The Weather Star XL (also WeatherSTAR XL or simply "XL") is the fourth system designed for The Weather Channel's local forecast. It has more advanced graphics than previous WeatherSTARs, including moving icons and transitions in between each frame. It is also the first WeatherStar to feature a cloud wallpaper background (previous systems used a computer drawn background). The WeatherStar XL first appeared on select cable systems in the fall of 1998.

Features

The Weather Star XL is a modified rack-mount SGI Multimedia Server, containing the infamous O2 computer inside the whopping 7 rack unit cabinet. The Weather Star XL utilizes the SGI IRIX Operating System with custom written software for TWC. Because of the proprietary SGI hardware and software, the Weather Star XL remains the most expensive STAR system, having a retail cost of $6,500 US. The Weather Star XL is still in use today, however very few remain as many cable companies have replaced it with the newer, cheaper, and more superior IntelliStar.

Products

Current Conditions - shown on all flavors

Latest Observations - shown on all flavors except 1-minute flavors (DE) during special programming

Doppler Radar - shown on all flavors

Almanac - shown only on :38 and :58 (M) flavors

Tides - coastal areas only, replaces Almanac

Marine Forecast - select coastal areas only, shown between Tides and Daypart Forecast

Daypart Forecast - shown on :08, :28, :38, and :58 (L and M) flavors

Regional Forecast - shown on all flavors except 1-minute (DE) flavors

Metro Forecast - replaces Regional Forecast in the top 50 markets

24-Hour Local Forecast - shown only on 1-minute (DE) flavors

36-Hour Local Forecast - shown on all flavors except 1-minute (DE) flavors

Week Ahead (7-Day Extended Forecast) - shown on all flavors except on :18 and :48 (K) flavors

3-Day Extended Forecast - shown only on :18 and :48 (K) flavors

Discontinued:

Regional Conditions

Timeline

Late 1998-Early 1999

The Weather Star XL first appears on select cable company headends.

March 2000

Allen Jackson is heard on the XL. Current conditions and extended forecast information is read to the viewer for the first time. Not all XL systems have had this feature.

May 2000

The shadow effect is added to the precipitation on the Radar segments.

July 2001

The radar is updated to show more frames. It now shows approximately 30 frames instead of the previous 8-10 frames it used to show.

September 2001

The Weather Star XL gets new graphics, including new title bars repositioning the date and time, and a new cloud wallpaper. weather.com is added underneath The Weather Channel's logo. Some headends, however, did not receive this upgrade until as late as March 2002.

March 2002

An hour-by-hour forecast and 7 day extended forecast is introduced. The 3-day extended forecast still displays during the 90 second forecast segment.

On the 1 minute flavor, the regional conditions map is replaced by the hour-by-hour forecast.

The radar has been repositioned from the end of the forecast to the middle right after the current conditions. This applys to all "flavors" except the 60 second forecast segment.

The margins on the 3-day extended forecast page are widened slightly. As a result, phrases such as "Partly Cloudy" and "Mostly Cloudy" are now fit into one line as opposed to two like it was before this update.

If no gusts are reported, "none" would display for gusts on the lower display line during local forecasts and national broadcasts. This no longer happens. Instead, the gusts are not shown on the LDL if no gusts are reported.

The watch expiration phrase for severe weather watches has been changed. For example: "SAT 0900 PM EDT" becomes "9:00 PM EDT Saturday."

April 2002

The forecasts on the system now come directly from The Weather Channel, instead of the National Weather Service.

Some icons, such as "variably cloudy" and "PM clouds" are discontinued.

A "weather bulletins" page is created that shows weather watches, statements, and warnings for the area. Before this was introduced, the weather watches and statements were displayed on the detailed forecast screen.

July 2002

The regional conditions map, that shows the current weather conditions for the surrounding region, is discontinued.

In the top 30 DMA's, the regional forecast map, which shows the forecast for select cities throughout a region, is discontinued and is replaced by a metro forecast map. This shows forecast for select cities in a city's metropolitan area within a 75-100 mile radius.

Early 2003

The text that is used on the Station ID becomes bolder and slightly larger. Some of the old 1999 text is still in use on the station ID until later on in the year.

April 2003

The "AM," "PM," and "FEW" variations to the weather icons are introduced to the forecast maps. Live national broadcasts also received this upgrade.

The "AM" and "PM" variations to the weather icons on the lower display line have been modified. They are now in lower-case white text. Previously, they were in uppercase in a white-to-light blue gradient. The national broadcasts, as well as weather.com, however, received this upgrade a month or two earlier.

The 36 hour forecast segment has been modified so it is easier to understand. Previously, if the forecast for a time period were to split into two pages (due to its length) it would split in a middle of a sentence. Now, whenever possible, it would split to two pages in between each sentence.

June 2003

On the 1 minute forecast segment, the daypart forecast and regional/metro forecast screens are replaced by a two page text-based forecast.

September 27, 2003

The lower display line (LDL) graphic that is shown on live national forecasts is redesigned. It is now black and opaque (previously translucent) and the logo appears on the graphic for the first time in WeatherSTAR history.

September 29, 2003

The lower display line is now shown for all national segments (except if there is a weather watch, warning, or statement in effect). Previously the LDL was only shown if there was no information on the bottom of the forecast maps that the LDL may block (with either red or orange).

September 2004

The 3-day "extended forecast" segment is discontinued.

August 15, 2005

The XL gets new graphics once again, now featuring a modernized TWC logo, a sunny background, and new title bars. "weather.com" is moved from underneath the TWC logo to a new position underneath the title bar of each screen's segment.

During the Severe Weather Alerts in the "Weather Bulletin" page, the NOAA logo is removed leaving only the National Weather Service.

In certain areas, the narration is a second ahead,thereforeleaving a one-second gap after each narration.

Late August-Early September 2005

On the regional and metro forecast maps, many cities are added and removed as well as the Intellistar.

February 21, 2006

Since the 90 second forecast is brought back, the 3-day extended forecast returns to the XL at :18 and :48 after the hour.

June 26, 2006

The 3-day extended forecast is once again discontinued due to the discontinuation of 90 second forecast.

January 23, 2007

As with the IntelliStar, the XL begins showing wintry precipitation on the radar. However, the precipitation key on the title bar heading is not updated.

April 23, 2007

The 3-day extended forecast returns to the XL for the third time.

Cable Headends with the XL

This list is incomplete; you can help by expanding it.

The following is a list of cable headends that are known to still carry the Weather Star XL.Source: TWC Classics message board topic

Waterbury, Vermont (Comcast)

Punxsutawney, Pennsylvania (Comcast) (non-narrating unit)

Georgetown, Kentucky (Time Warner Cable) (non-narrating unit)

Sharon, Pennsylvania/Hermitage, Pennsylvania/Mercer County, Pennsylvania (Time Warner Cable)

Hannibal, Missouri (US Cable)

Princeton, West Virginia (Suddenlink)

Siloam Springs, Arkansas (Cox Communications)

Piketon, Ohio (Time Warner Cable)

Fort Myers, Florida (Comcast)

Sevierville, Tennessee (Comcast)

Blair, Nebraska (Cablevision)

Zanesville, Ohio (Time Warner Cable)

Lee, Massachusetts (Comcast)

Decatur, Texas (Communicomm)

Orange, Massachusetts (Time Warner Cable)

Geneseo, Illinois (Mediacom)

Andrews, Texas (SuddenLink)

Provo, Utah(Comcast)

The Dalles, Oregon