Downtown Tulsa Building Used To Predict The Weather

Rick Wells, News On 6

TULSA, Oklahoma -- Anyone remember the Weather Teller Lights in downtown Tulsa? They were on the National Bank of Tulsa Building in the 60s and 70s.

A viewer emailed Rick Wells and asked him to find out more. Rick's search led him to a beloved Tulsa meteorologist.

I got an email from Hallie about a downtown building which used to be the national bank of Tulsa building. She says when she was a kid the top used to light up to tell the weather.

Hallie is correct, and I found the man that used to control it.

Don Woods was chief meteorologist at KTUL Channel 8 for more than 3 decades during the 50s, 60s, 70s and 80s.

"I had a keypad and there was three buttons, red green and yellow," Woods said. "I pushed the red, green and yellow button...that would flood the building with colored light."

Don says the weather teller provided a great service.

"If the building was green, fair weather; red, bad weather; yellow, changing weather," he said.

It gave folks a general idea of what was ahead. The folks at BOK tell us those lights were installed in 1967 and turned off in 1973 during the energy crisis.

On a TV memories website we found a post card and a weather club card which may pre-date that.

"Say they just got out of a movie or had been to a play and got into the car; see the building in red, bad weather coming. They'd drive home turn on the TV see what was coming," he said.

So, the weather teller's part of our downtown history, a good idea back then, might still be.

There are probably other memories and maybe pictures of the Weather Teller Lights from years ago. Rick Would love to hear from you. Just e-mail him at rick.wells@newson6.net.