With all the options currently available for people to check the time and weather, there is one residents may not be aware of — calling Owensboro Weather Now at 270-685-6111.
Before cell phones, calling the local time and temperature number was the only way for many to find out current weather conditions or verify the time. Once considered obsolete, time and temperature phone services have had a resurgence in the past few years.
The Owensboro line, which began in the late 1970s, was brought back into service in 2009 and after going dark for a year in 2008. The number is owned and operated by the Executive Taxi Service. The current ads are all for the company, but Billy Pogue, a representative for Owensboro Weather Now said eventually other small businesses will be able to buy their own advertising space.
“The previous holder of the number allowed the previous service to go offline for a year, and we were able to secure the line and connect to a modern, real-time, server that we operate now,” Pogue said. “The time and temp came back as a marketing tool, but just as much so, to give the people of Owensboro-Daviess County a better version of the service they had come to enjoy.”
Bruce Robertson, owner and developer of RTI Media Inc., is the voice on the other end of the phone. RTI Media is a telephony audio company that provides on-hold messaging and voicemail recordings.
The weather information, which includes the humidity and wind speed and direction, is provided via the National Weather at the Owensboro-Daviess County Regional Airport. The service also includes a forecast for the next day.
One reason the service remains popular is that the information provided may be more accurate due to its local source.
“We have an influx of calls being made from mobile devices due to the real-time, up-to-date weather information,” Robertson said.
Owners also say the phone number’s popularity is seen during daylight savings or after power outages when callers use the service to reset their clocks.
The Owensboro Weather Now service can be reached by calling 270-685-6111 and is provided free to the community.
