The Weather Channel facts for kids
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| Country | United States |
|---|---|
| Broadcast area | continental United States (including Hawaii, Puerto Rico, US Virgin Islands) and The Bahamas |
| Headquarters | Atlanta, Georgia, U.S. |
| Programming | |
| Language(s) | English and Spanish |
| Picture format | |
| Ownership | |
| Owner | Allen Media Group |
| Parent | Weather Group Television, LLC |
| Sister channels |
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| History | |
| Launched | May 2, 1982 |
| Availability | |
| Streaming media | |
| Official service | (requires subscription or trial to access content) |
| Service(s) | Frndly TV, FuboTV, Hulu + Live TV, YouTube TV |
The Weather Channel (often called TWC) is a TV channel in the United States. It is owned by Weather Group, LLC, which is part of Allen Media Group. The channel's main office is in Atlanta, Georgia.
TWC started on May 2, 1982. It shows weather forecasts and news about weather. You can also watch documentaries and fun shows about weather. A related channel, Weatherscan, used to show local forecasts all day. Weatherscan stopped broadcasting on December 12, 2022. The Weather Channel also helps create weather reports for other news channels like CBS News.
As of November 2023, about 68 million homes in the U.S. could watch The Weather Channel. This number has changed over time as more people get weather information from smartphones and the internet. In August 2023, IBM announced it was selling its weather business, including The Weather Company, to Francisco Partners.
Contents
The Story of The Weather Channel
The Weather Channel was started on July 18, 1980. It was founded by TV meteorologist John Coleman and Frank Batten. Batten was the head of Landmark Communications, which first owned the channel. The channel officially began broadcasting at 8:00 p.m. Eastern Time on May 2, 1982.
At first, TWC got its local weather information from the National Weather Service. Since 2002, all weather forecasts have been made at their main office in Atlanta.
New Owners: NBCUniversal, Bain, and Blackstone
On January 3, 2008, Landmark Communications decided to sell The Weather Channel. On July 6, 2008, three companies—NBC Universal, Bain Capital, and Blackstone Group—agreed to buy it together. This was the first time the channel changed owners in 26 years. The sale was completed on September 12, 2008.
NBC Universal also owned a competing weather service called NBC Weather Plus. That service stopped broadcasting a few months later. Some local TV channels that showed Weather Plus then switched to other weather services or channels.
Between 2008 and 2010, some long-time meteorologists left The Weather Channel. One of the original on-camera meteorologists from 1982, Bill Keneely, left in July 2010. In May 2009, some meteorologists from NBC Weather Plus joined The Weather Channel. For example, Al Roker from NBC's Today started hosting a morning show called Wake Up With Al.
On September 10, 2009, Frank Batten, who helped start The Weather Channel, passed away.
Changes from 2012 to 2018
In January 2012, David Kenny became the new boss (CEO) of The Weather Channel. The company that owned The Weather Channel changed its name to the Weather Company in 2012. That same year, they also bought another weather website called Weather Underground.
On March 10, 2015, Verizon FiOS stopped carrying The Weather Channel. They chose to show a rival channel, AccuWeather, instead.
In September 2015, TWC announced big changes to its shows for 2016. They decided to focus more on weather forecasts again. They canceled Wake Up with Al because it cost too much to make in New York City. They also decided not to make new long-form shows. This was to make sure that "our most passionate fans come to us for the weather and the science behind the weather, not our original shows."
The channel's original style was like a news channel. Over time, it started showing more entertainment programs about weather. These included shows like Storm Stories. In November 2013, TWC started a new plan called "weather all the time." All their original shows then had a direct link to weather topics. They also promised to interrupt shows for important weather events.
In October 2015, IBM announced it would buy most of The Weather Company's parts. This included weather.com, Weather Underground, and their apps. The deal did not include The Weather Channel TV channel itself. The TV channel stayed owned by the same group of companies. However, it made a deal with IBM to use its weather data and the "The Weather Channel" name.
Allen Media Group Takes Over
On March 22, 2018, Byron Allen's company, Entertainment Studios, bought The Weather Channel's TV parts. The value of the deal was not fully shared, but it was reported to be around $300 million. The parts of The Weather Company that IBM bought earlier were not part of this sale.
On April 18, 2019, The Weather Channel had a problem with its computer network. They called it a "malicious software attack." For a short time, they could not show live programs. They played old shows while engineers fixed the problem. Live programming returned to normal within a few hours.
In May 2022, on its 40th birthday, The Weather Channel launched a new app. You can subscribe to this app to watch content directly.
In August 2023, IBM announced it would sell its weather business and The Weather Channel's related apps to Francisco Partners. IBM kept the weather data to use for its artificial intelligence models.
In January 2025, Allen Media Group shared plans for its local TV stations. They said that local weather coverage would be done from TWC's studios in Atlanta. This would include using TWC's meteorologists and technology. This change was meant to make weather reporting better, especially during bad weather. However, it meant some local meteorologists would lose their jobs. Some people were worried about how this would affect local severe weather coverage. On January 23, 2025, Allen Media Group decided to keep some local meteorologists after hearing feedback.
The Weather Channel Around the World
Over the years, there have been attempts to have international versions of TWC.
- A version of The Weather Channel was in the U.K. from September 1, 1996, to January 30, 1998. It stopped because not many people watched it.
- TWC also used to have The Weather Channel Latin America. This was a Spanish-language channel for Mexico, Puerto Rico, and South America. It started in 1996 and a Portuguese version started in 1998. Both stopped on December 20, 2002, due to money problems.
Local on the 8s
Local on the 8s is a popular part of The Weather Channel's programming. It gives viewers information about the current weather and forecasts for their local area. The name comes from when it airs: at times ending in "8" (like 9:18 or 12:48). This means the local forecasts are shown every ten minutes.
Since April 2018, this segment usually airs around 18 minutes past each hour. It also airs around 48 minutes past each hour during live shows. On July 11, 2023, the music for Local on the 8s changed to band and jazz music.
Other Services from TWC
Television Services
| Service | What It Is |
|---|---|
| The Weather Channel HD | The Weather Channel started broadcasting in HD on September 26, 2007. This means the picture is much clearer. As of 2014, almost all of the channel's shows are made in HD. |
| The Weather Channel on Demand | This is TWC's on-demand service. It lets you watch episodes of their original shows whenever you want. It does not provide weather forecasts. |
| Weatherscan | Weatherscan was a separate digital channel that started in 1999. It showed local weather forecasts all the time without commercials. It was stopped on December 12, 2022. |
| Local Now | Local Now is a newer streaming channel that started on January 25, 2016. Like Weatherscan, it shows local weather forecasts, traffic, and news in a continuous loop. You can find it on streaming services and as an app. |
Radio and Newspaper Presence
The Weather Channel provides forecasts for satellite radio like Sirius XM Radio in the United States. They have stations that give regional forecasts and local weather and traffic for big cities.
TWC also broadcasts on SiriusXM during big storms. Here are some of the storms they covered:
- 2016: Hurricane Matthew
- 2017: March 2017 North American blizzard, Hurricane Harvey, Hurricane Irma
- 2018: Hurricane Florence, Hurricane Michael
- 2019: Hurricane Dorian
- 2020: Hurricane Isaias, Hurricane Laura, Hurricane Sally, Hurricane Delta, Hurricane Zeta
- 2021: Hurricane Ida
The Weather Channel also works with local U.S. radio stations. They provide local forecasts using different announcers than those on TV. They also give weather reports to some newspapers. For example, they used to provide forecasts for USA Today until September 2012.
In March 2022, TWC announced a partnership with CBS News. TWC now provides weather reports for CBS shows like CBS Mornings. They also work together on news stories about weather and climate.
On May 2, 2022, The Weather Channel en Español started on Local Now. It provides 24/7 weather coverage in Spanish. However, it was confirmed by Charter Spectrum that the Weather Channel en Español will stop broadcasting on December 31, 2024.
Online Services
TWC used to offer many special forecasts on its website, weather.com. This included forecasts for home and garden or planning events. The website weather.com was very popular, being one of the most visited weather websites in the world.
They also had apps for phones and tablets like iPhone, iPad, and Android. These apps showed weather forecasts, radar maps, and updates on tropical storms. Users could also share weather alerts with friends on Facebook.
In July 2012, the Weather Company bought the competing weather website Weather Underground. This helped TWC grow its digital services. Weather Underground still operates separately but shares some content with TWC.
The website weather.com and most of The Weather Channel's digital parts were sold to IBM in January 2016.
What's On The Weather Channel
Before 2000, The Weather Channel mostly showed weather forecasts. Later, they started adding more weather-related shows. The channel's live studio shows are on from 6:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m. Eastern Time on weekdays. On weekends and holidays, they are on from 6:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m. Eastern Time.
- America's Morning Headquarters airs weekdays from 6:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. Eastern Time.
- The Weather Channel LIVE airs weekdays from 2:00 p.m. to 6:00 p.m. Eastern.
- Weather Unfiltered airs weekdays from 6:00 p.m. to 10:00 p.m. Eastern.
- On weekends, America's Weekend Headquarters is from 6:00 a.m. to 9:00 a.m.
- Weekend Recharge is from 9:00 a.m. to 1:00 p.m.
- Pattrn is from 1:00 p.m. to 2:00 p.m. Eastern Time.
The Weather Channel also shows original documentaries and specials about weather. During big weather events, like severe storms, TWC might stop its regular shows. Instead, they will show extended coverage called Weather Center Live. This provides detailed information and analysis until the storm passes.
Movies on TWC
In October 2009, The Weather Channel started showing weather-related movies on Friday nights. The first movie was The Perfect Storm. Many long-time viewers did not like this change.
After December 2009, they stopped showing movies for a while. The movie block returned in March 2010 under the name "Flick and a Forecast." However, the movies did not always have a strong connection to weather. On May 31, 2010, TWC decided to cancel the movie block again. This was partly because viewers complained and because a scheduled movie aired during a tornado outbreak instead of weather coverage. The movie block was replaced with more weather forecast programs.
Famous Faces on The Weather Channel
| Name | What They Do | When They Are On |
|---|---|---|
| Stephanie Abrams | America's Morning Headquarters & Pattrn | Weekdays 6am-10am & Weekends 1pm-2pm |
| Mike Bettes | Weather Unfiltered | Weekdays 6pm-10pm |
| Chris Bruin | The Weather Channel LIVE | Weekdays 2pm-6pm |
| Jim Cantore | America's Morning Headquarters | Weekdays 6am-10am |
| Jen Carfagno | America's Morning Headquarters | Weekdays 10am-2pm |
| Kelly Cass | America's Weekend Headquarters | Weekends 6am-9am |
| Lynette Charles | Weekend Recharge | Weekends 9am-1pm |
| Felicia Combs | The Weather Channel LIVE | Weekdays 2pm-6pm |
| Paul Goodloe | Weekend Recharge | Weekends 9am-1pm |
| Dr. Rick Knabb | Weather Unfiltered | Weekdays 6pm-10pm |
| Molly McCollum | Weekend Recharge | Weekends 9am-1pm |
| Dr. Greg Postel | America's Morning Headquarters | Weekdays 10am-2pm |
| Jordan Steele | America's Morning Headquarters & Pattrn | Weekdays 6am-10am & Weekends 1pm-2pm |
| Alex Wallace | America's Morning Headquarters | Weekdays 10am-2pm |
| Alex Wilson | Weather Unfiltered | Weekdays 6pm-10pm |
| Reynolds Wolf | America's Weekend Headquarters | Weekends 6am-9am |
Reporters
- Justin Michaels: National Correspondent
- Carl Parker: Climate Specialist
The Weather Channel's Look and Slogans
Logos
The Weather Channel's first logo was a blue rectangle with rounded corners. It appeared when the channel first started on May 2, 1982. This logo was updated in 1996 and again on August 15, 2005. The current logo is a straight-edged square. Since 1999, the words "weather.com" have been under the logo.
When NBCUniversal bought the channel in 2008, the logo sometimes changed to green. This was for the "Green is Universal" campaign, which promotes caring for the environment. Since 2014, the network has used a red version of its logo during hurricane coverage and severe tornado outbreaks.
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May 2, 1982–October 1996
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October 1996–August 15, 2005
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August 15, 2005–present
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"Green is Universal" Earth Week logo
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The Weather Channel HD logo, 2008–present
Slogans
The Weather Channel has used many slogans over the years:
- 1982–1983: We Take the Weather Seriously, but Not Ourselves
- 1983–1984: The Cable Television Network for America's Lifestyle
- 1984–1986: Weatherproofing America
- 1986–1991: You Need Us, the Weather Channel, for Everything You Do
- 1991–1996: Weather You Can Always Turn To
- 1996–1998: No Place on Earth Has Better Weather
- 1998–2001: Keeping You Ahead of the Storm
- 2001–2005: Live by It
- 2005–2008: Bringing Weather to Life
- June 2008–late 2008: The Weather Has Never Looked Better
- 2009–early 2010: The Sounds of Weather. Hear It, See It, Live It
- 2013–2020: It's Amazing Out There
- 2020–2024: Get Into the Out There
- 2024–present: Be a force of nature
Promotional Campaigns
- 2015–2016: Where You Get Your Weather Matters
- 2017–2018: Trust in Us to Be There
- late 2018-early 2019: America's #1 Weather Network
- 2019–early 2024: America's Most Trusted TV News Network
- 2024–present: America's Most Trusted News Network
See also
In Spanish: The Weather Channel para niños
- Weather media in the United States
- The Weather Network – A Canadian TV channel about weather forecasts.
- WeatherStar – Special computer systems that help cable TV providers show weather data.
- The Weather Company – The company that used to own The Weather Channel.
- NBC Weather Plus
- Fox Weather
