Don't be whistlin' Dixie when you're trying to teach science

Broadcast meteorology in Canada started rather humbly in 1952 with Percy Saltzman, a puppet named Uncle Chichimus and his two furry friends, Pompey and Hollyhock. Each night the foursome would do a little skit, and then finish with the forecast. The puppets were eventually dropped from the format, but Saltzman continued forecasting on air for 22 years. So he must have been doing something right..

Television weather presentation has changed dramatically since those days (although admittedly at times it does feel that we've simply replaced Pompey and Hollyhock with news anchors). The ability of the broadcaster to deliver the information in an engaging, educational and (yes, at times) entertaining manner is imperative in effective weather dissemination.

So how do we go about presenting this relatively dry scientific data, all the while educating our public but still maintaining a sense of humour and a degree of credibility? Not with puppets, I say, but with cartoons!