- The Weather Company
was over 3 times more likely to be the most
accurate forecaster than other weather providers
studied.1
- AI and advanced technology
combined with human expertise helps enable more
informed weather decisions.
NEW
YORK and ATLANTA,
May 15,
2023 /PRNewswire/ -- IBM (NYSE: IBM) and its
subsidiary The Weather Company, which includes The Weather Channel
digital properties, were determined to be "the overall most
accurate provider globally" by ForecastWatch, a premier
organization for evaluating the accuracy of weather forecasts. In
fact, The Weather Company has been the world's most accurate
forecaster overall every year since the study began in
2017.2
Accuracy has become increasingly paramount as people and
businesses continue to monitor weather forecasts to help them make
decisions, especially amid the growing volatility of weather and a
changing climate. In fact, a recent study validated that 91% of
respondents cited accuracy among the top five leading criteria for
why they select a weather provider.3
In its latest comprehensive report of forecast accuracy released
today,2 Global and Regional Weather Forecast
Accuracy Overview, 2017-2022, commissioned by IBM, ForecastWatch
named IBM's The Weather Company as the weather forecast provider
whose forecasts were more likely to be the most accurate across all
geographic regions studied and time periods covered. Further, the
report data showed that the accuracy gap between The Weather
Company (noted as The Weather Channel in the report) and the next
best overall provider has grown larger since the study began, from
2 times in 2017 to over 3 times more likely in 2022 to be the most
accurate forecaster, even with the addition of more weather
providers studied.1
"We're seeing more companies jump into the business of weather
forecasting as weather becomes more erratic and impactful. Despite
increased competition, this report validates our continued
innovation and leadership in weather accuracy," said Sheri Bachstein, CEO of The Weather Company, an
IBM Business. "Our unique mix of 'human and machine' – advanced AI
and technology plus human expertise – has helped us vastly outpace
the field as we help people and customers make informed decisions
based on insights from a recognized, trusted source."
About the Report
The report is a comprehensive weather
forecast accuracy study spanning six years, 2,182 global locations
across eight regions of the world, and 84 different accuracy
metrics covering precipitation, temperature, cloud cover, wind and
other forecast variables. ForecastWatch analyzed about 250 million
forecasts from 23 different weather providers. Each provider was
noted each time it finished in first place for each metric, and
according to the report, The Weather Channel recorded the most
first-place finishes globally for every year studied and all
forecast days of all the providers compared.
Major highlights and findings of the report include:
- The Weather Company is the world's most accurate weather
forecaster overall of the providers studied.2
- The Weather Company was over 3 times more likely to be the most
accurate forecaster than any other provider
studied.1
- The accuracy gap between The Weather Company and the next best
overall provider has grown larger since the study began, from 2
times more likely in 2017 to over 3 times more likely in 2022 to be
the most accurate forecaster than any other weather provider
studied.1
- The Weather Company was the most accurate forecast provider
most often in each region compared, including the U.S.,
Canada, Central America, South America, Europe, Africa, Middle
East and Asia-Pacific.4
- The report states: "The Weather Channel had more first place
finishes in the wind metric alone than any provider had globally
for all metrics combined."
Industry-Leading Accuracy Built on Science, AI, and
Tech
The report is evidence of how IBM is helping advance
the science of weather forecasting through continued innovations,
including in AI and cloud computing. Artificial intelligence is a
critical tool for meteorologists to make sense of billions of
unstructured weather data points produced by satellites, ground
sensors, radars, and more. With advanced machine learning
algorithms and computing power from IBM, meteorologists at The
Weather Company can use this data to simulate atmospheric
conditions and better forecast the weather.
Continued investment and innovation at IBM have allowed its team
of meteorologists and experts to develop technologies that have
helped keep The Weather Company ahead in overall accuracy, such
as:
- A forecasting engine that uses AI to integrate input from
nearly 100 forecast models around the world, weighing factors from
each model based on geography, time, weather type and recent
forecast accuracy, on demand.
- A significant breakthrough in global weather forecasting with
its proprietary IBM GRAF (Global High-Resolution Atmospheric
Forecasting) system, the first hourly-updating global weather model
able to predict something as small as a thunderstorm.
- A unique collaboration of human and machine – proprietary
technology called "human over the loop" forecasting that brings AI
together with an expert team of nearly 100 meteorologists. The
process helps customers get an on-demand forecast based on fresh
information and human expertise.
- Global radar leadership thanks to one of the world's largest
assimilations of weather radar data and technologies such as AI to
use that data effectively.
- On-demand assessment of both current and forecast weather
conditions from proprietary technology at The Weather Company.
Forecast Accuracy Helps Inform Businesses, People and
Marketers
The accuracy of forecasts within IBM's weather
products is critical not only for keeping consumers informed, but
also for delivering AI-based insights and decision capabilities
across industries. Leveraging weather signals and insights helps
businesses, marketers and customers prepare for and respond to
weather.
The Weather Company forecasts are distributed via the IBM Cloud
across The Weather Channel app and weather.com, Weather Underground
app and wunderground.com, as well as weather products for IBM
enterprise clients.
The Weather Company is the world's leading weather
provider5 and powers the weather forecasts on over 2
billion devices.6 The Weather Channel is the world's
most downloaded weather app7 and one of America's most
trusted brands.8
For more information about The Weather Company, an IBM Business,
visit https://newsroom.ibm.com/the-weather-company. For more on
IBM, visit IBM.com.
The Weather Company, an IBM Business
The Weather Company, an IBM Business, is the world's leading
weather provider,5 helping people and businesses make
more informed decisions and take action in the face of weather. The
powerful combination of IBM's advanced AI and cloud capabilities
with The Weather Company's high-volume weather data, insights,
advertising and media solutions across the open web help people,
businesses and brands around the world prepare for and harness the
power of weather in a scalable, privacy-forward way. The
world's most accurate forecaster globally, the
company reaches hundreds of enterprise clients and more than
400 million monthly active users via its digital
properties from The Weather Channel
(weather.com) and Weather Underground
(wunderground.com). For more, visit
newsroom.ibm.com/the-weather-company.
PRESS CONTACT:
Melissa Medori, The Weather Company,
mmedori@us.ibm.com
1 The Weather Channel global percent of top rankings
averaged over all forecast lead days (1-9) during 2022 was over 3
times higher than any other weather provider studied. Derived by
IBM using data from: ForecastWatch, Global and Regional Weather
Forecast Accuracy Overview, 2017-2022,
https://forecastwatch.com/AccuracyOverview2017-2022, commissioned
by IBM.
2 ForecastWatch, Global and Regional Weather Forecast
Accuracy Overview, 2017-2022,
https://forecastwatch.com/AccuracyOverview2017-2022, commissioned
by IBM.
3 According to a third-party global management
consulting firm study, Q1 2023, commissioned by IBM.
4 The Weather Channel had the highest percentage of
first-place finishes over the study period and averaged over all
forecast lead days (1-9) in each region studied, according to
ForecastWatch, Global and Regional Weather Forecast Accuracy
Overview, 2017-2022,
https://forecastwatch.com/AccuracyOverview2017-2022, commissioned
by IBM.
5 According to Comscore, The Weather Company was the
largest provider of weather forecasts worldwide (web and app) in
2022 based on the average of the total monthly unique visitors.
Comscore Media Metrix®, Worldwide Rollup Media Trend,
News/Information – Weather category incl. The [P] Weather Company,
The, Jan-Dec. 2022 avg.
6 Based on The Weather Company review of third-party
market analyses of worldwide consumer device data for 2022.
7 According to data.ai Intelligence, The Weather Channel
has been the world's most-downloaded weather app across Apple's
App Store and the Google Play store
beginning on July 4, 2010 and into
2023.
8 According to Morning Consult, June 2022:
https://morningconsult.com/most-trusted-brands/ The Weather
Channel brand is named #8 most trusted brand for the US. The
surveys were conducted from 3/3/2022 through
4/14/2022, among a nationally representative sample of 2,200
U.S. adults and over 4,000 brands.
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SOURCE IBM