Television weather forecasts are the most easily understood and widely seen source of weather information for the general public. The weather forecasters may be trained meteorologists who work at a weather centre, or television presenters may read out forecasts provided for them. A detailed forecast is presented as a sequence of weather maps generated on a computer. They usually show temperatures and wind speed and direction, and give some indication of the expected weather conditions for different parts of the country. Local television stations will present a more detailed forecast for their region.
Television is the main medium through which forecasts are viewed. Television stations use a variety of media to portray forecast information. These may be icons, for example showing a sunshine symbol, or contours, for example showing an area which may be affected by rain.
Broadcasts are available to view on standard television sets. New technology is changing viewing habits and increasingly weather forecasts are viewable through other methods such as via a desktop computer or downloaded onto a mobile mp4 player.
Forecast data are often displayed on maps of the area of interest. Before assessing the weather forecast for the area they are interested in, the viewer must be able to ascertain where on the map they are located. As revealed in the survey carried out by Thornes (1992) this is something which the public are not generally able to do with confidence. It does seem that an attempt to pinpoint one’s location to within a general area can be made, but more detailed identification of the location is more difficult.
During the past few years television weather forecast graphics have evolved, from a ‘hand’ drawing on a weather chart, to fully integrated 3D graphics capable of showing fly?throughs of weather, anywhere in the world. When television weather forecasts were first broadcast, the forecaster would often draw expected conditions directly onto a map using a pen. In the 1970s the BBC introduced magnetic symbols which ‘stuck’ to a base map as the forecaster described the changed weather. These symbols are now perhaps the most well-known of weather symbols.
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