50
years of forecasts on the 91Èȱ¬
91Èȱ¬
Weather celebrates 50 years of forecasting the nation's weather
On
11 January 2004, 91Èȱ¬ Weather celebrates the 50th anniversary of
its first ever TV forecast.
The
honour of becoming the first TV weatherman went to George Cowling
(pictured above with past and current 91Èȱ¬ Weather presenters), a
32-year-old Met Office forecaster who presented the live five minute
broadcast on 11 January 1954.
Prior
to this weather charts had been presented on screen with captions.
Since
that first broadcast the number of presenters has grown from two
into the current team of 22, all of whom are trained broadcast meteorologists
employed by the Met Office.
Based
at the 91Èȱ¬ Weather Centre in London, they provide more than 22 hours
of broadcasts each week with regular bulletins on 91Èȱ¬ ONE and 91Èȱ¬
News 24 as well as Radio 2, Radio 4, Radio Five Live and the British
Forces Broadcasting Service.
As
the years have advanced so too have the ways in which weather is
presented. The state-of-the-art graphics used today are a far cry
from the felt pens and Perspex screens employed in the early years.
Users
of the 91Èȱ¬i site -
- can take advantage of up-to-the-minute information with forecasts
for thousands of destinations worldwide as well as forecasts for
sporting events.
91Èȱ¬i's
is an in-depth analysis and educational resource on how weather
affects our lives produced in association with the Royal Meteorological
Society.
Notes
to Editors
Facts
and Figures about 91Èȱ¬ Weather presenters
1.
John Kettley is the only weatherman to have a pop
song written about him. The band A Tribe of Toffs released the record
in 1988.
2.
Barbara Edwards was the first female presenter
to join the 91Èȱ¬ team in 1974. In a news report of the time she recalled
how viewers intended to tune in to see what she would be wearing
rather than what the weather had in store.
3.
In 1983, Francis Wilson joined the weather team
and presented his reports using new terminology which he personalised
– terms such as "mizzle" (mist and drizzle) and
"thorms" (thunder storms) were among his favourites.
4.
In 1968 the weathermen, unhappy with their £3-a-day rate,
took their case to the Civil Service Arbitration Tribunal which
upped their pay to £5 10s (£5.50).
Bert
Foord cited the cost of dressing for TV, revealing that
he had three suits for the purpose, each costing 30 to 40 guineas
(a guinea was £1 1s or today £1.05).
5.
Bill Giles took up meteorology at boarding school
because it was the only permitted alternative to cross country running.
6.
Ian McCaskill always presented the weather in his
stockinged feet as the static electricity in his body caused the
microphone to crackle.
7.
In 1957, the 18-year-old Bill Giles was sent by
the Met Office to Christmas Island to observe the meteorological
effects of the H-bomb tests. He recalled the "horrendous clouds."
8.
In 1985 Ian McCaskill was voted by visitors to
the London Dungeon the man people would most like to put in a pillory
and pelt with rotten eggs. He narrowly beat Terry Wogan.
All
the 91Èȱ¬'s digital services are now available on ,
the new free-to-view digital terrestrial television service, as well
as on satellite and cable. Freeview
offers the 91Èȱ¬'s eight television channels, interactive services
from 91Èȱ¬i, as well as 11 national 91Èȱ¬ radio networks.
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