100 Biggest Weather Moments was a 2007 five-part miniseries on The Weather Channel, that premiered on Sunday, April 15, and aired nightly through Thursday, April 19, the biggest documentary effort in The Weather Channel's 25-year history.[1]
The series was hosted by Harry Connick, Jr. and counted down the top weather-related events (mostly from the United States) with commentary from various celebrities. The collection of weather moments was the work of more than 120 meteorologists.[2]
A second version of Top 100 Weather Moments premiered on June 14, 2020 with five episodes running through July 12, 2020.[3][4]
Episode details
| Ep. | Moment #s | Original Air Date | Ep. length |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | 100–78 | April 15, 2007 | 1 hour |
| 2 | 77–56 | April 16, 2007 | |
| 3 | 55–34 | April 17, 2007 | |
| 4 | 33–13 | April 18, 2007 | |
| 5 | 12–1 | April 19, 2007 |
Weather moments
Episode #1
- 100. The Snow Plow Game[5]
- 99. Stradivarius violins
- 98. 1993 Midwest Flooding
- 97. Blowing in the wind
- 96. Sunglasses
- 95. The hygrometer
- 94. Paris Wine Tasting
- 93. Golfball dimples
- 92. 1978 Blizzard
- 91. Singular snowflakes
- 90. Weather insurance
- 89. Punxsutawney Phil
- 88. Ice skates
- 87. The Battle of Dunkirk
- 86. Saffir–Simpson scale
- 85. Catalytic converter
- 84. Shackleton's Antarctic exploration
- 83. Macintosh / Gore-Tex
- 82. Iceberg sinks the Titanic
- 81. Desert Storm
- 80. Long Island Express
- 79. Saving Dr. Nielsen
- 78. The umbrella
Episode #2
- 77. Invention of the snowboard
- 76. Rainy spring in Ireland
- 75. Buddy Holly plane crash
- 74. The Serum Run
- 73. NYC Blackout 1977
- 72. Personal Severe Weather Notification
- 71. Joanne Simpson
- 70. Solar Power
- 69. 1979 Cotton Bowl Classic
- 68. 1883 Eruption of Krakatoa / The Scream
- 67. Weather Balloon Transforms History
- 66. Fossett's Balloon Adventure
- 65. European heat wave 2003
- 64. Operation Eagle Claw
- 63. Naming of hurricanes
- 62. Hurricane Andrew
- 61. Hollywood becomes film capitol
- 60. The Anemometer
- 59. Battle of the Bulge
- 58. Eruption of Mt.Tambora
- 57. Poor Richard's Almanack
- 56. Perfect Storm
Episode #3
- 55. Wizard of Oz tornado
- 54. First tornado forecast
- 53. Domed stadiums / AstroTurf
- 52. Silent Spring
- 51. The Ice Bowl
- 50. Sun's relationship to earth
- 49. Battle of Long Island
- 48. Labor Day Hurricane
- 47. The Fujita scale
- 46. World War II and the jet stream
- 45. Peshtigo Fire
- 44. Speed and the wind tunnel
- 43. El Niño of the century
- 42. Hitler's march on Moscow
- 41. First cloud classification
- 40. Johnstown Flood
- 39. Hurricane Mitch
- 38. Hurricane hunters
- 37. Tree rings, ice cores and fossils
- 36. Rossby waves
- 35. The ozone hole
- 34. First TV Weather
Episode #4
- 33. First Winter Olympics
- 32. Antifreeze
- 31. Storm chasers
- 30. Tri-State Tornado, 1925
- 29. Bob Beamon's Long Jump
- 28. Windshield wiper
- 27. The Challenger explosion
- 26. 1993 Superstorm
- 25. The Weather Channel
- 24. Boston Massacre
- 23. The barometer
- 22. Creation of the EPA
- 21. Allergy index
- 20. Doppler radar
- 19. Galveston Hurricane
- 18. Microbursts
- 17. Dust Bowl era
- 16. Pilgrims at Plymouth Rock
- 15. Bangladesh arises from disaster
- 14. Live Aid
- 13. The second atomic bomb
Episode #5
- 12. Franklin Flies a Kite
- 11. UV Index
- 10. 1974 Tornado Super Outbreak
- 9. Flooding of 1927
- 8. Invention of the thermometer
- 7. Supercomputers
- 6. Air conditioning
- 5. Amazing Grace
- 4. First weather satellite
- 3. The D-Day invasion
- 2. Hurricane Katrina
- 1. Global warming
Personalities include
- Harry Connick, Jr. (host)
- Garth Brooks
- Bill Cosby
- Bob Costas
- Laurie David
- Jennifer Garner
- Rudolph Giuliani
- Russel L. Honoré
- Danica Patrick
- Mo Rocca
Promotion
Previews of the miniseries were shown at a virtual "weather island" created by The Weather Channel, in the virtual world Second Life. The Weather Channel wanted to test the effectiveness of advertising in online communities. According to AP, the station looked at it as an opportunity, and hoped that by getting in early, it could become an established leader in that environment.
The Weather Channel donated $75,000 to Musicians' Village, to date the biggest home-rebuilding project in New Orleans after Hurricane Katrina. Connick and saxophonist Branford Marsalis came up with the idea for the village in 2005, in partnership with Habitat for Humanity. The Weather Channel also ran public service announcements about the Musicians' Village.
The TV Guide Channel, as part of its shows Watch This and 411, featured interviews with participants of the miniseries. The TV Guide had placements of The Weather Channel's logo, and the TV Guide website hosted 100 Biggest Weather Moments banner ads.[2]
See also
References
- ^ The Weather Channel Unveils Number One Weather Moment: Global Warming Archived 2007-09-27 at the Wayback Machine, Business Wire, April 19, 2007
- ^ a b "Big 'Moments' In Forecast". broadcastnewsroom.com. The Associated Press. April 9, 2007. Archived from the original on 2011-07-08. Retrieved April 21, 2007.
- ^ "Top 100 Weather Moments premiering Sunday".
- ^ "Episode List: Top 100 Weather Moments". TV Tango. Archived from the original on 19 September 2022.
- ^ 100 Biggest Weather Moments Archived 2007-04-20 at the Wayback Machine, The Weather Channel
External links
| Network information | |||||
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Programs (list) |
| ||||
| Weather Stars | |||||
| Related operations | |||||
| Albums | |||||
| Defunct regional versions | |||||
| Former owners | |||||
