Telling the Weather Story: AccuWeather's Unique Global Forecasting and Communication Approach

At the receiving end of every forecast is a decision maker – whether it’s a parent deciding how to dress their child for school, a sporting venue manager determining when to cancel the game, or a security guard at a facility instructing people to shelter from an approaching tornado. While people may utilize a forecast differently, the information must be accurate and timely while also connecting with the user. AccuWeather has spent over six decades refining the science and art of communicating weather to people. This includes developing revolutionary techniques and tools such as the AccuWeather RealFeel® Temperature and AccuWeather RealImpactTM Scale for Hurricanes. A core component of AccuWeather’s approach is empowering our team of expert meteorologists to tell the weather story. We know that people connect with people and with stories. AccuWeather forecasts across all platforms contain language specifically developed by meteorologists to convey context, impact, scenarios, and unique descriptions. This is done at great scale across the U.S. and globally, requiring a multi-layered approach to understanding the current weather and creating a forecast. AccuWeather meteorologists have developed unique tools and methods to quickly assess the current weather pattern, find trouble spots, and denote areas that require further focus. This complex scientific forecast information is then distilled into digestible words and communicated to the public via the AccuWeather app and website, compiled into news stories, shared with news media, and delivered to clients. The AccuWeather forecast method will be discussed, along with the ways in which AccuWeather meteorologists assess the weather and communicate it to users.