• The Associated Press, Tuesday, October 20, 2009 11:08 PM

If you ever thought "The Perfect Storm" was the perfect movie for the Weather Channel, you finally would be right. The channel will start showing movies for the first time in its 27-year history -- and the first film is The Perfect Storm."

The movie about a horrific storm off the New England coast will air on Oct. 30, the 18th anniversary of the storm. It begins a four-week period in which the network will try various Friday night movies. The idea is to tap films that are weather-themed or have plots in which weather plays a key role. Meteorologist Jennifer Carfagno will host the movie nights and offer commentary.

The risk lies in alienating regular weather-obsessed viewers. But network execs say most viewers on Friday night are only interested in the weekend forecast, and that will be updated on the screen six times an hour. Incidentally, the movie night idea predates NBC Universal's purchase of the Weather Channel and none of the first four movies are distributed by NBC Universal.

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