New Forecasts Can Predict Precipitation Start and End Times on a Minute by Minute Basis, at a Hyper-Local Level
AccuWeather Global Weather Center – November 7, 2013— AccuWeather, a leading global digital media company, today announced that it has acquired Sky Motion Research, Inc., of Montreal, Canada, an innovative developer of ultrashort- term and highly localized weather forecasts. With this acquisition, AccuWeather will now offer highly accurate, minute by minute weather predictions, including precipitation start and end times, at a hyper-local level. The new MinuteCast, Minute by Minute Forecast solution will be made available on all of AccuWeather’s mobile applications including iOS, Android, and Windows, as well as its website properties including accuweather.com and m.accuweather.com.
“MinuteCast will provide our customers with a critical and valuable decision-making tool.” said Dr. Joel N Myers, AccuWeather Founder and President.
Sky Motion pioneered the development of proprietary nowcasting technology that uses algorithms invented by Sky Motion Founder and Chief Technology Officer, André LeBlanc to track every rain cloud’s movement in real-time. The technology also tracks other weather variables such as wind and temperature and integrates ground observations to create a hyper-local forecast for approximately every half square mile, refreshing every five minutes.
The addition of MinuteCast to AccuWeather’s portfolio is part of its strategy to be the leading global digital media company that serves superior weather forecasts to more than one billion people worldwide. AccuWeather’s website properties provide users with numerous innovative weather forecasts including the 45-Day Forecast and lifestyle forecasts informing how weather affects travel, business planning, hobbies such as golfing and sailing, and conditions such as migraines and allergies. AccuWeather also offers animated and interactive weather radar and satellite maps, broadcast-quality weather videos and news stories, and up-to-date hurricane and tropical storm information in its Hurricane Center.
