Are you tired of the high-tech, hyped-up weather news trends sweeping the nation like a category 5 hurricane? The Weather Channel has brought back to smooth stylings of the 90s by introducing Retro 8s live forecasting.
The Weather Channel’s Retro 8s is a live weather forecast hour with just the facts and some basic graphics accompanied by a classic jazz soundscape. An 8-bit inspired orange headline paired with a blue-to-orange gradient background hosts a familiar box containing everything you need to know about the day’s forecast.
Retro 8 Live displays the date, humidity, dew point, ceiling, visibility, pressure, and feels-like info along with cloud coverage and wind direction/speeds. The segments include moon data along with sunrise and sunset information, followed up by a brief description of the day’s forecast along with a stationary ticker at the bottom of the screen.
While not as pixelated as the original rendition of last century, Retro on the 8s still captures the feel of weather forecasting’s days of yore. Retro forecasts will cover national weather, unlike the 90s version that featured localized reports.
Meteorologist Nick Russo of NBC12 is super jazzed about the retro vibe stirring up nostalgia for long-time viewers of The Weather Channel. “When I was a kid in the 90s, I would LOVE watching The Weather Channel… These are the first weather graphics I remember seeing on TWC. Amazing memories.”
The Weather Channel will be testing Retro 8 Live for a month before deciding whether to continue broadcasting this tribute to the Weather STAR 4000 era. This time slot doesn’t bring in a large audience, so the channel is opting for automated content.
Retro 8s Live airs Tuesdays through Saturdays from 4:00 a.m. to 5:00 a.m. ET only on The Weather Channel. Don’t feel like getting up that early or subscribing to cable?