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AccuWeather Celebrates a History of Science, Innovation with Weather Enterprise at American Meteorological Society Centennial

STATE COLLEGE, Pa., Jan. 13, 2020 /PRNewswire/ -- AccuWeather Global Weather Center – Global weather and digital media leader AccuWeather demonstrates its leadership in and support for the worldwide meteorological community as a major sponsor of the 100th American Meteorological Society (AMS) Annual Meeting kicking off in historic Boston January 12-16, 2020 (AccuWeather AMS booth #501, Boston Convention and Exhibition Center).

AccuWeather, Superior Accuracy. (PRNewsFoto/AccuWeather, Inc.)

This year also marks AccuWeather's 58th year as leading provider of the world's most accurate weather forecasts and warnings, saving tens of thousands of lives and preventing tens of billions of dollars in property damage. AccuWeather Enterprise Solutions serves more than half of the Fortune 500 and thousands of other businesses and government agencies globally, and the company is a top producer of digital content, providing weather forecasts, weather news, maps and video for its free digital apps, web and mobile web as well as for its media customers, including radio, television, newspapers and digital out of home. AccuWeather's free app is among the most popular apps worldwide, and its digital properties reach more than 1.5 billion people around the globe every day.

Said AccuWeather Founder and CEO Dr. Joel N. Myers, "We are proud and thrilled to be a major sponsor again this year. The AMS is the premier scientific and professional organization promoting and disseminating information about the atmospheric, oceanic, and hydrologic sciences. For decades this gathering has represented the coming together of all segments of the weather enterprise — public, private and academic. We congratulate AMS on its Centennial and look forward to joining with our colleagues here in Boston to contribute, collaborate and capitalize on one another's strengths forever pushing the boundaries of science to improve people's lives."

Having more recognitions than any other commercial weather company, AccuWeather will provide leadership and insights throughout AMS' 2020 Annual Meeting, in keeping with its "AMS Past, Present and Future" theme.

Myers will lead a talk on "The History of Commercial Weather Sector Innovation and Challenges of the Future." Other AccuWeather meteorology experts, including Matthew Alto, Thomas Bedard, Becky DePodwin and Daniel DePodwin, will present on a range of fascinating topics from "Building Weather Awareness through Private-Public Partnerships" to "Snow Days, Severe Storms, and Soccer Games: a Coordinated Response to School Safety" to the "Evolving Role of Humans in Weather Prediction and Communication: Envisioning the Future Forecast Process."

AccuWeather Vice President of Forecast and Graphics Operations Marshall Moss will present on "Linking Ensemble Data to Users: AccuWeather's Snowfall Probability Tool Provides Unique Insight of Forecast Confidence," and Jonathan Porter, AccuWeather Vice President of Business Services and General Manager of AccuWeather Enterprise Solutions will address, "Red Skies in the Morning: How Emergency Managers Leverage Weather Data."

As a committed member of the Weather Enterprise, AccuWeather has been deeply involved with AMS over the years. Its team members have earned 13 prestigious AMS awards, far more than any other commercial weather company. Senior Vice President Steve Root was recognized with the "Henry T. Harrison Award for Outstanding Contributions by a Consulting Meteorologist" in 2019, and AccuWeather won the award for "Exceptional Specific Prediction" in 2018, the first time this honor was ever awarded to a private weather company.

Four AccuWeather meteorologists have been recognized with the AMS Award for "Outstanding Contribution to the Advancement of Applied Meteorology," including Myers, who was recognized in 2018. According to the AMS, the award "recognizes an individual for contributions to the direct application of meteorological or climatological knowledge to the fulfillment of industrial or agricultural needs or in research and development of scientific knowledge, which can meet such needs." AccuWeather has received the AMS Award for "Outstanding Services to Meteorology by a Corporation" on multiple occasions.

Recognized for their significant contributions and commitment to the meteorological community, AMS Fellows at AccuWeather include, Myers, Michael Steinberg, Dr. Joseph Sobel, Elliott Abrams, Root and Independent Board Member Conrad Lautenbacher. Michael Smith and Barry Myers, who are now retired from AccuWeather, also earned this prestigious distinction.

Several AccuWeather staff members have been appointed by their peers to chair numerous AMS committees and Boards. AccuWeather Vice President Scott Mackaro has been actively involved in the AMS since 2001 and had the significant responsibility of chairing the 2018 Annual Meeting, and AccuWeather meteorologists have been chosen to make nearly 100 scientific presentations at AMS conferences over the past three decades in addition to providing support as a key sponsor of the annual event.

AccuWeather's superiority in weather forecasting and communicating the impacts of weather to benefit the public, business and society is indisputable. The company holds more than 150 unique patents and has more than 250 pending patent applications globally. AccuWeather has made significant advancements in many scientific fields and has developed thousands of other innovations and intellectual property, many of which have received awards.   

AccuWeather pioneered most of today's standards for exceptional forecast communication for radio, television and newspaper in the 1970s and 1980S. These formats and standards were established through surveys, experimentation and development, which have evolved and been refined over many years. AccuWeather has developed comprehensive global infrastructure, data and analytics focused on maximizing accuracy, localization and value. The company's core competencies go beyond weather – and include creativity, client service, entrepreneurship, communications, business, advanced AI and analytics.

Since its inception, AccuWeather has remained a powerhouse in weather forecasting through its robust data collection from government agencies all over the world in addition to its own data sets, best-in-class modeling, its expansive use of technology, machine learning and AI as well as its resources and people. With over 500 team members employed globally and over 100 operational meteorologists on staff, AccuWeather has an international reach and unique expertise which has enabled the company to provide weather forecasts with proven Superior Accuracy everywhere in the world.

AccuWeather has also developed many scientific breakthroughs and life-saving innovations, such as its exclusive AccuWeather RealImpact™ Scale for Hurricanes, a six-point scale, including a rating of less than one, to better communicate the impacts of hurricanes and tropical storms. 

Unlike the widely used Saffir-Simpson scale, which only uses wind speed, the RealImpact Scale incorporates a variety of factors to communicate the threat of a hurricane, such as flooding rain, storm surge and total damage and economic loss in addition to wind speed. Introduced in January 2019 at the AMS Annual Meeting, AccuWeather's new scale was utilized this past hurricane season, for example, warning Bahamians that Hurricane Dorian would be a RealImpact of 5, so they would understand the imminent danger and act accordingly to remain safe and secure property. The patented AccuWeather MinuteCast® minute-by-minute hyper-local forecast is  across platforms and countries worldwide

Dr. Joel N. Myers, President Steven R. Smith, and other AccuWeather executives are available for interviews at booth #501 at the AMS Annual Meeting. For media inquiries or to schedule an interview, please contact pr@accuweather.com.

About AccuWeather, Inc. and AccuWeather.com — AccuWeather, recognized and documented as the most accurate source of weather forecasts and warnings in the world, has saved tens of thousands of lives, prevented hundreds of thousands of injuries and tens of billions of dollars in property damage. With global headquarters in State College, PA and other offices around the world, AccuWeather serves more than 1.5 billion people daily to help them plan their lives and get more out of their day through digital media properties, such as AccuWeather.com and mobile, as well as radio, television, newspapers, and the 24/7 AccuWeather Network channel. Additionally, AccuWeather produces and distributes news, weather content, and video for more than 180,000 third-party websites. Among AccuWeather's many innovative and award-winning features available free to the public are MinuteCast® Minute by Minute™ forecasts with Superior Accuracy™. Furthermore, AccuWeather serves more than half of Fortune 500 companies and thousands of businesses globally. Dr. Joel N. Myers, Founder and Chief Executive Officer, established AccuWeather in 1962 and is considered the "father of modern commercial meteorology."  Dr. Myers, a leading creative thinker and visionary, has been named "the most accurate man in weather" by The New York Times and one of the top entrepreneurs in American history by Entrepreneur's Encyclopedia of Entrepreneurs.

AccuWeather, RealFeel, WinterCast, and MinuteCast are all registered trademarks of AccuWeather, Inc. AccuWeather RealFeel Temperature, AccuWeatherIQ, AccuWeather RealImpact, AccuWeather RI, AccuWeather MinuteCast, AccuWeather Network, Minute by Minute and Superior Accuracy are all trademarks of AccuWeather, Inc. All other trademarks, product names and logos are the property of their respective owners.

The AccuWeather app for Android phone and tablet users is free at the Google Play store. The AccuWeather iOS app is free at www.AppStore.com. Visit accuweather.com for additional information.

Rhonda Seaton
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Bill Bagley
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pr@accuweather.com

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SOURCE AccuWeather