Steve Lyons, Hurricane Expert Warren Madden Mark Mancuso Nicole Mitchell, Travel Analyst Jeff Morrow Carl Parker Kim Perez Sharon Resultan Kevin Robinson Alex Ross Dave Schwartz Marshall Seese Mike Seidel Dennis Smith Alexandra Steele Bob Stokes Heather Tesch Nick Walker Keith Westerlage, On-Camera Meteorology Manager Past Janine Albert (known as Janine D'Adamo) (now with WINK-TV) (does hurricane reports for TWC) Will Annen (1982-2001) Carl Arredondo (now with WWL-TV) Dan Atkinson (now with WSFA-TV) (1996-1999) Ray Ban (Current Senior Meteorologist) Diane Barone (1990-1991) Melissa Barrington Andre Bernier (1982-1985) Mike Bono (now with Capital News 9) (1988-2001) Jill Brown Mary Brown (D) Don Buser Declan Cannon (1982-1997) Kam Carman (now with WMGC-FM) (1988-1991) John Cessarich (now with WYFF) Bob Child Tom Chisholm (now with WMTW) (1991-1995) Gay Dawson Sandra Diaz (now with KFOX-TV) John Doyle Brian Durst Dale Eck Brad Edwards (now with WOI-TV) (1992-1996) George Elliott (now with WECT) Paul Emmick (now with WDRB) (1996-2003) Neal Estano (now with WBAL-TV) Rick Griffin (1982-1984 & 1992-2003) Chuck Herring John Hope, Hurricane Expert (D) Liz Jarves Cheryl Jones Bruce Kalinowski (known as Bruce Edwards) (now with WOIO) (1982-2000) Arch Kennedy (now with WFTV) Paul Kocin, Winter Weather Expert Colin Marquis, Winter Weather Expert, (Current Senior Meteorologist) Charlie Martin (known as Charlie Levy) Bonnie McLaughlin Vince Miller Karen Minton (now with WSB-TV) Tom Moore (Current Senior Meteorologist) Myke Motley (D) (1996-1999) Lisa Mozer (1996-2003) Dave Nemeth Dan Pope (now with KTVX) (1987-1989) Cindy Preszler Kevan Ramer (1986-1991) Bob Richards (D) Lane Roberts Gene Rubin Jodi Saeland (now with KSTU-TV) (1992-1996) John Scala, Severe Weather Expert Dan Schmidt Bill Schubert (now with WTOV-TV) (1982-1992) Glenn Schwartz (now with WCAU) Norm Sebastian (D) Terri Smith (1991-2003) Lisa Spencer (now with WSMV-TV) (1991-1995) Marny Stanier (1987-2003) Herb Stevens Jerry Tracey Melissa Tuttle Dave Watson Craig Weber Charlie Welsh (D) Vicki Williams Colleen Wine (D) = Deceased The Weather Channel Radio Network team Current Brent Bass Ken Boone Stephanie DeLuca Mike Edwards Tony Jackson Kristin Kline Scott Landes Scott Lawrimore Ed Levy Dave Lew Richard Lewelling Bill Limmer Dave Maddux Geoff Maurer Christina Meeks Amy Moore Jennifer Narramore Michael Palmer Sally Russell Steve Silverio Terri Smith (former OCM) Ray Stagich Mike Thibodeau Aaron Williams Nick Wiltgen Mark Woosley Past Geneen Anderson Mike Bono (former OCM) (now with Capital News 9) Eboni Deon (current OCM) Allen Jackson (current narrator for WeatherStar XL and IntelliStar) Mike Phelps Valerie Segraves Colleen Swales 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-January 2006) "The Hurricane Authority" (May 31 2006- present ) See also List of Firefox extensions - see "1-Click Weather" at the top External links Weather Portal Official Site The Weather Network (Canada) Landmark Communications The book The Weather Channel: The Improbable Rise of a Media Phenomenon News regarding TWC's 2005 relaunch Retrieved from "http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/The_Weather_Channel" Categories: The Weather Channel | Meteorological institutions and stations | 1982 establishments | Cobb County, Georgia | XM Satellite Radio channels