Broadcasting From the Weather Room

This service was begun in Melbourne on January 20th over station GTV-9 and is proving to be an effective, method of disseminating the latest authentic weather information.

Radio stations have been quick to realise the possibilities of such a service, and the Melbourne commercial station 3AW, about a week later, installed a microphone-amplifier-speaker device in the Weather Room at the Victorian Divisional Office, connected by land line with 3AW studios, for direct weather broadcasts as part of the Macquarie Network's "Monitor" service on Saturdays.

These programmes commenced on Saturday, January 26th, and the weather session consists of a one minute talk by a meteorologist each hour from 10 a.m. to 6 p.m., at the end of a one minute news service.

The Bureau is alerted by a buzzer on the amplifier during the course of the news reading, and at about 4 minutes past each hour from 10 a.m. to 5 p.m., and 1 minute before 6 p.m., the news reader announces that "Monitor now crosses to the Melbourne Weather Bureau for the latest Weather commentary".

The first broadcast is given by the Senior Meteorologist (Analyst) and consists of a commentary on the weather situation as affecting Melbourne, plus the metropolitan and Port Phillip Bay forecasts for the remainder of Saturday. Subsequent broadcasts are given by the Duty Forecaster and give items of interest of weather over Victoria but particularly in the city, such as the latest temperature on hot days, amount of rainfall, maximum wind gusts, or the progress of an advancing cool change. Forecasts are repeated or revised at about 3 hourly intervals, and the final broadcast at 5.59 p.m., gives the forecast for Melbourne for Saturday night and the remainder of the week-end.

An instrument panel has been installed in the Weather Room so that the forecaster can see at a glance the current temperature, humidity, pressure and wind speed and. direction from his chair without having to move from the microphone A distant recording pluviograph will enable both total rain and rainfall intensity to be read directly in the Weather Room.

Bureau of Meteorology