75 years ago, September 1, 1949. A small group of people huddled in a studio space at 2615 Farnam Street to embark on an unheard-of endeavor in Nebraska. That evening, the first newscast was produced at KMTV, Nebraska's second-oldest television station. In that 75 years, KMTV has covered historic events from Omaha, the nation, and the world. Since 1949, television, news, and news consumption have changed dramatically and continue to change in the rapidly advancing 21st century.
Meteorology, and its broadcast relation, also exploded in popularity. Television weather went from an idea scoffed about to the central focus of daily news. Studies show that people tune into local news for the weather as a top priority. How did this change occur? It blended meteorological advancement, technological progress, and a dash of eccentric characters. This is the history of television meteorology.
FROM PRINT TO VOICE
The advent of the telegraph in the 1840s brought meteorology into the modern world. By 1860, the introduction of daily weather maps which showed station data began to be printed, and by 1870 the first "indications" of future weather were given in newspapers. This expanded in popularity through the latter decades of the 19th century, and by 1900 most newspapers across the country dedicated a small section to the current weather and a forecast. By the 1920s, weather maps began to be printed in newspapers along with a full forecast section.
With the invention of radio around 1900, the medium was slower to catch on in popular culture. By the 1920s and 1930s, radios were becoming much more commonplace in households. Alongside the radio came news broadcasting, and with news broadcasting came weather reports. These were often smaller blurbs read by the newscaster, but in some select radio stations, dedicated "weathermen" were tasked with reading the weather. By World War II, weather reports given on the radio were commonplace. After the war, a new medium would soon take the world, and the meteorological world was propelled into it.
THE ERA OF THE SCREEN
If everyone had their mind blown by the radio, the advent of the television seemed right out of science fiction. To see moving images live in one's own home was revolutionary. Television has roots internationally with many modes developing in the 1920s and 1930s, but it remained an object of the super-wealthy. Before World War II, only a few hundred thousand Americans had television, and this number stagnated as production ceased during the war.
After the war, economic conditions and manufacturing rose tremendously, and televisions quickly became affordable for many Americans. In 1948, less than 1% of American households owned a television. By 1954, that number had skyrocketed to over half the population. Then, by 1965 93% of American homes had a television.
With the rise in television also came an explosion of television stations. By the late 1940s, television stations were popping up all over. By 1949, Nebraska and Iowa had their television stations established, including KMTV in 1949. KMTV was also one of the early pioneers in color TV, being one of the first stations in the entire country to broadcast full newscasts in color by the end of the 1950s. Nowadays, television quality is up to 4k resolution, and you can watch your favorite station anywhere you want and anytime with the internet and streaming platforms.
THE BIRTH OF THE "WEATHERMAN"
The first crop of weathermen were military men with weather training during World War II. This reign lasted from the late 1940s into the early 1950s. Many of these weather forecasts were often dry with little visual substance, these are military men. As the competition for ratings began, so did the gimmicks. To keep audiences, news stations employed many methods to keep retention, and much of this "silliness" was within the weather department. Weather information was given by puppets, clowns, "weather girls", and more gimmicks. It became humorous and entertaining, not a serious endeavor. It would take over a decade before gimmick weather became serious weather.
The American Meteorological Society (AMS) was not amused at meteorology becoming a gimmick on TV, so they sought to do something about that. In 1959, the AMS created the "seal of approval" for trained meteorologists who delivered weather information on TV. This began the slow trend from gimmick weather to more serious weather information. It first took hold in the Midwest, where active weather prompted the need for a trained meteorologist on duty. By 1970, gimmick weather had been mostly fazed out. Alongside this trend came the rise of actual meteorologists doing the weather, rather than a newscaster reading a National Weather Service forecast, this trend was also gradual and would not excel until the late 1970s.
TECHNOLOGICAL PATHS FORWARD
During the era of gimmick weather, meteorology advanced markedly from the 1950s to the 1970s. The advent of radar and satellite gave meteorology a visual component, although the primitive versions were not "television-friendly" at first. Graphics used for weather forecasts were as sophisticated as a physical board where one could draw highs and lows, fronts, and whatever else they wanted to add onto it. By the end of the 1970s, the field of TV weather was ready to incorporate more graphics.
Around 1980 came the advent of modern animated weather graphics, ones more familiar to us today. With this change in animated graphics came the green screen, which allowed meteorologists to point to the screen and stand in front of it. Nowadays, the green screen or other large screens are critical to any weather forecast broadcast today.
The later 1970s also saw a public shift toward wishing for real meteorologists. The nation was buffeted with major weather events in the 1970s. On April 3, 1974, a super outbreak of tornadoes swept the eastern US. The winters of 1976-1977, 1977-1978, and 1978-1979 were brutal for most of the east United States. The public wanted real meteorologists to give the forecast, and by the early 1980s, most television stations employed meteorologists.
This was also the era of the "wall-to-wall" weather coverage. Television stations would begin 24/7 broadcasts of major weather events, notably hurricanes threatening their respective TV markets. Like hurricanes in the east, tornadoes drove the coverage in the Midwest. In 1964, the first tornado was broadcast live at KAUZ in Wichita Falls, Texas. By the 1980s, stations bought their Doppler radars, employed storm chasers, and tried to outdo each other in a race for ratings. In Oklahoma City, this competition period became so fierce it has acquired the term "weather wars".
THE WEATHER CHANNEL REVOLUTION
As part of the demand for more weather-related news, on May 2, 1982, a small network known as the Weather Channel began broadcasting for the first time. The Weather Channel was solely dedicated to weather, its programming would be meteorologists providing weather updates across the nation. Every 10 minutes, a scroll on the screen would provide local weather information wherever one was viewing the information. It was revolutionary.
Almost immediately the popularity of the Weather Channel was felt. Tens of millions of Americans have tuned into the weather channel in the decades since its launch to be updated with the latest weather happening in their neighborhood and around the country. It became so successful that other networks caught on and beefed up their weather coverage. NBC Universal tried its hand at the format with Weather Plus, which went away when the company bought TWC in 2009.
Alongside the Weather Channel are several other national broadcasts dedicated to weather. WeatherNation and Fox Weather are just two examples of this. The enduring popularity is a testament to the importance of weather in our day-to-day lives.
BROADCAST METEOROLOGY TODAY
Today, the broadcast industry is stronger than ever, but also changing. With the advent of the internet and smartphones, worries that weather apps would replace TV meteorologists have been prevalent. Despite this, studies have shown no noticeable shift from getting weather information from local sources rather than a phone app.
The world of TV is changing too, as more Americans are cutting the cord on cable. Television audiences are getting older and scarcer, leading to a small crisis in the broadcast world. Despite these fears, people still need weather updates. Therefore, while the medium of weather information is changing, the core need for meteorologists will likely always be around.
