New PinPoint Lightning App Promotes Outdoor Safety with First Geo-Located Lightning Alerts for iPhone

MADISON, Wis., June 21 /PRNewswire/ -- Coinciding with this year's Lightning Safety week, June 21-June 27, Weather Central's MyWeather.com division launches 2010 PinPoint Lightning™, the only iPhone application with live lightning strike data and alert notifications.  2010 PinPoint Lightning™ is the first app to register cloud-to-ground lightning strikes within 30 miles of a user's geo-located position and deliver rapid alerts enabling people to take immediate action to ensure their safety.

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From June 21-July 5, 2010; MyWeather.com is donating 10% of PinPoint Lightning's net sales to the Lightning Protection Institute, a non-profit lightning safety organization.  The app is available via the iTunes store: http://itunes.apple.com/us/app/2010-pinpoint-lightning/id375144229?mt=8#.

Pinpoint Lightning uses patent-pending technology to identify a lightning strike's location by latitude and longitude, and then determine the nearest street intersection.  The app sends alerts -- displaying the time of lightning strikes and their distance from the user's current location.  Immediately following these alerts the user sees a street level view of the most recent strike and a display with specific information; for example, "Lightning Strike, 1200 Main Street, 2 miles NW from Your Location at 2:06 PM."

In addition to geo-located notifications, the app is equipped with animated local and national radar displays as well as various terrain options.  With the ability to save up to 10 locations, this application helps individuals make informed decisions about lightning dangers not only for themselves, but for loved ones as well. (Note: The App is operational in the Continental U.S. and Canada only and where a data connection is available.)

"Nearly 25 million cloud-to-ground lightning strikes occur each year and it takes just one to change someone's life in an instant," stated Terry Kelly, Weather Central Chairman and CEO.  "Weather Central is proud to be on the cutting edge of safety with the very first geo-located lightning application.  Whether you're a parent, teacher, construction worker, coach, manager, pilot, golfer or grandparent, PinPoint Lightning will help you to make informed decisions during dangerous weather situations."

Lightning is the most deadly weather event on the planet, surpassing both tornadoes and hurricanes in yearly death toll averages for the past 30 years.*  During the first half of 2010, lightning has killed seven individuals and injured 69 others.**  With severe weather season underway, it's more important than ever to protect yourself and your loved ones from the dangers of lightning.  

For additional information visit www.PinPointLightning.com.

About Weather Central, LLC

Weather Central, LLC, founded in 1974 by broadcasters and meteorologists based in Madison, Wisconsin, is the leader in providing professional on-air, online, print, mobile and enterprise weather solutions and forecasting utilizing dynamic weather graphics, precise forecast models and data and patented technology. More than 500 clients and hundreds of millions of consumers worldwide enjoy the benefits of Weather Central solution's attention to detail and insight. Products and services available from Weather Central are: 3D:LIVE™, :LIVE™, Live Online™; ESP:LIVE™, ESP:Online™ and Live Interactive Radar™ storm tracking systems; A.D.O.N.I.S. FutureCast® , MicroCast®, and Personal MicroCast®, proprietary forecast models; MetroVision™, forecast visualization tool; WxWarn2™, severe weather crawl system; LIVE:Wire™,and LIVE:Wire Mobile Alert™ automated severe weather information alert systems; ScreenWRITER® and SportsWRITER®, interactive news and sports presentation systems; and WxPoint™, automated localized weather display system. Weather Central's patented online technologies provide users with hyper-local weather alerts and forecasts, and personalized weather and traffic information.

*http://www.nssl.noaa.gov/faq/faq_ltg.php  

*http://transcripts.usatoday.com/Chats/transcript.aspx?c=154

**Statistics adapted from struckbylightning.org

SOURCE Weather Central, LLC