No More Weather Line

The Times reported why (212) 976-1616, aka the phone number New Yorkers would call for the weather report, has not been working: The 976 exchange (the first three non-area-code numbers) has been frozen, because 976 has long been associated with services that charge for phone calls. RCN is in negotiations with the company that provided the service, but writer Seth Kugel makes a good point:

If indeed the weather guy never returns, it is unclear how much he will be missed. These days, people can turn to the radio, local TV news, the Weather Channel, the newspaper, cellphone alerts and Internet programs like WeatherBug. And there's always the old-fashioned stick-your-head-out-the-window method.

The Weather Line does seem an artifact of the era of rotary phones and the like. Gothamist never called the number, because we listen to 1010 WINS religiously and even that doesn't help us figure out what to wear in the morning.