Fundamentals of Effective Weather Communication

Checking the weather on TV and smartphone

Broadcast meteorologists have an important job. They keep people safe during severe weather and help them live a happy, healthy life. That’s an important job. Unfortunately, it’s not an essential job.

In a local news study conducted by Pew Research, respondents said weather information is “important for daily life.” It ranked higher than any other news category. However, they also ranked weather as “easy to stay informed about.”

Today weather information is everywhere. The competition isn’t the other TV stations in the market. It’s the smartphone, where people can get a reasonably accurate forecast at the tap of a finger. The internet and social media contain a seemingly infinite supply of weather content. And some of that content is accurate enough to be helpful.

Consumers don’t need to watch the news to find out the latest weather information. That’s a problem for broadcast meteorologists and local TV stations. But it’s a problem we can fix.

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Broadcast meteorologists are some of the busiest people in the newsroom. They are forecasters, graphic artists, weather producers, on-air anchors, digital content creators, and social media managers. It’s easy to forget what’s essential when you’re juggling six different jobs and instead simply focus on what’s due next. As a result, the quantity goes up, but quality goes down.

Rather than trying to master six different jobs, broadcast meteorologists can communicate more effectively and efficiently if they break the workday down into three manageable components: forecasting the weather, producing the weather, and delivering the weather.

Meteorology: An Accurate Forecast

When the weather is behaving badly due to climate change, it’s even more critical for broadcast meteorologists to have a keen understanding of what’s going on in the atmosphere today and how that’s going to change the next seven to ten days.

Dedicate time throughout the workday to focus on the forecast. If that’s not right, nothing you produce, publish or post matters.

Recommendation: After completing the forecast, write out a detailed forecast discussion.

Message: The Essential Information

Research conducted by Magid revealed that 81% of consumers who watch local news say they already know the forecast. And 87% said all the weather segments on TV are virtually the same.

Regardless of how much time you spend researching and writing the forecast, that’s not what will set you apart from the competition, which again includes the weather app on Smartphones. Broadcast meteorologists can establish themselves as the go-to weather expert in their community by consistently delivering essential information in every weather hit.

Recommendation: Write down 3-4 statements that focus on what consumers want and need to know about the weather right now.

Marketing: Deliver the Message

Marketing is the “communicating, delivering, and exchanging offerings (like the forecast) that have value for customers, clients, partners, and society at large.”

Broadcast meteorologists can use marketing techniques to build weather awareness and brand loyalty. Package the weather content to maximize the benefits of each broadcast, digital, and social media platform. Incorporate whole-brain weather communication. Deliberately attempt to connect with consumers on an intellectual and visceral level.

Recommendation: Focus on The Essential Message in every TV weather hit, digital webcast, and social media post.

Produce, publish, and post with a purpose

Local TV stations today are multi-media production companies. While the technology and delivering systems have changed, in many cases, the workflow hasn’t. We simply try to do more in less time, and often with fewer people.

It’s time to think differently about the content we create and convey that information to our viewers and followers. Focusing on the fundamentals can help broadcast meteorologists communicate weather information more effectively, even as new information outlets are developed in the future.

If we want to remain a part of our viewers’ lives, we don’t need to do more work. We need to do better work. We need to communicate essential weather information every day, on every platform.

Tim Heller is an AMS Certified Broadcast Meteorologist, Talent Coach, and Weather Content Consultant. He helps local TV stations and broadcast meteorologists communicate more effectively on-air, online, and on social media.