The weather condition is certainly not something to be trifled with . As hard and dangerous events are becoming more frequent due to the effects of climate change , meteorology is a more serious business than ever before .
When the Weather Channel announced it would buy competing online weather service Weather Underground , many peoplewere furious . The latter was always see as a serious , data - driven meteorological source , whereas the Weather Channel runs a website that tends to be dominated byclick - bait data link teasesrather than real weather condition reporting . fan of Weather Underground fear their staid website would turn into a shining and vapid dumping ground for sensationalist storm narrative , but weather reporting has n’t always been treated with stoic reverence .
During television ’s early mean solar day , the " Wacky Weatherman " was a common and celebrated feature on newscasts . Between 1948 and 1952 , the FCC put a stoppage to any new station licensing . This meant that channels in major market place had minuscule to no rivalry for viewers . News report remained serious , as did the weather . But in 1952 , when the FCC ’s diktat was abstract , new competing stations start popping up around the land . concord to Robert Henson’sWeather on the Air : A chronicle of Broadcast Meteorology , " the ratings race was now under way , and television system weather was not to escape its feat . "
" There were obvious restraints on the news itself — fires and shooting were scarcely the stuff of comedy — so weather condition evolved into a elemental arena for making the newscast more palatable , " writes Henson . " The result was TV weather ’s wildest and most uninhibited time period . ” Because all the information was come from the same root — the National Weather Service — there was no need to have professional meteorologist in - star sign . The AP conducting wire would sprinkle out the forecast , and comedians , model , and other compelling cheek were used to zest it up and bring in viewers .
In the above time , Savannah , Georgia ’s Captain Sandy scan the weather with Clamity Clam , Aurther - mometer , and Wilbur the Weather Bird . Captain Sandy was a character played by multiple masses over his runnel , highlighting the grandness of having a weather " personality . "
“ A Nashville weathercaster gave his forecast in verse , " writes Robert Henson . " Viewers in New York could get weather information at midnight from an ostensibly sleepyheaded adult female in a nightgown , tucking herself into layer . ”
In 1957 in an seek to wrestle the weather aside from the wacky , theAmerican Meteorological Societycreated the AMS Seal of Approval " as a way of life to recognize on - air meteorologists for their levelheaded delivery of weather condition information to the general public . " This wasgiven to"television and radio set forecasters who have a degree in weather forecasting or have complete 12 mention hours in atmospheric or related science … the weathercaster must submit a recording that is reviewed by a board of professional meteorologist . ”
This coincided with a development that prove to be even more influential than any sealing wax of approval : technologies that help predict local weather condition more accurately . Inthis cartridge clip , former Tulsa , Oklahoma weather forecaster Don Woods talks about how his station took the radar system from an old B-25 hoagy and re - tool it to pluck up precipitation . It was the first such use of radar technology , and , according to Woods , " Everybody was awe - stricken . "
before long , forward-looking and precise technology replaced wacky type as the big draw for weather account , although television stations ' newfound gizmo - based hubris is always honorable for some laughs :
today , there are remnants of the " Wacky Weatherman , " but they exist mostly in the movies or areas with a pleasantly monotonous climate . you may only say " 72 and sunny " so many times beforegoing a little batty .
