Weather Unfiltered
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Weather Unfiltered, previously Weather Underground from 2015 to 2024, is an American weather news program on The Weather Channel. As of 2025, it airs from 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. Eastern Time and is currently hosted by Mike Bettes, Alex Wilson, and Dr. Rick Knabb. It is promoted as "an uncensored take on weather from an expert trio as unpredictable as nature."[1]
Format
As Weather Underground (2015-2024)
Weather Underground was created with a heavily casual but interest-driven overarching feel and format in mind. The casual feel was encapsulated in the program's original studio space, which was custom-built and decorated to mimic a bar in a basement.[2] In addition to the bar, the studio included faux brick walls, recliners, and a Twister (1996)-themed vintage Sega pinball machine.[3] The program was heavily aimed at weather enthusiasts, tapping into the Weather Underground weather service's community of personal weather station owners and other fans for current weather conditions, submission of questions to be answered on air, and other interactions with program hosts.[2][4]
As Weather Unfiltered (2024-present)
The current format of Weather Unfiltered is more in line with other live programming offerings on the network, with on-camera meteorologists (OCMs) largely presenting news items between either a somewhat typical news studio setup with desk space or an immersive mixed reality (IMR) open studio space with large, towering graphics and maps behind OCMs.
History
The concept for Weather Underground was revealed as early as May 2015, when a survey regarding the show concept was sent to select TWC viewers via their survey platform The Front Panel. Named for and branded in line with Weather Underground, the first online weather service—which at the time was owned by the same parent company as The Weather Channel—the program was slated as a much more casual offering aimed especially at weather enthusiasts. The program was a cooperative effort between The Weather Channel, which maintained editorial control over the program, and executives of Weather Underground.[3] A more public promotion began in the summer, with news articles and other announcements regarding the program being published beginning in July.[4]
Weather Underground debuted on August 24, 2015, with Mike Bettes and Sarah Dillingham as the main hosts. At the time, it aired from 6 p.m. to 8 p.m. Eastern Time.
On November 15, 2021, Weather Underground was moved to the 12 p.m. through 4 p.m. Eastern Time time slot, corresponding with a larger schedule shift that saw the replacement of Weather Center Live with Storm Center and a corresponding time slot change.
On May 13, 2024, the program rebranded as Weather Unfiltered, with a new corresponding graphics package. Later that year, on October 29, the program was moved to the 6 p.m. to 10 p.m. Eastern Time time slot, also part of another major schedule shift as a result of the discontinuation of Storm Center and its replacement by a new block of live programming named The Weather Channel LIVE.
Trivia
Weather Underground
- Weather Underground was the sole program on The Weather Channel to feature recliners for seating.
- The Twister-themed pinball machine seen in the original Weather Underground basement set was specifically requested by Mike Bettes and purchased on eBay.[3]
- Mike Bettes used a college textbook from his meteorological studies as a prop in the original basement set.[3]
References
- ↑ "Weather Unfiltered (@wxunfiltered) / X". X (formerly Twitter). May 2024. Retrieved April 16, 2024.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ 2.0 2.1 Masters, Jeff (July 22, 2015). "Weather Underground Takes Over The Weather Channel in New Weeknight Series | Category 6™". Weather Underground. Retrieved April 16, 2025.
{{cite web}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ 3.0 3.1 3.2 3.3 Ho, Rodney (August 19, 2015). "Mike Bettes hosts new 'Weather Underground' show August 24". The Atlanta Journal-Constitution. Retrieved April 16, 2025.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link) - ↑ 4.0 4.1 Battaglio, Stephen (July 8, 2015). "Weather Channel wants to attract Weather Underground fans with new show". Los Angeles Times. Retrieved April 16, 2025.
{{cite news}}: CS1 maint: url-status (link)