A weather beacon is a beacon that indicates the local weather forecast in a code of colored or flashing lights. Often, a short poem or jingle accompanies the code to make it easier to remember.
The beacon is usually on the roof of a tall building in a central business district, but some are attached to towers. The beacons are most commonly owned by financial services companies and television stations and are part of advertising and public relations programs. They provide a very basic forecast for the general public and not as an aid to navigation.
In addition to displaying weather forecasts, some weather beacons have been used to signal victory or defeat for a professional sports home team.
The first attempt to create a weather beacon as a form of advertising was from Douglas Leigh, who, in 1941, arranged a lighting scheme for the Empire State Building to display a weather forecast code with a decoder to be packaged with Coca-Cola bottles. The plan was never implemented because of the attack on Pearl Harbor later that year. Leigh resurrected his idea in Minneapolis in October 1949 with the Northwestern National Bank Weatherball.
In Australia, the Mutual Life and Citizens insurance company installed weather beacons atop its buildings in 1957 and 1958.
Weather beacons were most popular during the 1950s and 1960s.
Coastal warning display towerTime ballParis balloonHarbinger at The Met Condos, Toronto, is a colored beacon on the roof that indicates the current wind speed.New South WalesMLC Building, North SydneyWestpac Place, SydneyQueenslandHitachi Building (MLC Building), 239 George Street, Brisbane (1976 – 6pm, 26 November 2007)Old MLC Building, 243 Edward Street, Brisbane (28 July 1958 – ????; non-functioning)South AustraliaBeacon House (MLC Building), Victoria Square, Adelaide (June 1958 – December 1979)VictoriaIOOF Building (formerly MLC), 303 Collins Street, Melbourne (1973 – ????; non-functioning)Carlton & United Brewery, AbbotsfordWestern AustraliaKingsgate Apartments (formerly MLC building) 171 St Georges Terrace, Perth (October 1957 – ????; dismantled)Wetterleuchtturm, Ringturm, ViennaWho's afraid of Red, Green and Blue: Weather Tower, Dexia Tower, Brussels (22 October 2007 – 22 December 2007)Kitchener City Hall, Kitchener, OntarioCanada Life Building, Toronto, Ontario (9 August 1951 – present)505 Boulevard René-Lévesque Ouest, Montreal, Quebec (April 1956 – January 1976)The Plains Hotel, Regina (Being redeveloped as a Hilton Hotel)Vejrpigerne (Weather Girls), Richshuset, The City Hall Square, CopenhagenTomorrow's Weather, CopenhagenFinland
Näsinneula tower, TampereDie Aachener Wettersäule, AachenTempozan Ferris Wheel, OsakaBeyazıt Tower, IstanbulLight Towers Project (Coventry Point, Mercia House, Hillman House), CoventryCastlemilk Lighting Project, GlasgowCaliforniaMattei Building (formerly Guarantee Savings), Fresno (non-functioning)KXTV Weather Tower, Sacramento (24 August 2001 – present)One Rincon Hill South Tower, San Francisco (8 December 2008 – present)FloridaAmerican Federal Savings and Loan Association weather ball, Fidelity Storage building, 53 W. Jackson St., Orlando (1963 – 1974; dismantled)First Federal Savings & Loan, Fourth Street and Central Avenue, St. Petersburg (1953 – 6 April 1970)IllinoisWeather Bell, Bell Federal Savings Building (street level), 79 West Monroe Street, ChicagoBell Federal Savings branch office, Michigan Avenue, ChicagoWLS-TV Thermometer, Marina City, Chicago (1964 – 1978; dismantled)IowaKCCI, Des Moines (1960-1973, 1988-2012)American Trust Tower, DubuqueKCAU-TV Weather Ball, Terra Centre, Sioux CityKentuckyWLWT Weather Lights, Cincinnati Radisson, CovingtonLouisianaFalstaff Brewery Weather Ball, 2601 Gravier St, New Orleans (1 August 1952 – 7 December 1978; 2008 – present)MassachusettsBerkeley Building, Boston (15 March 1950 – present)MichiganCitizens Bank (currently FirstMerit Bank) Weatherball, Flint (30 October 1956 – present)13 Weatherball, WZZM-TV, Grand Rapids (1967 – 1987 as Michigan National Bank; 2003 – present)MinnesotaWEBC Weather Beacon, DuluthNorthwestern National Bank Weatherball, Minneapolis (7 October 1949 – November 1982; dismantled)Saint Paul branch office (dismantled)Montevideo branch officeRochester branch officeMissouriKCTV Tower, Kansas City (1970s-2001)Business Men's Assurance Company (BMA) weather beacon, 215 W. Pershing Road, Kansas City (dismantled)Terra Cotta Lofts (formerly General American Life Insurance Company building), 1501 Locust Street, St. Louis (1956–1979)MontanaUS Bank Tower, Billings (dismantled)Union Bank Weather Ball, HelenaNebraskaKMTV Weather Tower, N. 72nd Street, OmahaNew YorkMutual of New York Building, W. 55th Street & Broadway, New York City (non-functioning)AXA Towers (MONY) Weatherstar, SyracuseNorth CarolinaManteo Weather Tower North DakotaProvident Beacon, BismarckOhio12 WKRC Weather Beacon, Chiquita Center, Cincinnati (1987–1990s?)OklahomaFirst Liberty Bank, Ramsey Tower/City Place, Oklahoma City (dismantled)NBT Weather Teller, 320 South Boston Building, TulsaOregonStandard Insurance Plaza, PortlandWeather Machine, Pioneer Courthouse Square, PortlandPennsylvaniaWTAE-TV Weather Watch, Carnegie Science Center, PittsburghGulf Tower, PittsburghBerks County Courthouse, 633 Court Street, Reading, PennsylvaniaSouth DakotaKELO weatherball, Sherman Hotel, Aberdeen (dismantled)First National Bank, PierreNational Bank of South Dakota (now US Bank), 141 N. Main Avenue, Sioux Falls (non-functioning)East Branch, East 10th & Omaha, Sioux Falls (dismantled)South Branch, 33rd & Minnesota, Sioux Falls (non-functioning)Sunset Branch, West 41st & Louise Avenue (dismantled)KDLO weatherball tower, 421 9th Av SE, Watertown (dismantled)TennesseeProvident Weather Beacon, Provident Life and Accident Insurance Company (now Unum), Maclellan Building, Chattanooga (12 January 1952 – ????; dismantled)Life & Casualty Tower, Nashville (nonfunctioning)TexasMercantile Weather Tower, Mercantile National Bank Building, Dallas (1958–1993; 12 February 2008 – present)100 North Stanton Street, El Paso (1955 – ????; non-functioning)Texas National Bank (later Conoco) Weather Eye, Travis Tower, Houston (17 October 1955 – 1964; dismantled)Alamo National Bank weather spire (now Drury Plaza Hotel), 105 S. St. Mary's Street, San AntonioUtahKSL-TV 5 Eyewitness Weather Tower, Trolley Square, Salt Lake CityWalker Center, 175 S. Main Street, Salt Lake City (1953 – 1982; 2008 – present)VirginiaNewmarket Shopping Center, Newport NewsWisconsinWeather Flame, Wisconsin Gas Building, Milwaukee (1956 – present)Oshkosh National Bank, 300 N. Main Street, Oshkosh (dismantled)
