A CHANGE IN THE WEATHER

A HUNK nicknamed The Tornado Kid is about to put sunny Ian McCaskill, the BBC's favourite weatherman, in the shade.

Dashing Dan Corbett storms on to our TV screens next month in a move to create a new generation of forecasters.

Essex-born Dan, 31, who has been poached from a CBS station in Waco, Texas, takes over from cuddly Ian, who is to retire on his 60th birthday in July.

Dan was the toast of Waco when last May he predicted on TV that a terrifying twister would miss the town.

His cool and calm presentation as the 300mph tornado roared towards Waco - made famous by the 1993 Branch Davidian sect massacre - made him a local hero.

His off-beat broadcasts had already made him a celebrity who could command high fees for speaking engagements.

He first went to live in America as a schoolboy when his father was sent to run a newspaper in New York.

He studied meteorology at New York University and joined a TV station in Alabama before joining the CBS-owned channel in Waco.

"I guess my accent and laid back way of handling the weather was a bit eccentric, but they accepted me," he said. "I had to explain my English, like calling a backyard a garden."

"Dan, whose good looks bring in bags of fan mail, returned to Britain last October to lead the BBC's 24-hour news channel.

To start with, the Corporation plan to bring him in one week a month to do mornings on BBC1.

Dan said: "Some of the older hands think my oddball style is a bit over the top.

"I'm inclined to say things like, 'You will need extra hairspray', if it's a windy day or to say, 'It's blowy', instead of using formal Met Office terms."

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