SEATTLE -- Manners change over time. A "thank you" that perhaps was once best expressed in a card sent through the snail mail, now can be a just a few thoughtful sentences in a quick email. Dropping by unannounced on a friend or a neighbor might have been okay before cell phones-- but nowadays it will get you curious looks at the door if you don't text or call first. And now the National Weather Service be will minding their manners, so to speak, in their forecasts.
For decades now, the National Weather Service has been using all capital letters in their forecasts. The technology of a bygone era is the reason. The federal agency used to send out weather reports "by the wire" on what were called teletype machines. These machines were essentially typewriters hooked up to telephone land lines. These archaic printers only allowed the use of upper case letters. While forecasting has advanced by leaps and bounds over the decades, this holdover has been carried into our current digital age.
The Seattle Zone forecast currently. Source: NWS Seattle
New forecast software is allowing the agency to send out the forecast and alerts in the more commonly used mixed-case letters. upper and lower case. The National Weather Service has suggested making the change times since the 1990s, when use of the internet and email made teletype obsolete. But, it took a long time to phase out the use of the old equipment.
“People are accustomed to reading forecasts in upper case letters and seeing mixed-case use might seem strange at first,” said NWS meteorologist Art Thomas. “It seemed strange to me until I got used to it over the course of testing the new system, but now it seems so normal."
Three forecast products will transition to mixed-case use next month, including area forecast discussions, public information statements and regional weather summaries. Severe weather warnings will transition this summer, with other forecasts and warnings transitioning to the new system through early next year.
Upper case letters in forecasts will not become obsolete – forecasters will have the option to use all capital letters in weather warnings to emphasize threats during extremely dangerous situations. Certain forecast products with international implications, such as aviation and shipping, will continue to use upper case letters, per international agreements that standardize weather product formats across national borders.
Watch for the "quieter" forecast changes coming May 11th.