Weather Center (2009)
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''Weather Center Live'' (originally titled ''Weather Center'') is an American weather news
television program A television show, TV program (), or simply a TV show, is the general reference to any content produced for viewing on a television set that is broadcast via Terrestrial television, over-the-air, Satellite television, satellite, and cable te ...
that aired on
The Weather Channel The Weather Channel (TWC) is an American pay television television channel, channel owned by Weather Group, LLC, a subsidiary of Allen Media Group. The channel's headquarters are located in Atlanta, Georgia. Launched on May 2, 1982, the channel ...
from 2009 until 2021. Airing in various timeslots throughout the daytime (and sometimes nighttime) hours and serving as The Weather Channel's de facto flagship forecast program, it features weather forecasts, analysis and weather-related feature segments. This program, the current incarnation of ''Weather Center'' (which differs in format from the version that debuted in 1998), debuted on March 2, 2009.


Program history


1998–2006

'' Weather Center'' debuted in 1998 (replacing ''WeatherScope'') and was originally formatted as a program devoted to hard weather news. It had three main blocks: ''Weather Center AM'' (focusing on business and leisure weather) from 5am to noon, ''Weather Center'' (focusing on ongoing conditions) from noon to 7pm, and ''Weather Center PM'' (focusing on coming days' forecasts) from 7pm to 5am. In 2000, with the additions of '' First Outlook'' and '' Your Weather Today'', the program was reduced to daytime and evening broadcasts. ''Weather Center''s presence on The Weather Channel's schedule decreased even further as additional forecast and long-form programs debuted; by the end of 2008, the program aired for only one hour a day during the week.


2007–2009

In February 2009, The Weather Channel's media kit began showing a different logo for the program; the most notable change to come from this, however, was the retitling of the program to ''Weather Center with Abrams & Bettes''. Changes to
electronic program guide Electronic programming guides (EPGs) and interactive programming guides (IPGs) are menu-based systems that provide users of television, radio, and other media applications with continuously updated menus that display scheduling information fo ...
schedules revealed that ''Weather Center'' would absorb the repeating overnight hour on weeknights, and that ''Weather Center'' would also be added to evenings (correlating with the merger of '' Evening Edition'' and ''Abrams & Bettes''). The expansion of ''Weather Center'' reversed a trend of partitioning that took place between 1998 and 2003. The changes themselves were some of the most far-reaching since the 2003 addition of ''
Day Planner A personal organizer, also known as a datebook, date log, daybook, day planner, personal analog assistant, book planner, year planner, or agenda (from Latin ''agenda'' – things to do), is a portable book or binder designed for personal manage ...
'', '' Afternoon Outlook'' and '' Weekend Outlook'', itself a casualty, being replaced by '' Weekend View''.


2009–2011

From May 5 to June 12, 2009, Mike Bettes left the studio to report on the Vortex 2 project, a project in which researchers spent five weeks in
Tornado Alley Tornado Alley, also known as Tornado Valley, is a loosely defined location of the central United States and, in the 21st century, Canada where tornadoes are most frequent. The term was first used in 1952 as the title of a research project to st ...
(the region comprising the
Great Plains The Great Plains is a broad expanse of plain, flatland in North America. The region stretches east of the Rocky Mountains, much of it covered in prairie, steppe, and grassland. They are the western part of the Interior Plains, which include th ...
and
South Central United States The West South Central states, colloquially known as the South Central states, is a region of the United States defined by the U.S. Census Bureau as covering four states: Arkansas, Louisiana, Oklahoma, and Texas. The West South Central or Sou ...
that is the most climatologically favorable for tornado development) tracking
tornado A tornado is a violently rotating column of air that is in contact with the surface of Earth and a cumulonimbus cloud or, in rare cases, the base of a cumulus cloud. It is often referred to as a twister, whirlwind or cyclone, although the ...
es with weather researchers in an attempt to discover more information about the formation of these storms. Throughout the entire duration of the project, Bettes reported live in the field during ''Weather Center with Abrams & Bettes'' each evening, except for instances in which the Vortex 2 project was suspended for the day due to lack of tornadic activity. Several editions of the show featured Bettes and the Vortex 2 crew actively chasing potential tornado-producing supercells; on June 5, 2009, the crew caught its first and only tornado of the year live on '' PM Edition'', the coverage of which spilled over into the beginning of ''Weather Center''; both programs covered the entire tornado event without commercial interruption. While Bettes was reporting with the project crew, TWC on-camera meteorologist Adam Berg substituted for him in the studio. The final edition of ''Weather Center with Abrams & Bettes'' aired 1½ weeks earlier on June 12, 2009, allowing Stephanie Abrams and Mike Bettes to take a week off from studio work prior to assuming their new duties as co-anchors of ''Your Weather Today'' starting on June 22, 2009. Alexandra Steele and
Jim Cantore James D. Cantore (born February 16, 1964) is an American meteorologist, best known as an on-air personality for The Weather Channel. Career A native of Beacon Falls, Connecticut, who was raised in White River Junction, Vermont, Cantore graduat ...
replaced them as anchors of the 7 p.m. Eastern hour of ''Weather Center'' on June 15, 2009 (although television listing services such as
Zap2it Zap2it was a website and digital media company that provided television program listings information for areas of the United States and Canada. Founded in 2000 by Tribune Media Services, the site has been owned by Nexstar Media Group since 201 ...
stated that the changeover would occur one week later on June 22). Kevin Robinson, a former host of ''Your Weather Today'', was added as an additional co-anchor of the program on June 22, 2009. On the same day, meteorologist Nicole Mitchell became Paul Goodloe's permanent co-host on the 10 p.m. Eastern hour of ''Weather Center''. The 7–10 p.m. ET block at this time was called ''Weather Center with Cantore and Steele'', similar to ''Your Weather Today''s new subtitling as ''Your Weather Today with Abrams & Bettes''. In December 2009, Kevin Robinson left ''Weather Center with Cantore and Steele'' to become a meteorologist at
Cincinnati Cincinnati ( ; colloquially nicknamed Cincy) is a city in Hamilton County, Ohio, United States, and its county seat. Settled in 1788, the city is located on the northern side of the confluence of the Licking River (Kentucky), Licking and Ohio Ri ...
NBC The National Broadcasting Company (NBC) is an American commercial broadcast television and radio network serving as the flagship property of the NBC Entertainment division of NBCUniversal, a subsidiary of Comcast. It is one of NBCUniversal's ...
affiliate
WLWT WLWT (channel 5) is a television station in Cincinnati, Ohio, United States, affiliated with NBC and owned by Hearst Television. The station's studios are located on Young Street, and its transmitter is located on Chickasaw Street, both in th ...
, and was replaced by Chris Warren. In late September 2010, Crystal Egger joined ''Weather Center'' as a full-time co-anchor. Jim Cantore was reassigned to report on breaking weather news from the channel's newsroom. In September 2010, ''Weather Center'' co-host Alexandra Steele left the network, and later became an on-camera meteorologist for CNN in early 2011. Nicole Mitchell left the program in November 2010, and was replaced by Kelly Cass.


2011–2013

On January 31, 2011, TWC unveiled a major shift in its evening programming. It began airing ''Weather Center'' in three one-hour blocks each night (at 7 p.m., 10 p.m. and 1 a.m. Eastern) surrounding the channel's long-form programming (a term referring to The Weather Channel's original documentary and reality programs). ''Weather Center'' was subsequently expanded to weekends on February 5, 2011. Chris Warren and Crystal Egger hosted the weekday editions; Paul Goodloe and Kelly Cass anchored on weekends. In May 2011, ''Weather Center'' was officially retitled as ''Weather Center Live''. On November 16 of that year, ''Weather Center Live'' debuted the "Winter Weather Update" segment, as a replacement for the "Tropical Update" segment usually seen at 50 minutes past each hour from June to November. The segment lasted until March 24, after which the slot is taken over by the "Severe Weather Update" segment, which airs at 50 minutes past the hour until the start of the
Atlantic hurricane season The Atlantic hurricane season is the period in a year, from June 1 through November 30, when Tropical cyclone, tropical or subtropical cyclones are most likely to form in the North Atlantic Ocean. These dates, adopted by convention ...
on June 1. An afternoon edition of ''Weather Center Live'' began airing at 4 p.m. Eastern starting on March 26, 2012. Six days later on March 31, the weekend edition also expanded to the 4 p.m. slot, effectively canceling '' PM Edition Weekend''. The late afternoon edition of ''Weather Center Live'' was shifted to 5–7 p.m. Eastern on November 12, 2012.


2013–2021

In July 2013, Todd Santos left the program and The Weather Channel, and was replaced by Keith Carson. Crystal Egger left the channel on September 6, 2013; Egger returned on September 12 to anchor an extended ''Weather Center Live'' edition from 1 to 3 a.m. ET due to severe weather, before leaving the network for good. Alexandra Wilson was reassigned from the weekend 4 p.m. edition of ''Weather Center Live'' to weeknights as Egger's replacement, being paired with Chris Warren and Jim Cantore during the 7 p.m. Eastern hour of the broadcast. On November 12, 2013, ''Weather Center Live'' (presented by Jen Carfagno and Alex Wallace) debuted at 4 a.m. (as part of the show's expansion) and The Weather Channel's extensive rebranding started at this point (which included a revised graphics package, the introduction of a new set for its forecast programs and the permanent expansion of the Lower Display Line throughout national commercial breaks and long-form programming to provide local weather information). This was highlighted again during '' Morning Rush'', which debuted at 7 a.m. the same day. Also, as a result of the changing schedule, ''First Forecast'', ''On the Radar'', ''Day Planner'', '' Sunrise Weather'', ''Weekend View'' and ''Weekend Now'' were all absorbed into WCL (weekdays 4–5:30 a.m., 11 a.m.-2 p.m. and 5–8 p.m.; weekends 4:30 a.m.-2 p.m. Eastern). As a consequence, the nightly 10 p.m. and 1 a.m. Eastern, and weekend 4 and 7 p.m. Eastern editions of ''Weather Center Live'' were replaced with long-form programming (effectively removing regularly scheduled forecast programs from the channel's nighttime schedule for the first time in its history, and also limiting forecast programming on weekends to morning and early afternoon timeslots). The show's duration can be extended, ultimately canceling longform original programs, and have its logo changed to red throughout major weather events. On February 24, 2014, the 2–5 p.m. ET block now showed ''Weather Center Live''. This addition occurred almost a month after The Weather Channel was removed from satellite provider
DirecTV DirecTV, LLC is an American Multichannel television in the United States, multichannel video programming distributor based in El Segundo, California. Originally launched on June 17, 1994, its primary service is a digital Satellite television, s ...
due to a
carriage dispute A carriage dispute is a disagreement over the right to "carry", that is, retransmit, a broadcaster's signal. Carriage disputes first occurred between broadcasters and cable companies and now include direct broadcast satellite and other multichan ...
, citing complaints over the channel's increased reliance on long-form programs over forecast programming; with the change, the channel's schedule consists solely of forecast programming during the daytime hours and long-form programs during nighttime hours on weekdays. When ''Weather Center Live'' was expanded, Vivian Brown anchored the show from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. ET with (Mon-Wed) Nick Walker and (Thu-Fri) Keith Carson. In July, Walker moved to primetime to cover breaking weather news and Carson went on to host WCL's 4–7 a.m. weekend edition and report for '' Wake Up With Al'' Monday through Wednesdays. Jennifer Delgado replaced them as Brown's co-host. In April 2014, Dave Schwartz returned to the Weather Channel for the first time since 2008. He and Alex Wilson would anchor ''Weather Center Live'' from 2 to 5 p.m. ET (3 to 7 p.m. ET during severe weather) weekdays for the next two years. On Thursday, November 6, 2014, the weekday 4–5:30 a.m. ET edition of ''Weather Center Live'' was replaced by long-form programming (from 4 to 5 a.m. ET) and an expanded ''Wake Up With Al'' (from 5 to 5:30 a.m. ET). On November 8, the weekend 4–5 a.m. and noon-2 p.m. ET editions of the show were also replaced by long-form programming. As a result of these changes, ''Weather Center Live'' aired from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. ET on weekdays and 5 a.m.-noon ET on weekends. On Monday, November 17, 2014, ''Weather Center Live'' added an extra edition on the 10 a.m. hour, replacing the rebroadcast of ''Wake Up with Al''. On February 7, 2015, the weekend 5–9 a.m. ET edition of the program was replaced by a new '' AMHQ Weekend'', hosted by Reynolds Wolf and Kait Parker. On March 14, 2015, the weekend 9 a.m.-noon ET edition was replaced by a new weekend show called '' Weekend Recharge'', hosted by Maria LaRosa and Paul Goodloe, alongside expert Greg Postel. As a result, ''Weather Center Live'' became a weekday-only show, airing from 10 a.m. to 8 p.m. ET. On August 24, the 6-8pm timeslot was replaced by a show called Weather Underground, hosted by Mike Bettes and Alex Wilson. From the week of October 5, 2015, '' Wake Up with Al''s timeslot was replaced with ''Weather Center Live''. During severe weather events, The Weather Channel may opt to replace the normal color scheme (blue, white and dark gray) of its graphics to become black-and-red (known as the "Storm Alert" mode), with the one-third of the "R"-bar featuring in-depth information of the event instead of the regular "rundown" list of segments. TWC has not used the ''Weather Center Live'' banner during such events since roughly 2015; instead, an alternative name that explicitly states the events (Winter Storm/Severe Storm/Hurricane Central) is used on-air. For rating purposes, WCL continues to be utilized as the umbrella title for TWC's extended broadcasts being done in this manner. On July 30, 2016, Dave Schwartz died after a long battle with cancer. He had continued to appear as co-anchor almost until his death. He was 63. On October 26, 2016, Liana Brackett joined The Weather Channel as an on-camera meteorologist. She began working with Chris Warren from 3-6pm on weekdays in January 2017. On June 4, 2018, ''Weather Center Live'' was shortened an hour, now ending at 5pm ET with ''
Weather Underground The Weather Underground was a far-left Marxist militant organization first active in 1969, founded on the Ann Arbor campus of the University of Michigan. Originally known as the Weathermen, or simply Weatherman, the group was organized as a f ...
'' taking over that hour. Mark Elliot and Alex Wallace host from 9am-1pm ET and Chris Warren and Liana Brackett host from 1pm-5pm ET. On April 21, 2018, ''Weekend Recharge'', the weekend version of ''Weather Center Live'', was extended to another hour, ending at 1pm. This is due to ''AMHQ'' shortened by one hour, now starting at 6am. On December 2, 2018, ''Weather Center Live'' began to be known as ''The Weather Channel Live'' on, and only on, electronic program guide schedules. On June 14, 2021, The show was shortened to noon to 4:00 p.m. Eastern Time as America's Morning Headquarters got extended until noon. Also, Weather Underground was extended to four hours, starting at 4pm. On November 15, 2021, the show was replaced by ''Storm Center'' with a slightly different presentation, featuring on the schedule as Weather Underground's successor rather than predecessor.


Notable on-air staff


Former

*
Stephanie Abrams Stephanie Abrams (born October 27, 1978) is an American television meteorologist who has worked for The Weather Channel (TWC) since 2003. She currently co-hosts '' America's Morning Headquarters'' with Jim Cantore and Jordan Steele early weekday ...
(currently co-anchors ''AMHQ'') *
Mike Bettes Michael Bettes (born 1972) is an American television meteorologist and Storm chasing, storm chaser who works for The Weather Channel in Atlanta, Georgia. He was a co-host of ''America's Morning Headquarters, AMHQ: America's Morning Headquarters'' ...
(currently hosts ''Weather Unfiltered'') * Vivian Brown (left TWC) * Crystal Egger (currently at KNBC-TV; TWC Correspondent) * Dave Schwartz (deceased) *
Jim Cantore James D. Cantore (born February 16, 1964) is an American meteorologist, best known as an on-air personality for The Weather Channel. Career A native of Beacon Falls, Connecticut, who was raised in White River Junction, Vermont, Cantore graduat ...
– Storm Specialist (currently co-hosts ''AMHQ'') *
Bryan Norcross Bryan S. Norcross (born November 24, 1950) is a television meteorologist and hurricane specialist. He currently works for Fox Weather. Norcross previously served as a hurricane specialist for The Weather Channel.Miami HeralRetrieved on 2018-05-0 ...
– Senior Hurricane Expert/Storm Specialist, now at
WPLG WPLG (channel 10) is a television station in Miami, Florida, United States, affiliated with ABC. The station is owned by Berkshire Hathaway as its sole broadcast property. WPLG's studios are located on West Hallandale Beach Boulevard in Pembro ...
.


References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Weather Center (2009-Present) The Weather Channel original programming 2009 American television series debuts 2000s American television news shows 2010s American television news shows American English-language television shows