WeatherBug Helps Atlanta-Fulton County Emergency Management Keep an Eye on Weather During NCAA Final Four

GERMANTOWN, Md. & ATLANTA--(BUSINESS WIRE)--The Atlanta-Fulton County Emergency Management Agency (AFCEMA) will be turning to the WeatherBug^® meteorology team for weather information and breaking updates during the NCAA^® Men’s Final Four^® basketball championship at the Georgia Dome, Fan Fest events at the Georgia World Congress Center and the free outdoor concerts featuring top entertainers at Centennial Olympic Park. From Tuesday April 2 to Tuesday April 9, WeatherBug will be supporting the Atlanta-Fulton County EMA in their efforts to provide emergency preparedness and response services by delivering local forecasts and a direct weather hotline to help ensure the safety of tens of thousands of fans, athletes and support staff convening on Atlanta for college basketball’s biggest celebration.

Early spring can bring severe weather to Atlanta. In 2008, an unprecedented 45 confirmed tornadoes struck during a two-day period throughout Alabama, Georgia and the Carolinas. One of these tornadoes, an EF2 with winds between 111 and 135 miles per hour, hit Atlanta during a Southeastern Conference (SEC) Men’s quarterfinal game. The twister caused widespread damage and one death, and highlighted the importance of weather monitoring and preparedness.

The Atlanta-Fulton County Emergency Management Agency is the primary Emergency Management agency for Fulton County and the City of Atlanta.

Matthew Kallmyer, Director of the Atlanta-Fulton County Emergency Management Agency, says, “Major sports events bring thousands of fans to Atlanta, and we want to ensure that everyone has a positive and enjoyable experience. We are entrusting the WeatherBug meteorology team at Earth Networks to provide highly localized real-time forecasts from their proprietary network during the Big Dance at the Georgia Dome and the related fan-based activities at the Georgia World Congress Center and Centennial Olympic Park. Weather throughout the City of Atlanta and Fulton County can change on a dime, and the WeatherBug meteorology team will let us know what to expect so that we can in turn help keep visitors safe.”

The agency will also rely on the WeatherBug Total Lightning Network for lighting detection and alerting, as well as WeatherBug’s exclusive Dangerous Thunderstorm Alerts that use advanced lightning detection technology to improve lead times by up 50%. DTAs recently provided up to 41 more minutes of lead time to golfball-sized hail throughout Georgia on March 23-24.

Earth Networks, the parent company of WeatherBug, operates over 50 automated weather stations throughout the Atlanta area. Unlike sensors at distant airports and other facilities that only update weather conditions every hour, WeatherBug sensors report vital neighborhood-level weather in real-time for factors including temperature, wind speed and direction, barometric pressure, and both in-cloud and cloud-to-ground lightning strike data on a minute-by-minute and mile-by-mile basis – which are critical when assessing changing and potentially dangerous conditions.

WeatherBug’s weather station located onsite at the Georgia World Congress Center will be used by both the Atlanta-Fulton County Emergency Management Agency and the WeatherBug meteorological team to help keep track of current and changing conditions before, during, and after the tournament and related events.

Earth Networks - WeatherBug supports hundreds of counties across the U.S. by providing weather and lightning data, meteorological services, and enterprise weather visualization tools. Emergency managers can visit http://earthnetworks.com/IndustrySolutions/EmergencyManagement to learn more. Smartphone users can download WeatherBug for Android on Google Play and WeatherBug for iPhone on iTunes to access the world’s largest weather and lightning network, real-time forecasts and the fastest alerts.

About Earth Networks - WeatherBug

For 20 years, we have been Taking the Pulse of the Planet™ by gathering and analyzing atmospheric observations using the world’s largest weather observation and lightning detection networks so our customers can Know Before™. Real-time weather and lightning data – gathered every few seconds from thousands of sensors across the planet – keep consumers, businesses, and governments around the globe informed with neighborhood-level weather intelligence, updated with the most current forecasts, and alerted to approaching severe weather with the fastest alerts. The company’s popular WeatherBug^® mobile, desktop and online apps, and website provide local weather, superior forecasts and advanced severe weather alerts to millions of consumers. Earth Networks’ enterprise solutions support utilities, schools, professional sports teams, emergency response crews, government entities and others in safeguarding lives, preparing for weather events, and optimizing business operations. Learn more at www.earthnetworks.com. Get your weather at www.weatherbug.com. Follow Us on Twitter @WeatherBug and Like Us at www.facebook.com/WeatherBug.