The Weather Channel tests new "Local on the 8s" design

With the addition of The Weather Channel HD two weeks ago, the network has another change viewers will expect to see in the coming days.

If you are loyal viewer of The Weather Channel, many have seen its local forecast segments evolve over the years with the use of weather data retrieval systems (WeatherSTARs) by local cable company headends (centralized television signal processing and distribution centers that provide the cable channel transmissions to the viewer's cable boxes). This WeatherSTAR data is received, processed and used for current weather conditions and future weather forecast information to be seen by viewers six times per hour. The local forecast segments at the present day are called the Local on the 8s, considering they are shown on the 8s of every hour on The Weather Channel.

The current weather data retrieval system is known as the IntelliSTAR. It is the fifth generation of the WeatherSTAR that has been in use by local cable headends since March 2004. As The Weather Channel continues to make changes to its overall presentation of current weather and forecast information to viewers, one change that is expected to be completed by next summer is a modified visual makeover to its Local on the 8s graphics pages.

Whether or not this is what is in store for a rumored new sixth generation WeatherSTAR unit or just a temporary visual makeover prior to a complete redesign overhaul is not known. But either way, viewers are expected to see this change in the Local on the 8s graphics pages this month.

The Weather Channel ran a beta test of this new IntelliSTAR on October 9th at 3:00 AM Eastern Daylight Time for three cable headends in the United States. Viewers in South Bend, Indiana; Lincoln, Nebraska and Penn Hills, Pennsylvania (an eastern suburb of Pittsburgh) were able to see this test live. For those that missed it, Matt (tpirfan28) at TWC Classics recorded it from his location in the South Bend area and presented it to fans of The Weather Channel just hours later. Reviews have been mixed so far.

Barring some additional last-minute design modifications or a delay in implementation, The Weather Channel is expected to launch these new graphics changes to the Local on the 8s forecast segments on October 16th, as reported by Tyler Tomasino, one of the web site administrators at TWC Classics, a comprehensive fan site dedicated to The Weather Channel's classic years (1982 to 1999).