New Digital Channel Features Up-to-the-Minute Local Weather
Information
SEATTLE--(Business Wire)--Q13 FOX (KCPQ-TV 13) and AccuWeather, Inc. have joined forces to
launch a 24-hour weather channel. The Q13 FOX FIRST FORECAST CHANNEL
Powered by AccuWeather features 24x7 local weather information,
comprehensive forecasts by Q13 FOX Meteorologists and weather coverage
from around the country. The channel became available on Q13 FOX
Digital Channel 13-2 on January 14 and could be seen on Comcast
digital channel 116 beginning this week.
The accurate and entertaining local forecasts, national weather
segments, eye-catching, local-all-the-time graphics, and
magazine-format special reports on the Q13 FOX FIRST FORECAST CHANNEL
offer digital-tier viewers in Western Washington the most
comprehensive look at weather at any time of day. Because severe
weather warnings rank number one in viewer interest, Q13 FOX and
AccuWeather are committed to making the channel the premier source for
severe weather coverage by monitoring all 112 types of official
National Weather Service watches and warnings. The channel also
features comprehensive radar displays with storm track projections,
the most precise polygon warnings, and AccuWeather's own warning
services to complement National Weather Service warnings.
Q13 FOX is the only local television station to feature local
Double Doppler Radar technology. The two Doppler radars are located on
Gold Mountain near Bremerton, WA and in Neah Bay, WA. The Neah Bay
Doppler is the only radar of its kind on the Washington coast and
allows the station's meteorologists to see 240 miles out into the
Pacific Ocean to predict weather before any other source.
Q13 FOX Chief Meteorologist Walter Kelley and Meteorologist M.J.
McDermott, along with Weekend Weather Anchor Parella Lewis, will cover
severe and inconvenient weather in Western Washington by providing
local weather updates four times an hour on the digital channel.
Kelley, the station's prime-time meteorologist, appears on Q13 FOX
News at Ten. He has been a board-certified meteorologist, with
certification from the American Meteorological Society (AMS), since
1999. The AMS has awarded Kelley a TV Seal of Approval, given only to
those with high technical competence in forecasting. He is a five-time
Emmy Award nominee.
"Our vast experience in covering Western Washington weather for
many years and the very best weather forecasting technology make a
powerful combination in getting the forecast right for viewers," said
Kelley. "The digital weather channel will allow us to give weather
watchers continuing coverage long after our news broadcasts are over
and provide them with the best continuing weather coverage in the
Seattle area 24/7."
Meteorologist M.J. McDermott is well known for her accuracy in
forecasting Seattle weather on Q13 FOX News This Morning. In 2006, she
was the first woman to win the University of Washington Department of
Atmospheric Sciences Forecasting Competition. Not only did McDermott
out-forecast her peers in predicting local weather, but she also beat
the National Weather Service computer.
"Forecasting the weather is always a humbling experience because
weather here changes in a matter of minutes," said McDermott. "Having
the ability to forecast 24 hours a day to keep our viewers safe and
comfortable is a wonderful opportunity."
Q13 FOX Weekend Weather Anchor Parella Lewis also brings
storm-tracking experience to the channel. She was the primary "storm
chaser" while on the air at the NBC affiliate in Little Rock,
Arkansas, tracking tornadoes and severe weather across the state.
"Having lived in so many places, I have forecasted and experienced
almost every type of severe weather imaginable, including tornadoes,
hurricanes, ice storms, heavy snow, severe flooding, and extreme
heat," said Lewis. "I look forward to bringing that experience to our
viewers on the Q13 FOX FIRST FORECAST CHANNEL."
AccuWeather, The World's Weather Authority(R), presents accurate,
localized, branded forecasts and severe weather bulletins to over 106
million Americans each day via the Internet, mobile devices and IPTV,
through the airwaves, and in print. The 113 meteorologists at
AccuWeather deliver a portfolio of customized products and services to
media, business, government, and institutions, and inform millions of
visitors worldwide through the free AccuWeather.com website.
Q13 FOX
Jamie McDowell, 206-674-1502
Copyright Business Wire 2008
