A weather presenter (also known colloquially in North America as a weatherman or weather broadcaster) is a person who presents the
weather forecast
Weather forecasting is the application of science and technology to predict the conditions of the atmosphere for a given location and time. People have attempted to predict the weather informally for millennia and formally since the 19th cent ...
daily on radio, television or internet news broadcasts. Using diverse tools, such as projected
weather map
A weather map, also known as synoptic weather chart, displays various meteorological features across a particular area at a particular point in time and has various symbols which all have specific meanings. Such maps have been in use since the m ...
s, they inform the viewers of the current and future weather conditions, explain the reasons underlying this evolution, and relay to the public any weather hazards and warnings issued for their region, country or larger areas. There are no basic qualifications to become a weather presenter; depending on the country and the media, it can range from an introduction to meteorology for a television host to a diploma in
meteorology
Meteorology is a branch of the atmospheric sciences (which include atmospheric chemistry and physics) with a major focus on weather forecasting. The study of meteorology dates back millennia, though significant progress in meteorology did no ...
from a recognized university. Therefore a weather presenter is not to be confused with a
meteorologist
A meteorologist is a scientist who studies and works in the field of meteorology aiming to understand or predict Earth's atmospheric phenomena including the weather. Those who study meteorological phenomena are meteorologists in research, while t ...
, or weather forecaster, the holder of a diploma in meteorology.
History
The United States was the first country in which television channels began broadcasting weather reports in the late 1940s, but presenters were doing it on radio well before then.
From newsletters of the US Weather Bureau (now the
National Weather Service
The National Weather Service (NWS) is an agency of the United States federal government that is tasked with providing weather forecasts, warnings of hazardous weather, and other weather-related products to organizations and the public for the ...
), the host of a program traced the depressions, fronts and lows, mentioned in the general situation, and read the forecast. Thus, the host of a popular morning show, NBC's Today show, was chatting live with the Bureau's meteorologist.
As the weather report became very popular, national television networks hired professional meteorologists to distinguish themselves from their competitors, but in the early 1960s the "Miss Weather" era began. The latter were seen by broadcast managers as more pleasant to watch, and advertised for local shops.
In 1981,
John Coleman, head meteorologist for a Chicago television station (WLS-TV station) and later ABC
Good Morning America national morning program, proposed a weather forecasting station project to Frank Batten, the owner of the Virginia newspaper and broadcasting chain
Landmark Communications
Landmark Media Enterprises, LLC (a spinoff of Landmark Communications, Inc.) is a privately held media company headquartered in Norfolk, Virginia specializing in newspaper publishing, Internet publishing and software.
History
Norfolk Newspape ...
. The latter had realized that many of his readers were buying the newspaper for the weather forecast, and he jumped on the idea. After ten months to find funding and build the infrastructure,
The Weather Channel
The Weather Channel (TWC) is an American pay television channel owned by Weather Group, LLC, a subsidiary of Allen Media Group. The channel's headquarters are in Atlanta, Georgia. Launched on May 2, 1982, the channel broadcasts weather foreca ...
(TWC) began broadcasting on May 2, 1982 from Atlanta, Georgia. This was the first television channel to broadcast weather forecasts 24 hours a day, using a full staff of general meteorologists and even specialists.
In Canada, the first presenter on television was
Percy Saltzman
Percy Philip Saltzman, (March 15, 1915 – January 15, 2007) was a meteorologist and television personality best remembered for being the first weatherman in English-speaking Canadian television history.
As a pioneer in weather forecasting ...
, a professional meteorologist, who launched the regular news bulletins on the English-language
Canadian Broadcasting Corporation
The Canadian Broadcasting Corporation (french: Société Radio-Canada), branded as CBC/Radio-Canada, is a Canadian public broadcaster for both radio and television. It is a federal Crown corporation that receives funding from the government. ...
in 1952. Canada's weather bulletins have developed similarly to those in the United States. However, it is less common to see on-screen meteorologists, and networks invest much less in meteorological equipment, depending on the observations of the
Meteorological Service of Canada
The Meteorological Service of Canada (MSC; french: Service météorologique du Canada – SMC) is a division of Environment and Climate Change Canada, which primarily provides public meteorological information and weather forecasts and warnings o ...
. On the French-speaking side, Jacques Lebrun at
Télé-Métropole, a self-educated presenter, was the most well-known of the earliest weathermen of the 1970s and '80s.
The Weather Network
The Weather Network (TWN) is a Television in Canada, Canadian English language, English-language weather information specialty channel available in Canada, the United States and the United Kingdom. It delivers weather information on television, ...
, similar to TWC, went live on September 1, 1988, but it uses mostly news persons as presenters.
Other countries have followed similar paths. For instance, the first broadcast of the weather on French television dates back to December 17, 1946 and was presented by Paul Douchy in the Téléjournal program.
The forecasters of National Meteorology (now
Météo-France) commented live, once a week, with a weather map of the time scheduled for the next day on the
RTF. In February 1958, France became one of the first countries to broadcast a daily weather report on television, after the United States, Canada and Great Britain (
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began broadcasting in October 1954).
Presentation techniques have varied greatly since the beginning of television and radio. The first bulletins were mostly a reading of the forecast issued by the local national weather service. With the advent of television, this was accompanied by preset charts or drawn on blackboard by the presenter. Gradually, standard maps with icons to describe the weather were adopted everywhere.
appeared and their images were incorporated into weather forecasts as still images. For instance, the first use of weather radar on television in the United States was in September 1961 when
convinced the local US Weather Bureau staff to let him broadcast live from their office showing the radar data with a rough overlay of the
on a transparent sheet of plastic. His report helped the alerted population accepting the evacuation of an estimated 350,000 people by the authorities, saving several thousand lives.
The development of video and computers made it possible to create interactive presentations. Among other things, the overlay, made on the fly, allows the presenter to make a description of the time in front of a blue or green
, and the technical section adds the maps to the editing. These can be animation loops of satellite images, radar or lightning detection, simulations of the expected evolution of clouds, pressure fields, rain or snow zones, etc. They can even insert videos of a meteorological event that makes the headline or any other interesting graphic.
Computer companies even specialize in the production of computer graphics for meteorology and incorporate analyzes usually reserved for professional meteorologists such as tornado storm analysis and tropical cyclones. Content adapted to several clienteles are also offered from children to adult audiences.
have a presenter certification program. On the American side, a degree in meteorology is needed and a committee evaluates their skills and experiences before giving accreditation. On the Canadian side, the diploma can be replaced by work experience and knowledge. This certification gives some notoriety in the public eye but is not mandatory to become a presenter.
Several anecdotes circulate about the work of the weather presenters which are often the target of jokes. There are even a few movies and TV series that have a character from this profession, among them:
* ''
.
has the longest career as a weather broadcaster at 54 years. He started with the
on October 1, 1962 and ended his career at CBC Halifax, Canada, Nova Scotia on September 30, 2016
has the longest career as a TV weather presenter at 51 years 6 days (September 13, 1965 to September 19, 2016).