WALKER, Mich. — As many know, 13 On Your Side is located in the beautiful city of Walker, along with a well known West Michigan icon. The 13 Weather Ball.
But are you familiar with how the Weather Ball came to be?
From 1967 and 1987, the Weather Ball was perched on top of the Michigan National Bank building in downtown Grand Rapids.
Over time, the bank's huge tower and the letters MN under the Weather Ball, acted like a large sail creating stress on the tower and damaging the building supporting it. So, the historic Weather Ball was dismantled in 1987.
Its colorful neon tubes were preserved and sold to West Michigan residents.
In 1999, WZZM 13 purchased the original Weather Ball after finding it in a scrap yard in Kalamazoo. The station broke ground on the project on November 13, 2002, as we celebrated our 40th anniversary.
"When I was a kid, I remember making trips into Grand Rapids and how excited I'd be to see the Weather Ball," Chief Meteorologist George Lessens said. "We'd all take guesses as to what color it would be."
Six months after the project began, on May 7, 2003 we unveiled the “13 Weather Ball” to the community at a public lighting ceremony.
The many phases of the 13 Weather Ball
Weather Ball fast facts:
the 16-foot diameter stainless steel ball was refit with 288 neon lights, perched on top of a 100-foot pole near I-96 and US-131 in the city of Walker.
From this vantage point, the 13 Weatherball is visible from miles away, including from downtown Grand Rapids.
The color of the 13 Weather Ball is determined by the 13 On Your Side meteorologists based on their forecast for the day.
- 13 Weather Ball red, warmer ahead.
- 13 Weather Ball blue, cooler in view.
- 13 Weather Ball green, no change foreseen.
- Colors blinking bright, rain or snow in sight.
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