Jump to content

AccuWeather

From Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia

This is an old revision of this page, as edited by Weathermatrix (talk | contribs) at 20:00, 14 May 2012 (→‎Company profile: Removed false information RE: subershead lol). The present address (URL) is a permanent link to this revision, which may differ significantly from the current revision.

AccuWeather
Company typePrivate
Founded1962
FounderJoel N. Myers
Headquarters
State College, Pennsylvania
,
USA
WebsiteAccuWeather.com

AccuWeather is an American media company that provides for-profit weather forecasting services worldwide. The name AccuWeather is a portmanteau of the words "accurate" and "weather".

AccuWeather was founded in 1962 by Joel N. Myers, then a Penn State graduate student working on degrees in meteorology. His first customer was a gas company in Pennsylvania. While running the company, Myers also became a member of Penn State's meteorology faculty. The company adopted the name "AccuWeather" in 1971.

AccuWeather is headquartered in State College, Pennsylvania, with sales offices in Rockefeller Center in New York City and Fort Washington, Pennsylvania. In 2006, AccuWeather acquired WeatherData, Inc. of Wichita, Kansas. As WeatherData Services, Inc., an AccuWeather Company, the Wichita facility now houses AccuWeather’s specialized severe weather forecasters.[1]

Company profile

AccuWeather markets weather products and services, with 175,000 clients worldwide in media, business and government.[2] It also runs the free, advertising-supported website AccuWeather.com, an online weather provider. The company claims that the AccuWeather brand and weather are presented to over 110 million people every day. AccuWeather employs 404 persons, of whom 113 are meteorologists.

AccuWeather's forecasts and services are based on weather information derived from numerous sources, including weather observations and data gathered by the National Weather Service and meteorological organizations outside the United States, and from information provided by non-meteorological organizations such as the Environmental Protection Agency and the armed forces.

AccuWeather operates a 24-hour commercially sponsored weather channel known as The Local AccuWeather Channel, which is similar to the now defunct NBC Weather Plus. The Local AccuWeather Channel launched in 2006 and is currently[when?] on the air in 56 markets including New York, Los Angeles, Chicago, Philadelphia, San Francisco and Houston.[2]

The regular weather provider for Bloomberg Television and numerous local TV stations, AccuWeather also provides guest commentary on major TV networks. AccuWeather, through the United Stations Radio Networks (previously through Westwood One until 2009), also provides weather for numerous radio stations and newspapers, including WINS (AM) in New York City, KFWB (AM) in Los Angeles and WBZ (AM) in Boston. During severe-weather episodes, AccuWeather experts have been called upon by television journalists such as Larry King,[3] Geraldo Rivera,[4] and Greta van Susteren[5] for expert commentary. Many of its broadcast meteorologists, such as Elliot Abrams, are known nationally.

AccuWeather produces local weather videos each day for use on their own web site, on the Local AccuWeather Channel, and on wired Internet and mobile web sites.[2] The company is also active in the areas of convergence[2] and digital signage.[6] They have added a user-contributed video section to their photo gallery.

Current programming

  • Heads Up! with Bernie Rayno (sometimes with Mark Mancuso). Weather to watch out for.
  • Headline Earth with Valerie Smock. Presents discussions of the science behind the global warming debate. (AccuWeather also contributes space on its website for this discussion at www. global-warming.accuweather.com.)
  • Travel Talk with Mary Yoon. Weekly reviews of travel destinations around the U.S.
  • Sports Weather with Violeta Yas. A look at the weather's impact on sports.
  • Weather & Your Wallet with Paul Pastelok and Dale Mohler. How the weather affects your finances.
  • Earth Matters with Alex Rabb. Weekly segments on how to be earth friendly around the clock.
  • Astronomy with Eric Wilhelm. Explores scientific topics related to meteor showers, eclipses, prominent constellations and reports on recent news and events in the field of astronomy.
  • Clear the Air with Evan Myers. Discussion on the impact of weather.
  • Weather 101/Weather Whys with Vanessa Bezic, Alex Rabb, and Adrienne Veilleux. Educational discussions of how the weather happens and how it impacts the world around us.
  • Weather History with Mark Mancuso. How precipitation, temperature, or wind events have influenced the course of history.
  • Point Counterpoint. Offers weather enthusiasts a fresh perspective on the current weather around the country. The Internet's only weather talk show. Now available on the AccuWeather.com Free Site.

AccuWeather in the profession of meteorology

AccuWeather created a unified value known as "The AccuWeather Exclusive RealFeel Temperature." The formula for calculating this value incorporates the effects of temperature, wind, humidity, sunshine intensity, cloudiness, precipitation and elevation on the human body. AccuWeather has been granted a United States patent on The RealFeel Temperature,[7] but the formula has not been reviewed by other meteorological authorities.[citation needed]

AccuWeather employees who have been recognized for their services to the profession of meteorology include:

  • Elliot Abrams, AccuWeather Chief Forecaster and Senior Vice President, is both a Certified Consulting Meteorologist and a Seal of Approval holder for both radio and television from the American Meteorological Society. He is a member of the AMS Board of Certified Consulting Meteorologists, a Fellow of the AMS,[8] and winner of the 1993 AMS award for Outstanding Service by a Broadcasting Meteorologist.[9] In 1996, the National Weather Association named Abrams "Broadcaster of the Year".[10] In 1994, he won the AMS Charles L. Mitchell Award for “outstanding and unique dissemination of weather forecasts to the nation’s public by radio and television.”[9] Abrams is co-inventor of the AccuWeather Exclusive RealFeel Temperature.
  • Dr. Joe Sobel, AccuWeather Senior Vice President, was recognized in 2004 by the AMS for Outstanding Service as a Broadcast Meteorologist.[9] Dr. Sobel is co-inventor of the AccuWeather Exclusive RealFeel Temperature.
  • Michael R. Smith, CEO of WeatherData Services, Inc.,[1] an AccuWeather company, is a Fellow of the AMS.[8] In 1992, he won the American Meteorological Society's Award for Outstanding Contribution to Applied Meteorology[11] and shared in WeatherData's 2000 Award for Outstanding Service to Meteorology by a Corporation.[12]

Criticisms

The National Weather Service (NWS) states as its mission the following: "The National Weather Service provides weather, hydrologic, and climate forecasts and warnings for the United States, its territories, adjacent waters and ocean areas, for the protection of life and property and the enhancement of the national economy. NWS data and products form a national information database and infrastructure which can be used by other governmental agencies, the private sector, the public, and the global community."[14]

AccuWeather and other members of the Commercial Weather Services Association have from time to time criticized the NWS for what they have claimed is a lack of focus on this mission, often exemplified by NWS activities that are claimed to compete with the private weather companies.

On April 14, 2005 U.S. Senator Rick Santorum (R-PA) introduced the "National Weather Service Duties Act of 2005" in the U.S. Senate. The legislation would have placed into federal law a definition of the duties of the NWS similar to its stated mission[15] and would have prohibited the NWS from providing products or services for free that the private sector is willing and able to provide (S. 786). The bill, which did not garner a single co-sponsor, did not come up for a vote.

AccuWeather received criticism for its support of the legislation.[16] Santorum received campaign contributions from AccuWeather's president, Joel Myers, a frequent contributor to Republican candidates.[17]

In popular culture

See also

References

  1. ^ a b "ZoomInfo Cached Page". Cache.zoominfo.com. Retrieved 2011-11-20.
  2. ^ a b c d "Firm Expands Ways to Get Weather - Technology". redOrbit. 2006-12-03. Retrieved 2011-11-20.
  3. ^ "CNN.com - Transcripts". CNN.
  4. ^ "Topics and Guests for September 24 & 25". Fox News. 2005-09-23.
  5. ^ "Covering Katrina". Fox News. 2005-08-29.
  6. ^ "CORRECTION: Content From AccuWeather to Expand to Digital Signs - Business". redOrbit. 2006-08-11. Retrieved 2011-11-20.
  7. ^ "United States Patent: 7251579". Patft.uspto.gov. Retrieved 2011-11-20.
  8. ^ a b "AMS List of Fellows". Ametsoc.org. 2011-11-15. Retrieved 2011-11-20.
  9. ^ a b c "AMS All Awards Inquiry". Ametsoc.org. Retrieved 2011-11-20.
  10. ^ a b "National Weather Association awards". Nwas.org. 2011-08-15. Retrieved 2011-11-20.
  11. ^ http://www.ametsoc.org/getpastawards/get_awardsyear.cfm [dead link]
  12. ^ http://www.ametsoc.org/awards/2000all_recipients.pdf
  13. ^ Anthony Hallett and Diane Hallet. Entrepreneur Magazine Encyclopedia of Entrepreneurs. New York: Wiley, 1997. ISBN 978-0-471-17536-0
  14. ^ NOAA - National Weather Service - Mission Statement[dead link]
  15. ^ http://thomas.loc.gov/cgi-bin/query/z?c109:S.786:
  16. ^ Weather info could go dark Template:Wayback
  17. ^ "NEWSMEAT ▷ Joel Myers's Federal Campaign Contribution Report". Newsmeat.com. Retrieved 2011-11-20.

External links

Official site

AccuWeather software

Reviews

Retrieved from "https://en.wikipedia.org/w/index.php?title=AccuWeather&oldid=492574193"