News

Kiosks can keep weather watchers on alert

August 13, 2003

MINNETONKA, Minn. -- Every day meteorologist Paul Douglas gets calls and e-mails from all over the state requesting weather reports specific to individual locations.

He decided that using the Internet would be the best way to personalize the weather, according to a report in the Finance and Commerce.

Douglas formed Digital Cyclone Inc., which licenses weather content through media Web sites. Now the company is focusing on wireless devices. For a few dollars a month, wireless subscribers can receive personalized weather content via Verizon, Sprint, AT&T and Nextel.

Meteorologist Frank Watson of WatsonWeather is also using the Internet to bring weather to people. This spring, he installed his first weather kiosk at the Chocolate Spoon Café in downtown White Bear Lake, Minn.

The kiosk is free and displays real-time weather, including radar, satellite images and current and five-day forecasts. The kiosk is connected to the Internet and automatically downloads new information.

Watson's plan is to place the kiosks in restaurants, rest stops and other public areas, at a cost of $10,000 to the business owner. He has not sold any of the kiosks yet. The one in White Bear Lake was installed at no cost as a promotion, the report said.

Watson said the kiosks are designed to appeal to travelers as well as hunters, boaters and other outdoor enthusiasts who need a detailed forecast while they are away from home.

"Weather plays a pretty big part in the decisions we make," he said in the report. "You can't carry the Weather Channel with you."