The Weather Channel just announced that the network will debut a new weather-themed talk show this weekend called WXGeeks, pronounced "weather geeks." The program is an effort to call back to the channel's legacy, with executives billing the show as aimed at weather enthusiasts.

WXGeeks will rely on a guest-driven talk show format that discusses one topic relevant to the weather that week. The first episode, airing this Sunday at 12PM Eastern, will feature American Meteorological Society president Dr. Marshall Shepherd and famed severe weather researcher Dr. Chuck Doswell debating the merits of storm chasing. The issue of storm chasing came to a head last month when a storm chaser's photo of a dying young girl sparked a heated debate on the ethics of chasing tornadoes.

The Atlanta-based weather behemoth expects that a new prerecorded show will air each Sunday at 12PM Eastern.

During a conference call earlier this afternoon, executives said that the show is aimed at bringing The Weather Channel a step closer to actually focusing on the weather. The channel's higher-ups don't expect the show to bring in much in the way of ratings; it will be a "labor of love" that is aimed at viewers like "graduate meteorology students" and "policymakers" rather than appealing to the lowest common denominator like much of their programming of late.

The network will issue a press release tomorrow afternoon with more details as well as some promotional graphics for the program. In the meantime, the network launched a Twitter account for the show, @WXGeeksTWC.