that's the weather, for now

And now for the weather

In today's Guardian 'Comment is free' blog there's an article by Leo Hickman about weather forecasters' reluctance to discuss climate change.

The opening paragraph begins with praise of Dan, which is always pleasing;

My favourite weather forecaster on television today, by far, is the BBC's Daniel Corbett. The outlook is always much brighter when Corbett is on-screen. And I always look forward to him bidding farewell with his trademark sign-off: "That's the weather (dramatic pause) for now."

...and it ends with a link to this blog! Yay!
I'd like to think I do a bit more than simply advertise Dan's shifts, though.

He goes on to say;

Corbett puts on quite a performance - his animated hand-sweeps and over-punctuated speech can be mesmerising to watch at times - but sometimes you get so distracted by it that you don't actually take in what he is telling us about the weather over the next three days. That's precisely the reason why we don't see more of the big-persona presenters of yesteryear.

I beg to differ - but then, if Dan's on, I watch several forecasts in one evening; if it doesn't sink in the first time, it surely will after the sixth. And as for the other allegation, perhaps it's just my imagination, but it seems to me that the other BBC presenters are increasingly trying to jazz up their forecasts a bit.
And failing miserably, might I add.

Thanks for the link, Leo. In return I thought I could give you video evidence of the words 'climate change' passing through Dan's own lips but, my mistake, it's 'global warming' he says instead. Close enough, though?

A Change in the Weather

I never cease to be amazed at the things that can be found on the internet. Not sure quite how this article managed to pass me by for so long, given that it states its publication date as May 1998.

It's a real gem, not only because of the snippets of previously unknown information it contains about Our Dan, but also because of the language used to describe him.
Read it and smile.

A CHANGE IN THE WEATHER
Sunday Mirror, May 10, 1998 by TERRY O'HANLON

A HUNK nicknamed The Tornado Kid is about to put sunny Ian McCaskill, the BBC's favourite weatherman, in the shade.

Are you smiling yet?

Dashing Dan Corbett storms on to our TV screens next month in a move to create a new generation of forecasters.

Essex-born Dan, 31, who has been poached from a CBS station in Waco, Texas, takes over from cuddly Ian, who is to retire on his 60th birthday in July.

Dan was the toast of Waco when last May he predicted on TV that a terrifying twister would miss the town.

His cool and calm presentation as the 300mph tornado roared towards Waco - made famous by the 1993 Branch Davidian sect massacre - made him a local hero.

His off-beat broadcasts had already made him a celebrity who could command high fees for speaking engagements.

He first went to live in America as a schoolboy when his father was sent to run a newspaper in New York.

He studied meteorology at New York University and joined a TV station in Alabama before joining the CBS-owned channel in Waco.

"I guess my accent and laid back way of handling the weather was a bit eccentric, but they accepted me," he said. "I had to explain my English, like calling a backyard a garden."

Dan, whose good looks bring in bags of fan mail, returned to Britain last October to lead the BBC's 24-hour news channel.

To start with, the Corporation plan to bring him in one week a month to do mornings on BBC1.

Dan said: "Some of the older hands think my oddball style is a bit over the top.

"I'm inclined to say things like, 'You will need extra hairspray', if it's a windy day or to say, 'It's blowy', instead of using formal Met Office terms."

Makes interesting reading, although I wonder how much of the "quoted" text Dan actually said.

Edinburgh Evening "News"

Today was the most glorious day. A bright, cloudless sky and beautifully warm, with just a slight, refreshing breeze.
But not in Scotland, it would seem;

'Words of weatherman Dan give cold comfort', Edinburgh Evening News.
Anoraks and mufflers in May. What's with this weather? ... For an authoritative explanation I rang Daniel Corbett, my favourite forecaster at the BBC's weather centre, but no joy. "I'm flummoxed if I know," said a despairing Dan.

I can't believe this 'journalist' phoned Dan up, asked him about the weather and that was the only quote suitable for print. This is Dan, for goodness sake!

the greatest person who ever lived

The Education Guardian is not the place you'd usually expect to see Dan's name popping up, but there he is, with the accolade of 'the greatest person who ever lived'.

Corbett is the BBC weatherman whose hands perform an entrancingly eloquent ballet as he rhapsodises about cold fronts coming in from over the Pennines. There is a lot a teacher can learn from Corbett. I suggest importing his techniques at the point when you share lesson objectives with the class. Corbett has injected new verve and passion into my presentation. I'll launch into his right-hand "circle and flourish", which you might expect from the hand of a French courtier, as I present to the class those most seductive words: "Today your lesson objectives are ..."

There is only one fault with the article; the missed opportunity with that final sentence:
"That's your lesson objective, for now."

The Best Weatherman

And that's not just according to me, it's also the opinion of Jack Seale writing on the Radio Times 'The Best...' blog:

Ever since Man discovered that storms weren't actually the result of Thor riding across the sky on a chariot pulled by goats, there's been a big problem with weather: it's not very funny. But if you're on TV, your duty is to entertain.

Some weatherpeople make a token effort: talking through a doggedly maintained rictus grin, wearing deliberately hilarious clothing or, if they're on ITV in the mornings, pointing to the map with their breasts instead of their hands. Yet there's only one whose performance is worth watching even if you don't care a fig for tomorrow's climate: the cult hero that is Daniel Corbett.

How ever delighted I may be to see Dan praised to the skies, I must defend Dan's corner with regard to at least one point in the article; the writer is entirely wrong to claim that,

'details such as exactly what the weather will be like tend to get lost in Dan's flow,'

Listen carefully to his forecasts; the details are all there - and he's very accurate, too. If he says it will rain, nine times out of ten it rains.

A well written (and researched!) article with some nice Dan-isms, although I thought the tone a bit off in a couple of places; for example, I wouldn't go so far as to call Dan 'eccentric'. Enthusiastic, yes. Eccentric, no.

Radio Times

My friend Heather sent me this snippet from the letters page of the latest issue (6 August - 1 September) of Radio Times;

"Storming performance"
Why stay in and watch TV? Forget all those all-singing, all-dancing reality shows. Who needs second-rate stuff when after the BBC news (on certain nights) you can see the wonderful Daniel Corbett performing the weather forecast! Who else can make a rise in air temperature sound like Shakespeare, or a frontal system positively Brechtian? And since when was "cloud developing from the West" choreographed by Ballet Rambert?

Pat Grimes
Plymouth, Devon

Exactly!