Several years ago News19 WLTX created a 24-hour local weather channel.  It was part of our digital channels and continues to be broadcast on channel 19-3 and Time Warner channel 812.  Noting at the time that the audience for these channels would be small we also streamed it live on our website allowing anyone in the world to view the program called Weather Now.

    Initially everything on the channel was generated locally at the television stations.  All of the graphics and content had to be generated in the weather center.  While much of this was automated it still put a strain on the day-to-day operation by tying up some of our resources.

    Weather Now underwent a change on June 2, 2009.  We have now partnered with AccuWeather to provide a more robust weather channel.  AccuWeather helps us generate much of the content on the channel such as the forecast at the bottom of the screen as well as the regional, national, and international content.  We provide the local content as it pertains to South Carolina.

    This includes the local observations for Newberry, Winnsboro, Camden, Aiken, Columbia, Orangeburg, and Sumter as well as three coastal stations (some of this information was not previously available on the older version.)  There are five-day and hourly forecasts for each of the 10 stations we follow.  These recycle through the list every 5 minutes so that you do not have to wait as long as the previous version of Weather Now.

    The partnership with AccuWeather allows us provide a broader view of the weather and how it may impact our region.  In addition, it will help provide more up-to-date information on Atlantic hurricanes.  It also allows us in the weather center to be more focused on South Carolina weather.  Some of the information we use to include in our segments such as airport delays will now be covered by the AccuWeather portion of the broadcast.

    It is a partnership that benefits both AccuWeather and WLTX.  However, it is not without flaws.  Some of you have voiced your preferences and we are working with AccuWeather to improve the service.  This partnership is in its infancy and there will be changes as it grows.  The goal is to make important weather information available to you whenever you want it.  This was the original goal of the Weather Channel, but their programming has changed over the past few years.  It has become more of the Discovery Channel for weather.  This may not be a bad move for them, but it allows us to fill the void.

    I hope you find the channel useful and welcome constructive ideas and comments.  The hope is to refine this into something better.  Enjoy!