AccuWeather Acquires Sky Motion, Will Launch MinuteCast™ Minute by Minute Forecast™ Solution

STATE COLLEGE, Pa., Nov. 7, 2013 /PRNewswire/ -- AccuWeather Global Weather Center-- AccuWeather, a leading global digital media company, today announced that it has acquired Sky Motion Research, Inc., of Montreal, Canada, an innovative developer of ultra-short-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.

"With AccuWeather's introduction of the new MinuteCast, we will now offer the most accurate minute by minute forecast available in the market," said Dr. Joel N Myers, AccuWeather Founder and President. "MinuteCast will provide our customers with a critical and valuable decision-making tool."

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 acquisition of Sky Motion Research is another step in AccuWeather's ongoing dedication to offering cutting-edge weather technology to meet the needs of our global audience and our global partners," said Barry Lee Myers, AccuWeather Chief Executive Officer. "Sky Motion's innovative technologies make them the perfect addition to the AccuWeather family." He added, "This new addition also builds on technology related to location based weather products patented by AccuWeather's affiliated partner LocatorCentric. Because this technology is legally protected world-wide, no one else can do what we do."

As part of the acquisition, Sky Motion's facilities in Canada will be added to AccuWeather's suite of offices, continuing its international expansion and becoming a key innovation and development center for the company. In addition, André LeBlanc will continue as an AccuWeather executive along with his software engineering resources.

"We are proud to be joining the AccuWeather family," said LeBlanc. "The proprietary technology behind MinuteCast, combined with AccuWeather's superior accuracy and decades of experience, means that AccuWeather will continue to provide state-of-the-art weather information that customers need to know, when they need to know it."

"We're excited to be joining forces with AccuWeather. Their strong brand recognition will accelerate the discovery and adoption of MinuteCast beyond our wildest dreams," said Maxime Julien, former SkyMotion Research Chief Executive Officer. 

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.

About AccuWeather, Inc. and AccuWeather.com

Every day one billion people worldwide rely on AccuWeather to help them plan their lives, protect their businesses, and get more from their day. AccuWeather provides hourly forecasts with Superior Accuracy™ for nearly 3 million locations worldwide, with customized content and engaging video presentations available on smart phones, tablets, wired and mobile internet sites, connected TVs and Internet appliances, as well as via radio, television, and newspapers. Founded in 1962 by Dr. Joel N. Myers - a Fellow of the American Meteorological Society who was recognized as one of the top entrepreneurs in American history by Entrepreneur Magazine's Encyclopedia of Entrepreneurs - AccuWeather also delivers a wide range of highly-customized enterprise solutions to media, business, government, and institutions, as well as news and weather content and video for more than 72,000 third-party websites.  AccuWeather's CEO, Barry Lee Myers is recognized throughout the world as an expert on weather information and the relationships between governments and the weather industry and fulfilling the public's weather needs.

Visit accuweather.com for additional information.

For more information contact:
Justin Roberti / 814.235.8756 / [email protected]
AccuWeather, Inc. / 385 Science Park Road / State College, PA 16803

Alan Danzis  / 212.373.6022 / [email protected]
Golin Harris / 909 Third Avenue, 9^th Floor / New York, NY 10022

SOURCE AccuWeather