In 2022, the U.S. faced 18-billion-dollar weather or climate disasters, totaling $165 billion in damages and resulting in at least 474 fatalities, according to the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA).
NOAA is responsible for tracking weather and issuing forecasts, a task that involves processing billions of observations daily on various factors like temperature, wind speed, and moisture.
This data is then used by supercomputers to create weather models for meteorologists. However, these models have limitations.
Emerging tech companies like Tomorrow.io and Saildrone are revolutionizing weather forecasting with hyperlocal data to combat the effects of climate change.With the growing intensity of extreme weather due to climate change, accurate forecasting has become crucial. This need has led to the emergence of new private companies specializing in hyperlocal and highly specific weather data.
The weather forecasting services industry in the U.S. was valued at approximately $17.4 billion in 2023, according to IBISWorld.
CNBC recently interviewed two such companies, Tomorrow.io from Boston and Saildrone from Alameda, California. They discussed how their advanced technology could enhance weather forecasting for NOAA and other organizations.