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ride-sharing company, uses its forecasts in five cities includ-
ing London and Amsterdam. On a Sunday in mid-May, Via
got an alert from ClimaCell about heavy rain in New York
that would last from late morning to midday, with vary-
ing intensity in different parts of the city. Knowing demand
would spike, Via made sure it had enough drivers in the
wettest spots. “There is a significant monetary value to us
in using ClimaCell’s platform,” says Ari Luks, Via’s director
of global marketplace economics.
Can ClimaCell best the incumbents? Marshall Shepherd,
director of the University of Georgia’s atmospheric sciences
program and a past president of the American Meteorologi-
cal Society, says he’s yet to see robust statistics proving the
company’s claims, but adding lots of new data inputs could
help produce more accurate forecasts. “I’m bullish on what
they’re doing,” he says.
Others are skeptical. “ClimaCell makes a lot of claims,
but I’ve never seen proof of anything,” says Clifford Mass,
a longtime University of Washington atmospheric sciences
professor. “Street cameras are not going to improve weather
forecasting.”
Elkabetz counters that prospective customers are given
proof of its claims.
ForecastWatch’s Eric Floehr is as close as it comes to an
expert with a broad view of the private forecasting busi-
ness. He says the jury is out on Saildrone, ClimaCell and
Jupiter Intelligence. What about ClimaCell’s assertion that
its forecasts are 60% more accurate than the competition’s?
“Extraordinary claims require extraordinary evidence,” he
says.
riticism of AccuWeather has been heating
up since Trump nominated Barry Myers to
head NOAA. Widespread reports have al-
leged the company engaged in a multiyear
effort to push the government out of provid-
ing free weather forecasts. Despite the reams of coverage,
Joel Myers angrily denies it, “That’s a bunch of bullshit,”
he fumes. “Nobody was trying to restrict the role of the Na-
tional Weather Service.”
He also flatly denies that harassment took place at Accu-
Weather, despite the fact that the company paid $290,000
in 2018 to settle a Department of Labor investigation that
found “widespread sexual harassment at AccuWeather.”
“We denied all that,” he says.
“There was no proof of harassment,” says Barry, who had
the top job at the time.
Less easy to dismiss is the pack of hungry competitors
that are looking to eat AccuWeather’s lunch, though Joel
tries to with a blanket “I’m not going to sit here and talk
about competitors” before allowing, in a later interview,
that “Everything is accelerating. Any business leader who
says he knows what the world will look like in 20 years is
making it up.”
Where AccuWeather will be in 2039, when Joel is 99 years
old, is anyone’s guess. The company won’t discuss specifics
of its succession plans, and none of Joel’s seven children
are involved with the business day to day. The Myerses are
surprisingly sanguine about the future.
“Eighty is the new 60,” Barry says. “Joel’s an energetic
guy. He’s working 24-7, and he loves what he does.”
“I’ve seen lots of new companies come along,” Joel says.
“Some of them will find a niche, and some of them will fail.”
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AccuWeather
Founded: 1962 by CEO Joel Myers
Private forecasts for consumers, media outlets and
enterprises
Number of employees: 500
Money raised: Self-funded
“THE MOST IMPORTANT THING
IN A WEATHER FORECAST IS
ACCURACY. WE STAND BY OUR
NAME, AND THE STATISTICS
SUPPORT IT.”
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