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Weathernews 2
Thu Aug 26, 2004
Listen in RealAudio 
Hi, I’m Bryan Yeaton for The Weather Notebook. Today, we continue talking with
Meredith Shindehette, marketing manager for the world’s largest publicly-traded
weather company: Weathernews. The business started out telling sea captains where
to go.
MS: We help ship captains go from point A to point B, avoiding storms, saving money
on fuel costs. We help them use the winds and the waves to kind of push their vessel
along – and get to port safely and efficiently.
BY: And how efficiently is that?
MS: The ships use a lot of fuel and on one particular voyage we helped save over
$30,000 in fuel costs alone. So, it’s a significant amount of money. On any given day
we route about – around 1,000 vessels.
BY: For years, Weathernews focused on business applications, but now, they are even
in your cell phone.
MS: We recently launched our new mobile application. Say you search for San
Francisco – you would see a picture of the Golden Gate Bridge with a city skyline
overlaid onto it – of sky conditions, so if it’s foggy out, it’ll show fog; if it’s sunny, it
shows sun. It gives you the current conditions as well as the forecast. It has a seven
day forecast, as well as radar, and any severe storm advisories, as well.
BY: And this is available now? People are using this?
MS: If you’re a business traveler, it’s really convenient. It’ll wake you up in the morning
and give you the weather forecast for the city that you’re in, as well – you can also set
the alarm to wake you up earlier if there’s inclement weather. So if it’s raining outside
and you know you’re going to need extra time to prepare, you can get on the roads
earlier and make sure you’re to your business meeting on time.
Shindehette says the service costs about three bucks a month. The Weather Notebook
is funded by Subaru and the National Science Foundation.
Today's Links
Weathernews
http://www.weathernews.com/
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