Atlanta’s Weather Channel building to become hub for TV weather reports across U.S.

Allen Media, owner of the Weather Channel, has created a new hub for its 28 local TV stations nationwide, centralizing weather forecasting from its Atlanta headquarters.

Instead of having locally based meteorologists, the stations will get their weather reports from this new centralized weather hub. The move is part of an emerging trend in media of consolidating news gathering and other functions in regional offices to save money as audiences shrink.

This move will impact dozens of meteorologists in markets such as Huntsville and Montgomery, Alabama; Honolulu; Tucson, Arizona; Fort Wayne, Indiana; Lafayette, Louisiana; and Madison, Wisconsin.

In a news release, the Weather Channel touted that “the new format will dramatically improve reporting capabilities, especially in high-stakes weather situations. This initiative aims to transform the way local weather is reported — ensuring the most accurate, timely and engaging forecasts for communities across the country.”

Broadcast stations, which rely on local news to generate profits, have seen viewership fall as more people receive their weather reports via social media, though they often come from social media posts by the local meteorologists themselves.

“The economics are hard now, especially in the smaller markets,” said Ken Cook, who retired as chief meteorologist at Fox 5 (WAGA-TV) in 2014 after 35 years at the station but still occasionally posts about weather online. “This isn’t good for the viewers. Local meteorologists have so much experience forecasting in their area.”

Jeff Hill, who retired from Fox 5 last year after 26 years, said he isn’t sure how this will help Allen Media beyond saving money in the short term.

“With viewership declining like crazy, I can’t see how that brings more eyeballs to your live newscasts,” he said. “I guess it doesn’t matter as much on the digital side where most stuff is recorded anyway, but you still lose the local connection viewers have with their local presenters.”

The new Atlanta-based hub for the local Allen Media stations will be led by Carl Parker, a veteran meteorologist at the Weather Channel for nearly 26 years, and will include some meteorologists from local TV stations reassigned to Atlanta, the media group said in a statement.

On Friday, news anchor Patrece Dayton and chief meteorologist Kevin Orpur announced their departure from the station, WTHI-TV, in Terre Haute, Indiana. Their combined time on the station: 77 years.

“For those of you who don’t know, both of our positions are being eliminated here at WTHI-TV,” Dayton said. The television business in general is changing nationwide, and budget cuts are happening everywhere.”