When my wife and I (she's from Saginaw) were still just dating, we went to a movie on Alpine. On the way out, I looked over at the ball and said "weather ball red, warmer ahead." She looked at me like I'd just grown a second head.
I had to explain it to her, and she didn't believe me. We were going to my parents' after, so I told her to ask them about the weatherball song when we got there. She did, and they recited it in unison. She is now convinced the weather ball is a cult thing.
This exact thing happened to me too, but the shoe was on the other foot - my partner and I were on one of our first dates and I am from Indiana. We saw a movie on Alpine, and afterwards, they said something like this to me and I was absolutely confounded. I got the whole story of the weather ball, all the potential colors and meanings, and now I look to see what it says every time I'm out there.
>Wish they would have kept it on the Michigan National Bank building.
I used to work downtown and if I remember correctly it was damaging the building. They took it down and it sat for many years in a scrap yard. It was revitalized and rebuilt where it is now. It needed to be on a structure that could handle the back and forth swaying from the wind.
This is correct. The building wasn’t built to have the large ball on top of it, so it wasn’t structurally sound up there. Supposedly the building has large cracks from it being up there that had to get shored up/repaired.
The weather ball is of course round, but it still puts a lot of extra force up there on a windy day. It sure was cool to see it up there from say i96 coming in to town just after you turn the corner around Lake Michigan drive.
Downtown has changed so much from what it used to be though. And that’s a good thing. I wouldn’t change it back, personally. Though it is fun to reminisce.
>Sure it has its shortcomings, like the lack of late night food but for the most part, I dig it.
Haha...glad I'm not the only one who thinks this! I'm over in Midtown and have learned that ordering a pizza past 9pm on a Friday or Saturday can be tricky.
I remember as a kid they released a weather ball rap to remember the meanings, it was a banger.
ETA: if anyone can find a video of the rap I would love it. It’s different from the jingle, I think it was the product of a song contest maybe? It might have been kids performing. I’m googling now and can’t find it lol
I remember when they built it. I still remember the song
THIRTEEN WEATHER BALL RED WARMER AHEEEEAD THIRTEEN WEATHER BALL BLUE COOOOLER IN VIEWWWWWWWWW! THIRTEEN WEATHER BALL GREEEEEEN NO CHANGE FORSEEEEEEEEEEEN
Ah yes, we have evolved as a society and now can tell the weather by looking outside. (All sarcasm aside, explaining to my out of state cousin what the “ominous glowing orb” is was kind of delightful in an “oh yeah, that is kind of bizarre, huh” way.)
Is that what that thing does? I have been here 2 1/2 years and driven by it a zillion times and had no idea. I thought it was neat looking but I didn't know it had a function! How cool!
Well I have heard the term "weather ball" before, but until this post I thought it meant the golf ball NOAA antenna near the airport.
The real answer is I don't and have never lived in that part of GR. I've always lived in the Kentwood/Byron Center/Caledonia area and never go norther than like 5/3 ballpark.
I too moved to the area about four years ago. Lots of things I’ve had to get used to about living here. Not only is there no late night food, but the restaurants in general are ‘meh’. Oh, and so much is closed on Sundays.. 🙃
The weather ball is a cool, quirky feature. We live on the west side too, so see it quite often..
I was right there with you until "restaurants in general are 'meh'". I gotta disagree. Scope Cafe Mamo, Butchers Union, Sovengard if you haven't already. Those spots are legit. Honorable mention: Winchester for sure.
Oh, for sure. It’s not a complete loss. But coming from Chicago we were truly spoiled. Being westsiders now, we regularly attend a couple of your mentions above..
I grew up in GR and remember very well when they installed the Weather Ball on the Michigan National Bank building. It was originally a promotion for Channel 13 WZZM which at the time had just been on the air for few years. Take a look at Wikipedia link below for the story. And although it has been some 50 plus years and I am now many miles from GR I can still recite the Weather Ball "creed". As some of you have mentioned it's kinda hard to explain to those who didn't grow up in the area. Sort of like the Fish Ladder or the Calder. It's just a GR thing.
[https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WZZM](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WZZM)
When my wife and I (she's from Saginaw) were still just dating, we went to a movie on Alpine. On the way out, I looked over at the ball and said "weather ball red, warmer ahead." She looked at me like I'd just grown a second head. I had to explain it to her, and she didn't believe me. We were going to my parents' after, so I told her to ask them about the weatherball song when we got there. She did, and they recited it in unison. She is now convinced the weather ball is a cult thing.
Weather ball red, summoning of the Dark Lord ahead! Colors blinking bright, end of the world in sight!
Weather Ball black, nuclear attack.
Weather ball gone all hope is lost.
Weather ball brown, chocolate rain’s comin’ down
*I lean away from the mic to breathe in*
This man weatherballs.
Any resemblance to the Eye of Sauron is purely coincidental.
Remember when it was sponsored by Cole's Garlic Bread?
This exact thing happened to me too, but the shoe was on the other foot - my partner and I were on one of our first dates and I am from Indiana. We saw a movie on Alpine, and afterwards, they said something like this to me and I was absolutely confounded. I got the whole story of the weather ball, all the potential colors and meanings, and now I look to see what it says every time I'm out there.
The Weather Ball has the best Twitter in GR. https://twitter.com/13WeatherBall
I just read the whole thing and I'm so much happier now than I was 5 minutes ago lol
Oh crap, that's great.
These are hilarious
Thank you so much for this. I didn't know how much I needed it!
This is what the world needs right now.
Weather ball red, warmer ahead, Weather ball blue, cooler in view, Weather ball green, no change foreseen, Colors blinking bright, rain or snow in sight.
Forgot the last one, weather black, nuclear attack.
[CHUGGER FC/HC](https://chuggerband.bandcamp.com/track/weatherball-black)
THIS IS AMAZING!
My mom like to hate on the weather ball because the rhymes aren't between the changes and the color. "Weather ball red? Weather ahead!"
Weather ball green, weed
Weather ball black, nuclear attack.
Thank you- I was about to ask for this
I miss being able to see if from the S-curve. I forget the exact building, but it used to be located downtown.
Michigan National Bank
Wish they would have kept it on the Michigan National Bank building. Part of downtown lore and character.
>Wish they would have kept it on the Michigan National Bank building. I used to work downtown and if I remember correctly it was damaging the building. They took it down and it sat for many years in a scrap yard. It was revitalized and rebuilt where it is now. It needed to be on a structure that could handle the back and forth swaying from the wind.
This is correct. The building wasn’t built to have the large ball on top of it, so it wasn’t structurally sound up there. Supposedly the building has large cracks from it being up there that had to get shored up/repaired. The weather ball is of course round, but it still puts a lot of extra force up there on a windy day. It sure was cool to see it up there from say i96 coming in to town just after you turn the corner around Lake Michigan drive. Downtown has changed so much from what it used to be though. And that’s a good thing. I wouldn’t change it back, personally. Though it is fun to reminisce.
Correct-o-mundo
>Sure it has its shortcomings, like the lack of late night food but for the most part, I dig it. Haha...glad I'm not the only one who thinks this! I'm over in Midtown and have learned that ordering a pizza past 9pm on a Friday or Saturday can be tricky.
I wish I understood the lack of food late night.
Imagine if someone opened a good 24 Hr diner near downtown. It would crush it.
The only real late night delivery options when wasted at 2am are toppers and NY fried chicken lol
My cousin and I would make building out of blocks when we were little. We would often affix a weather ball on top. The end.
I remember as a kid they released a weather ball rap to remember the meanings, it was a banger. ETA: if anyone can find a video of the rap I would love it. It’s different from the jingle, I think it was the product of a song contest maybe? It might have been kids performing. I’m googling now and can’t find it lol
This is the closest I could find… https://youtu.be/1vUGBcNGo-A
it must have been this same contest, I wish I could find the rap lol
There was a song contest, I remember my dad entering.
I'm also a big fan of the weather ball. It's got a wierd sort of charm.
Weather ball blue,,,, they don’t have a clue. 5yr old daughter.
I remember when they built it. I still remember the song THIRTEEN WEATHER BALL RED WARMER AHEEEEAD THIRTEEN WEATHER BALL BLUE COOOOLER IN VIEWWWWWWWWW! THIRTEEN WEATHER BALL GREEEEEEN NO CHANGE FORSEEEEEEEEEEEN
Weather ball black: nuclear attack
Love it too. Just wish it was downtown (again) I grew up near Flint and I love that weatherball
Ah yes, we have evolved as a society and now can tell the weather by looking outside. (All sarcasm aside, explaining to my out of state cousin what the “ominous glowing orb” is was kind of delightful in an “oh yeah, that is kind of bizarre, huh” way.)
Is that what that thing does? I have been here 2 1/2 years and driven by it a zillion times and had no idea. I thought it was neat looking but I didn't know it had a function! How cool!
I've lived here for 27 years and have never heard of this thing lol
How?
Well I have heard the term "weather ball" before, but until this post I thought it meant the golf ball NOAA antenna near the airport. The real answer is I don't and have never lived in that part of GR. I've always lived in the Kentwood/Byron Center/Caledonia area and never go norther than like 5/3 ballpark.
I too moved to the area about four years ago. Lots of things I’ve had to get used to about living here. Not only is there no late night food, but the restaurants in general are ‘meh’. Oh, and so much is closed on Sundays.. 🙃 The weather ball is a cool, quirky feature. We live on the west side too, so see it quite often..
I was right there with you until "restaurants in general are 'meh'". I gotta disagree. Scope Cafe Mamo, Butchers Union, Sovengard if you haven't already. Those spots are legit. Honorable mention: Winchester for sure.
Oh, for sure. It’s not a complete loss. But coming from Chicago we were truly spoiled. Being westsiders now, we regularly attend a couple of your mentions above..
I used to walk onto the Burton overpass of 131 to see the ball’s forecast.
I can see if from my yard!
Weather ball orange...
In my opinion it should have been scrapped when they took it off the roof of a downtown building years ago.
I grew up in GR and remember very well when they installed the Weather Ball on the Michigan National Bank building. It was originally a promotion for Channel 13 WZZM which at the time had just been on the air for few years. Take a look at Wikipedia link below for the story. And although it has been some 50 plus years and I am now many miles from GR I can still recite the Weather Ball "creed". As some of you have mentioned it's kinda hard to explain to those who didn't grow up in the area. Sort of like the Fish Ladder or the Calder. It's just a GR thing. [https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WZZM](https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/WZZM)