Yes, Virginia, way back when Loran was a thing, there were Flight Service Stations (FSS) with trained weather observers scattered throughout the U.S. When you called for a weather briefing, you actually talked to someone with forensic knowledge about the local weather. Not only could they interpret the aviation forecast products for you, they could put down the phone and walk outside, and tell you if it was raining. They had the kind of information that doesnt make it into forecasting products.
