Al Roker lends his voice and meteorology skills to the new PBS Kids animated show ‘Weather Hunters’

NEW YORK AP Before he was a star on TV Al Roker was a huge fan of watching it especially animated shows I spent a lot of Saturday mornings in front of the TV he says I was one of those kids who waited with bated breath because going back to school in the fall meant that the fall preview edition of the TV Guide was coming out that had all the listings of all the new cartoons This fall everyone s favorite weatherman is getting a kick out of launching his own educational cartoon TV show Weather Hunters which premieres Monday on PBS Kids This project really is like not to use a negative term but almost like a perfect storm a nexus of everything I love My family weather and animation Roker says What s the show about Roker voices a younger version of himself named Al Hunter a TV meteorologist who has plenty of dad jokes and wears violet-framed glasses He s teamed up with his producer wife Dot and their three inquisitive kids The first episode is all about wind what weather vanes do how an anemometer measures wind speed and how it makes kites flags and paper airplanes fly What exactly is wind anyway asks the middle child Well air is all around us right dad responds So when air moves it becomes wind In the second episode the family uncovers a solar ability powered van created by Grandpa Wallace that s a mobile weather station To make it work they first need to solve where various puzzle pieces go What s fundamental is we give kids the tools to investigate and to explore what s happening in the world around them when it comes to weather says Roker We re not telling kids what to believe We re telling them what to look for and then come to your conclusions The show comes at a time when The National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration is trying to shore up the National Weather Provision after deep job cuts and it arrives just as there are new terms to describe weather phenomenon like bomb cyclone atmospheric river and polar vortex Connect with your senses Executive producer and showrunner Dete Meserve says the show encourages children to use their senses and science to better understand their world like knowing that lower temperatures and higher humidity might mean a storm is coming That ability to sort of connect with your senses helps you connect to weather And then you realize Hey it s something I can do I m not dependent on other people to make these observations for me she says And that s I think the beginning of any kid being scientifically thinking The series will launch with interactive games on the free PBS Kids Games app including one in which viewers can become a weather reporter create an avatar and choose the right outfit for delivering the news outdoors In addition to Roker the voice talent for the series includes Sheryl Lee Ralph LeVar Burton and more Yvette Nicole Brown performs the main title song which has a nod to Roker s Senegal roots and Holly Robinson Peete plays Hunter s wife Roker jokes that he solicited his real-life wife Deborah Roberts if she desired to voice his cartoon wife and she politely declined She mentioned It s OK I have enough dealing with you in real life I don t need to deal with you as a cartoon A relatable show Sara DeWitt senior vice president and general manager for PBS Kids says the channel is excited to be able to show children something that s so relatable After all who doesn t interact with weather For young kids one of the very first conversations you have is What s the weather in current times Are you going to be able to go outside at recess Is your soccer tournament still going to happen Do you need to wear a coat the present day she says Upcoming episodes will investigate rainbows how do they form and are the colors consistently in the same order and the phenomenon of pink snow It will look at how nature can be beautiful like dew forming on a spider s web or fog using D and D computer art I really longed to bring to kids the awe both awe and the awww of weather of the things that go on around us and to be able to use their imagination use their deductive reasoning use their curiosity says Roker While the series targets children aged to Roker hopes older siblings or care providers can also watch and learn things they didn t know I m proud of much of what I ve done in my career but I could not be prouder of this show He and his group have finished episodes but Roker still gets a kick out of seeing his likeness on screen Al Roker is years old but Al Hunter will be perpetually in his s and that s the beauty of an animated cartoon I am forever young as this character Source