Cowling joined the Met Office in 1939, at the start of World War II, stationed as a meteorological assistant with No.
On 11 January 1954, at the age of 33, Cowling gave the first televised weather forecast, from the BBC's Lime Grove Studios, at 7:55 pm.
He informed the viewing public that "tomorrow would be rather windy, a good day to hang out the washing".
[1] The first ever dedicated weather presentation, featuring Cowling, was given five minutes, rather than the previous few seconds, and the bulletin was described in the Radio Times: Cowling continued to present the weather bulletins for the BBC until 1957, alongside Tom Clifton.
He operated in Singapore, Malta, Bahrain and Germany, before leaving the RAF to work as a senior instructor at the Met Office College, and then as principal forecaster at Heathrow Airport.