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WeatherBug® and Send Word Now® Launch Smart Notification Weather Service to Deliver Nation's First Location-Based, Two-Way Mobile Weather Alerts & Notifications Based on Live WeatherBug Network Data Unlike traditional severe weather alerts, Smart Notification Weather Service offers two-way communication with unprecedented and advanced warning, precision and relevancy
Smart Notification Weather Service is a system that generates, authorizes and delivers severe weather alerts to subscribers when severe weather, i.e. hurricanes, lightning, floods, wind gusts, tornadoes, is detected within their proximity. Powered by WeatherBug and Send Word Now, the joint service utilizes the live, streaming weather information from the WeatherBug Network of 8,000 WeatherBug Tracking Stations in the U.S, the USPLN lightning network and the National Weather Service to plot the current weather condition on a 5km (3.2 miles) grid map. Traditional alerts are primarily zip-code based, covering areas from approximately five to 30+ miles. Although they provide valuable information, they lack the precision and relevance to meet the needs of modern businesses and public safety organizations, as they typically rely upon airport data that can be up to an hour old. The Send Word Now Smart Notification Service is the first alert system capable of matching standard or customized weather alerts to each subscriber's specific location and weather profile. The Service then formats the appropriate alert for the supported devices (phone-voice, phone-SMS, email and pager) and relays the alert to each individual. This unprecedented improvement in weather granularity provides subscribers with greater accuracy and relevancy than was previously available with traditional alerting systems. Subscribers at businesses, schools, recreational sites, government agencies, retail companies, transportation firms and more can subsequently safeguard their property and lives -- in advance of a serious threat. Unlike traditional, one-way, text alerts, the Smart Notification Weather Service supports two-way messages for voice and SMS text email messages, providing the issuer a delivery status and user response. The service also can be extended to serve as a broader notification platform, enabling administrators and other officials to initiate their own alerts. "We are very pleased to have WeatherBug and Send Word Now Smart Notification Weather Service included in our arsenal of emergency management tools," said Jason Jackson, Wal-Mart's Director of Emergency Management. "We believe these tools are necessary to generate warnings to our 3,800 stores on local weather conditions. A quicker notification time allows maximum time for proper preparations, which minimizes life safety concerns and mitigates impact to our bottom line."
Smart Notification Weather Service: As severe weather is becoming more frequent across the U.S., only WeatherBug and Send Word Now can offer the data, technology and experience to deliver immediate weather advisories where people work, play and live. "Traditional weather alerts services lack the accuracy and relevancy to meet the needs of modern businesses and public safety organizations," said WeatherBug President and CEO Bob Marshall. "These traditional services deliver alerts that are often far away, too early, too generic, too frequent or irrelevant to their actual location." The Smart Notification Weather Service offers dramatic advancements in alerting by proactively monitoring and advising subscribers of storm threats, notification of potential lightning (and. actual strikes noted in traditional warnings), dangerous wind gusts, extreme heat and humidity (heat index) and heavy precipitation: "We are pleased to work with WeatherBug to offer a Smart Notification Weather Service that helps safeguard people and protect business assets by providing real-time, location-based weather notifications," said Send Word Now President and CEO Mitchell Orlowsky. "Our unique ability to proactively alert end-users plus allow them to respond instantaneously is an advancement that ensures more effective communication and coordination during times of potential weather threats."
Lightning Threat Alerts vs. Lightning Strike Warnings The American Meteorological Society (AMS) notes, "Lightning is the second greatest cause of storm-related deaths in the U.S. (after floods). Lightning kills more people per year on average than hurricanes and tornadoes combined, when corrected for underreporting. There are about 100 lightning fatalities annually in the U.S. Only about 10 percent of lightning strike victims are killed; 90 percent survive. But many of the estimated 1000 survivors suffer severe, life-long injury and disability...The National Weather Service estimates one person in 300 will either be struck by lightning or be affected by a close associate being a lightning victim during their lifetime." "Too often people wait too long before seeking safe shelter from a thunderstorm and find themselves caught outside in a very dangerous and sometimes deadly situation," said John Jensenius, a lightning safety expert with the NOAA National Weather Service. "The safety of Broward county students is our number one priority," said Jerry Graziose, Broward County School Board Safety Director. "We are proactively planning and instituting systems and processes to protect our faculty and students from severe weather threats. The state of Florida averages 10 deaths and 40 injuries due to lightning in Florida each year, and half occur during recreational activities, and that is tragic." About WeatherBug WeatherBug (weatherbug.com) ensures that individuals, schools, businesses and government agencies receive the most precise live weather information, the most relevant weather reports, and the earliest weather warnings to safeguard property, lives and to plan with confidence. With 8,000 WeatherBug Tracking Stations and over 1,000 cameras primarily based at neighborhood schools and public safety facilities across the U.S., WeatherBug maintains the largest exclusive weather network in the world. The live, local weather conditions are delivered to millions of consumers via the Internet and mobile devices, more than 100 state and local government agencies, including the National Weather Service, and to broadcast television stations, schools, and businesses. WeatherBug's data is unique as it is the only live, neighborhood weather available anywhere. WeatherBug is a brand of AWS Convergence Technologies, Inc. (www.aws.com) About Send Word Now Send Word Now is the leading provider of user friendly, secure, on-demand notification and incident management services. Fortune 1000 and government organizations depend on Send Word Now's services to coordinate resources and safeguard people during critical, time sensitive and unexpected events. The easy-to-use, web-based solution ensures smart, effective organization-wide coordination in real time, improving day-to-day business operations and ensuring continuity during crises. Anywhere, anytime, regardless of location or device connection. The company is headquartered in New York City. More information about Send Word Now can be found at http://www.sendwordnow.com
Press Contacts: WeatherBug: Debra Eisenberg Read more about weather notification from Send Word Now.
Press Contact: Laura Sankowich SWN Communications, Inc. 212-379-4928
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