BOSTON (WBZ NewsRadio) — The John Hancock Weather Beacon has been providing Boston residents with weather forecasts since the 1940s. First composed of neon tubing and manually operated, there have been some changes to its lighting over the years.
The signal has stood atop 200 Berkely Street for years. The beacon’s lights were first fitted with neon tubing, which would then be manually operated from switches in the building’s basement.
The lights got an upgrade when the John Hancock logo was moved from Fenway to 200 Berkely in October 2023, changing the neon tubing to LEDs. General Counsel and Head of Government Relations Tom Samoluk said it’s a welcome change to the indicator.
“It is an iconic part of Boston in the skyline, no doubt about it,” Samoluk said. “A couple of years ago, the announcement was made, [they said] ‘We’re going to upgrade this’, and sure enough we were able to do that by installing LED lights, it’s all automated.”
A two-hour forecast is provided by National Weather Service data using a Really Simple Syndication (RSS) feed, allowing for automated use of the beacon.
“This is the brains, literally, of the beacon with the RSS feed coming in,” Samoluk explained. “And in a predictive mode, telling the beacon what the weather is going to be.”
Despite the upgrades, the beacon has followed the same color-coded system since the beginning. Both red and blue are used in a steady or flashing pattern to predict future weather.
“Steady blue, clear view. Flashing blue, clouds due. Steady red, rain ahead. Flashing red, snow instead.”
WBZ NewsRadio’s James Rojas (@JamesRojasMMJ) reports.