Press Releases

Press  >  September 6, 2005 Release

WeatherBug® Expands Support of Katrina Relief Efforts, Sends Teams to the Gulf Coast for On-Site Meteorological Support and to Restore Nation’s Damaged Weather Network With NOAA

National Weather Service (NWS), Government Agencies, Consumers, Mobile Users, Businesses and Broadcasters
Rely Upon WeatherBug® Data For Live, Reliable Hurricane Katrina Reports

9.9 Million Unique Visitors Turn To WeatherBug® During Hurricane Katrina

Germantown, MD, – September 6, 2005 – For the critical days leading up to and subsequent to Katrina’s landfall in Florida and the Louisiana and Mississippi Gulf Coast, the National Weather Service (NWS), state and local government agencies, consumers, mobile users, businesses and broadcast networks relied on live weather information from WeatherBug Tracking Stations to effectively communicate live, accurate life-saving information to millions during Hurricane Katrina. WeatherBug, the leading provider of live, local weather information services, delivers live local weather information to help the government, business and consumers get the most relevant weather reports and the earliest weather warnings to safeguard property and lives.

WeatherBug owns and operates the worlds largest, exclusive weather network of 8,000 premium grade WeatherBug Tracking Stations and more than 1,000 cameras located at schools and public safety facilities across the United States. Many of the weather stations were damaged in the Gulf states by Hurricane Katrina. Restoring this data is critical during hurricane season and to support ongoing relief and recovery efforts for those who remain in the effected areas. WeatherBug is deploying a team to the Gulf area for on-site meteorological support and to repair and supplement the network of weather monitoring stations utilized by NOAA and WeatherBug.

Despite the enormous load the WeatherBug data centers experienced with its website, WeatherBug.com, consumer and business applications, WeatherBug IT officials reported 100 percent up-time. From the storm’s initial landfall in Florida though its devastation in the Gulf Coast and continued path up through the Mid-Atlantic, WeatherBug continuously received and relayed live, neighborhood-level data and severe weather alerts round-the-clock. In fact, comScore Media Metrix daily numbers report WeatherBug received the highest number of unique visitors the day Hurricane Katrina hit over all other weather sites, 9.9 million unique visitors on August 29th.

Customer and consumer reports and feedback corroborate WeatherBug’s unprecedented accuracy and reliability as a trusted source for saving lives and property. In Katrina’s aftermath, WeatherBug continues to support the public through ongoing professional support and the WeatherBug user “community”, which has responded with an outpouring of contributions and powerful and moving WeatherBug blogs, videos and photos recounting harrowing rescue and survival stories, gratitude and immense concerns.

During Hurricane Katrina:

• WeatherBug Tracking Station information continued to support the National Weather Service and the National Hurricane Center’s expanded surface observation network to improve weather forecasting.
• Numerous first responders in Florida and along the Gulf also utilized WeatherBug data to assess the impact of impending and current weather conditions. WeatherBug professional programs and data enabled emergency agencies to determine which municipalities to evacuate select approach routes for first responders and choose the type of equipment to dispatch to a disaster site.
• Safety Officer David L. Austin, of Vernon Fire Department, reported, “I’m a WeatherBug user and first responder for 100 square miles in the Florida Panhandle. With WeatherBug, I can make informed, up-to-the-minute decisions about the placement of equipment and personnel in the appropriate places. Last year, WeatherBug Mobile alerts were one of the most important information sources that I used to help keep my firefighters and the public safe.”
• Other forms of online communication were often unavailable due to power outages, and people increasingly relied upon mobile weather alerts as their sole source of weather updates and communication. WeatherBug issued over 12,000 severe weather alerts to mobile users. In addition, “Mobile Chat” via text messaging was made available enabling consumers to ask WeatherBug meteorologists questions about Hurricane Katrina.
• WeatherBug Broadcast partners accessing WeatherBug data were able to inform viewers of specific weather conditions neighborhood to neighborhood. In addition, severe weather alerts were immediately delivered to them, so that on-air personalities could inform viewers and field reporters in time to react. A few of the WeatherBug broadcast partners in Katrina’s path include: WLBT, Jackson, MS....KATC, Lafayette, LA......WLOX, Biloxi, MS....WEAR, Mobile, AL-Pensacola, FL....WWL, New Orleans, LA...WBRZ, Baton Rouge, LA.....WVTM, Birmingham, AL.....WHNT, Huntsville, AL..... WREG, Memphis, TN.....WTVC, Chattanooga, TN.
• The WeatherBug “community” of users and citizen reporters have continuously shared their Katrina experiences and concerns on WeatherBug.com. Through WeatherBug blogs, users have reached out to one another. Dramatic user photos and compelling videos illustrate the scope and breadth of devastation to life and property to thousands of individuals along Katrina’s path.

“Immediately following Katrina’s impact, we coordinated with the Red Cross and other relief organizations,” said WeatherBug CEO and president, Bob Marshall. “As the largest news and information site on the Internet, we have a powerful ability to enlist our users to donate to the relief effort. The site that we set up to direct people to the relief efforts is http://www.weatherbug.com/hurricanerelief. Our thoughts and prayers are with the victims of this horrible tragedy, and I am hopeful that our efforts will make real and lasting contributions to the relief and recovery effort.”

About WeatherBug^®

WeatherBug (www.weatherbug.com) ensures that individuals, schools, businesses and communities always get the most precise live weather conditions, the most relevant reports, and the earliest weather warnings to safeguard their property and their lives. WeatherBug owns the world's largest exclusive weather network, which has over 8,000 live WeatherBug Tracking Stations and more than 1,000 cameras that generate neighborhood level reports every second versus other weather providers whose data is up to an hour or more old. This network powers various products and services, including: WeatherBug, the number one weather Internet application, with over 60 million downloads, that streams live neighborhood conditions to its home and work users; WeatherBug Media Services, which delivers live weather information to over 80 million U.S. households through partnerships with more than 100 local television stations; WeatherBug Education, which provides engaging weather information and educational tools to schools and colleges, including an online learning program for K-12 schools called WeatherBug Achieve; and WeatherBug Professional Services, which uses the company's unique weather network and software to provide high-value solutions for vertical industries such as energy, transportation, and first response. WeatherBug is a brand of AWS Convergence Technologies, Inc. www.aws.com.

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Press Contacts:

Alyce Menton
WeatherBug
301-250-4127 - Office
301-648-5102 - Cell
amenton@weatherbug.com

Debra Eisenberg
WeatherBug
301-250-4017 - Office
301-523-9224 - Cell
Deisenberg@weatherbug.com