HISTORY
The Early Years
Weather Central was founded in 1974 by meteorologist Terry Kelly as a forecasting service. As a scientist at the University of Wisconsin's Space Science Center, Kelly developed new forecasting tools and graphics concepts to produce specialized, timely weather forecasting for media and industrial clients. As an on-air weather broadcaster, Kelly put into practice his passion for innovation, concluding that color, animation, real-time updates, and graphical "storytelling" would be the future of weather forecasting. In 1979, Kelly partnered with computer scientist Dr. Richard Daly and they together founded ColorGraphics Weather Systems, Inc.
From Vision to Innovation
During the first years of the partnership the team invented and brought to market LiveLine™, the first computer weather graphics system to show real-time, colorized, animated satellite imagery. The system was soon capable of displaying and animating colorized radar, real-time weather conditions, and jet stream animations. The LiveLine premiere revolutionized television weather from coast to coast. LiveLine was welcomed by hundreds of U.S. stations and by 1982 was in use at nearly 70 percent of the stations in the top 50 broadcast markets.
By 1982, ColorGraphics Systems and Weather Central were acquired by Burlington, MA based Dynatech Corporation. The acquisition introduced Weather Central to global opportunities and provided broad-based corporate resources. By the early 1990s, Dynatech's intensive focus on other markets led to a decision to sell its digital media companies. Sensing an opportunity to accelerate the company's growth, Kelly and Daly, together with other Weather Central team members, bought back the company in 1994.
Weather Central's new generation of real-time, animated 3D graphic systems on Silicon Graphics hardware, called GENESIS, debuted in 1995. Since then, the company has invented dozens of new technologies and capabilities and has gained the strongest portfolio of unique, patented intellectual property in the industry. Its portfolio now includes over 30 U.S. and international product, software, and technology patents and pending applications, along with a robust list of strategic partnerships. Weather Central's customer base includes thousands of systems at many hundreds of top broadcasters and networks worldwide.
Today and Tomorrow
Today, Weather Central solutions are unmatched in the industry. Running on leading edge, high-end HP workstations, our products have the best real-time HDTV and multi-format capabilities in the world. Weather Central HD and SD weather, severe weather, traffic, news, and sports solutions are viewed everyday on-air, online, and in print by billions of people located on every continent in the world.
Although much has changed during the 34 years since Weather Central was formed, the company's team members have never abandoned their passion for innovation, excellence, the vision for the company, and above all continued focus on the highest quality results, performance, and success for its customers. Our customers are our partners; their winning performance in their own markets is our measure of success.