主播大秀

Head of Weather Liz Howell explains the idea behind . 

In March this year, as part of the 主播大秀’s 2015 launch. As we said then, the goal of Weather Watchers was to create a new, crowdsourced weather club that will enable people across the UK to help tell the story of the great British weather.

As Head of Weather at the 主播大秀, I know that this is a topic the British public is passionate about. The weather shapes the decisions we make every day, from going out or deciding what to do with the kids; to what to wear or whether or not to hang the washing out to dry. 

We want to give everyone the chance to join in with the nation’s favourite conversation, as well as get creative, learn a few digital skills and maybe even have their content appear as part of the 主播大秀 ‘s weather broadcasts along the way.

Following several months of planning and development, I’m delighted that the brand new club has gone live today. You can see it unveiled on tonight’s episode of , and we have a lot of exciting activity planned over the coming days and weeks across 主播大秀 local news and radio, to help introduce 主播大秀 Weather Watchers to you, wherever you live, and invite you to join in.

主播大秀 Weather Watchers is an important part of 主播大秀 Make it Digital - the 主播大秀’s 2015 flagship initiative designed to inspire people across the UK to get creative with coding, programming and digital technology.  It’s also firmly rooted in our public purposes to promote learning and education, work with all parts of the UK, and help introduce new digital technologies to all audiences. I am excited about the role that 主播大秀 Weather Watchers will play in engaging people across the country- and in particular an older audience – around this much-loved topic, giving everyone a chance to develop and boost their digital skills.

Today, our audiences already send in their weather pictures which appear on air, on the 主播大秀’s social media channels, and populate our online gallery. 主播大秀 Weather Watchers will build on that existing activity, and we’ve designed the site to be easy and intuitive to use. Users will be able to upload weather pictures and observations irrespective of scientific knowledge, and without the need for additional equipment. Through easy steps, you’ll be able to start creating simple digital reports that show what the weather is doing where you live. And you can also share these ‘report cards’ on social media. Your 'nowcasts' will help build a map of the UK that shows local weather with images and information sent in by you. You can read more about how the site works in my colleague .

主播大秀 Weather Watchers will help become part of the 主播大秀’s overall weather storytelling and broadcast activity, via 主播大秀 local radio, TV and online. Scientific data and our weather experts will of course continue to be key to the 主播大秀’s weather reporting and forecasting, but now, it will be easier for you to tell us what’s happening where you are and become part of our weather coverage - from exactly where the first snow fell or how high a flood rose, to what the effect of a storm was on a coastal resort.  

But 主播大秀 Weather Watchers is more than a map of the UK weather: weather watchers can also learn about the science behind the weather through our partners at the Royal Meteorological Society, and get behind-the-scenes info from their favourite national and regional weather presenters.

主播大秀 Weather Watchers is open to anyone over the age of 16 with an interest in what the weather is up to. Hundreds of early birds have already signed up and taken part in workshops held by 主播大秀 Local radio stations over the last two weeks. They include gardeners, pilots, delivery drivers, photographers, keen amateurs and seasoned weather pros. I hope you’ll join us too.

Liz Howell is 主播大秀 Head of Weather

• Sign-in to the and contribute