And Now the Shipping Forecast

A Tide of History Around Our Shores

This affectionate look at the revered British radio broadcast surveys the history and lore of the four-times daily announcements of weather reports and forecasts for the seas around the coasts of the British Isles. Written from the perspective of an announcer who read the on-air forecast for nearly 40 years, this book begins with the genesis of the forecast itself. This narrative spans from 19th-century inventions of the Beaufort wind scale and Fitzroy's barometer and the founding of the British Meteorological Office to maritime codes, conventions, and traditions and life on the ocean wave. With a look at how technological progress has intervened in the collation, production, and transmission of the Shipping Forecast, this book shows how the broadcasts earned such a deep-rooted place in the audiences' psyche.