WDT leverages partnership with the University of Oklahoma and NOAA to increase citizen reporting of all weather-types via mPING program
Norman, OK – January 24, 2017 – Weather risk and analytics leader, Weather Decision Technologies, Inc. (WDT), announces the addition of mPING reporting to RadarScope 3.2, one of several planned app updates in 2017. mPING is short for meteorological Phenomena Identification Near the Ground and RadarScope users can participate as Citizen Scientists on the platform beginning today.
Other additions in today’s release include:
- Apple Watch complication
- Option to omit default share text
- Access data from research radars in Oklahoma and Missouri (Pro Subscribers)
- Display and submit Spotter Network reports (Spotter Network Members)
About mPING Integration
“Since its launch in December 2012, mPING has received about 1.2 million reports on weather events around the world including rain, snow, ice, wind, hail, tornadoes, floods, landslides, fog and dust storms” says Keli Pirtle, NOAA spokeswoman. “These reports are used by NOAA meteorologists to improve forecasts related to road maintenance, aviation operations and public warnings.”
Weather radars do not detect what is happening at ground level, so human interaction is necessary to know if a radar is detecting the appropriate type of weather. Users of the RadarScope app can access a list of different weather types and report what is happening at their location in real-time.
“We’re excited to work with the NOAA National Severe Storms Laboratory and the University of Oklahoma to bring mPING reports to RadarScope,” says Mike Wolfinbarger, VP Mobile Development at WDT. “Our goal is to put the highest-quality radar data in the hands of our customers. The goal of mPING is to improve radar detection and identification algorithms by comparing them to real-world observations. The opportunity to enlist RadarScope customers in that effort and share the results with them was too good to pass up.”
About RadarScope
RadarScope is a specialized display app for weather enthusiasts and meteorologists that allows mobile, Mac, and tablet users to view high resolution radar data, lightning data, severe weather warnings, and now, report ground truth weather with mPING. This premium application can display the latest reflectivity, velocity, and other radar products from any radar site in the United States, Canada, Guam, Puerto Rico and South Korea. RadarScope 3.2 is available today on the App Store, Mac App Store and Google Play. Follow on social @RadarScope and online at RadarScope.io.
About Weather Decision Technologies, Inc. (WDT)
Headquartered in Norman, Oklahoma, U.S. Weather Decision Technologies, Inc. (WDT) provides organizations with weather analytics and decision support on a global scale. The company utilizes big data solutions to develop and provide weather analytics such as hazardous weather detection and prediction, high resolution forecasts, decision analytics, content for mobile apps as well as interactive mapping. WDT employs the world-renowned WeatherOps forecast team, staffed by experts who provide global asset protection and commodities trading decision support. Be it asset protection, positioning of goods and services ahead of weather or as response to weather, or simply warning the general public of impending severe weather, WDT has a product to fit any need.
