There have been plenty of norms that are phased in and out of existence. These days, smartphones can answer just about any question with a quick search engine consultation, but to this day, there exist time and weather call lines to answer those simple yet helpful queries.
Decades ago, when someone wondered what the weather was out, or if they needed to know the time, they could pick up their landline and call Time and Temp. Cities across the country had their own, most reliably ending with 1010 or 1212. What’s their fate now that smartphones, Siri, and Alexa took charge?
The time and weather lines are still around
According to NPR, not only do time and weather call lines still exist, but they still get thousands of callers each day, regardless of an estimated 309 million Americans owning a smartphone. Some loyal reminiscent callers even remember their parents or grandparents teaching them the number so they would never be left without a way to get this valuable information.
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“When I was a kid back in the ’80s, I remember my dad teaching me to call the local time and temperature line,” recalled Tana Weingartner. “Eventually, smartphones came around, and I started calling the number less and less. But I still dial it every now and then, mostly to see if it still works.” Work it does.
For example, in Cincinnati, 2,000 people called (513) 241-1010 in just one day in 2023.
Everyone continues to have use for these call lines
Sometimes, a person may be unable to get an accurate read on the weather whenever they need it, be it because they don’t get that TV station or they don’t have a smartphone. But what about time? That is handy for citizens too.
For example, in Wilmington, the National Weather Service gets calls from the Amish community, and there was one call coming from a nurse who needed to keep track of the time so she could have a snack at the appropriate hour – otherwise, no treats.
Interestingly, “A large percentage of our callers actually clicked that they were in the 30 to 35, and then the 35 to 40, and the 40 to 45 age group,” shared Lauren Bruce with ClearlyIP.
In some cases, AI-generated robot answering machines threaten to crop up, but other locations have determinedly stuck to using real people to give real weather and time reports during these phone calls.
Have you tried this line again recently?
