For decades, the Weather Ball has been an icon in Flint. It perches atop the Citizens Bank headquarters at 328 S. Saginaw Street.
FirstMerit bought the former Citizens Bank in September 2012.
Today, FirstMerit unveiled its plans to renovate the Weather Ball.
Jeremy Allen of MLive-Flint Journal covered the event:
FirstMerit representatives alluded during the Citizens Bank purchasing process that the ball would remain, but that the lettering on it would change to reflect the new owners. "We understand the age and the importance of the Weather Ball and how long it's been a part of the community," said Sandy Pierce, vice chairman of the FirstMerit Corporation, and chairman and CEO of FirstMerit Michigan.
Allen reported that the changes from "CB" to "FM" would take place sometime this summer.
The Weather Ball was first lit on August 30, 1956. It weighs 5,000 pounds and is 15 feet in diameter.
It even has its own jingle:
When the Weather Ball is red, higher temperatures ahead.
When the Weather Ball is blue, lower temperatures are due.
Yellow light in the Weather Ball means there will be no change at all.
When it blinks in agitation, means there will be precipitation.
-- Lucy Perkins, Michigan Radio Newsroom
