Passing fads and big changes: a walk through six decades of broadcast meteorology

In some ways, television weathercasts have changed little over the last 60 years, but in other ways they have been completely transformed. Some trends have come and gone quickly; others have changed the profession for good. In this historical overview, we track the evolution of TV weather by examining the presentation styles and technical innovations that have marked each decade from the 1950s to the first decade of the 21st century. The advent of computer graphics—which occurred with remarkable speed during the early 1980s—is an obvious example. Another is the increased presence of women meteorologists from the 1970s onward, years after the end of the short-lived “weathergirl' era. Although consultants have played a role in accelerating some weathercast trends, others have been driven largely by changes in technology, society, and even the atmosphere itself.