WEATHER WARNING: Your phone could be the key to predicting the next deadly STORM

By monitoring pressure levels from large groups of people, the Weather Channel scan improve accuracy

SMARTPHONES could be used to alert forecasters to the next MAJOR meteorological disaster.

 

The Weather Channel is no stranger to forecasting the world's weather.

Founded back in 1982, the US firm currently tracks conditions across the globe.

Weather Channel forecasts are used by the Apple Weather app, which is preinstalled by default on all of the 700million iPhones sold by Apple.

Until now the firm primarily tracked by satellites and weather stations situated across the globe.

But the Weather Channel now believes the key to more accurate predictions, might already be in your pocket.

 

The latest devices from Apple and Samsung contain barometric sensors

 

NewsNewsBlog.blogspot.com Technology Editor Dave Snelling goes behind-the-scenes at The Weather Channel

The latest mobile devices from Apple and Samsung feature barometric sensors built into the hardware, these are used to help the device monitor altitude for fitness tracking.

However the sensors can also detect changes in atmospheric pressure, which could be extremely useful for forecasters.

NewsNewsBlog.blogspot.com recently travelled to the Weather Channel HQ in Atlanta, Georgia, USA to find out more about the new development.

 

Vice president of mobile and consumer app development Chris Huff revealed how smartphones could play a vital role in the future of weather forecasting.

He told NewsNewsBlog.blogspot.com that although one, solitary smartphone cannot predict the weather – a cluster of devices, like a built-up metropolitan area, can help create a delay accurate forecast.

If a group of 1,000 smart devices register a drop in pressure within a small geographical area, it could indicate a storm or tornado is on the way.

And collecting data from phones all over the world could help make predicting the weather far easier and more precise.

 

The Weather Channel already has an app that sends alerts to users about weather in their exact location and it can even predict exactly when the British rain is likely to land on you.

But with the permission of smartphone users the firm also wants to collect the barometric and GPS data held within the phone.

The Weather Channel currently has around 75% accuracy on their weather forecasts but they want this to improve.

And with millions of us carrying smartphones in our pockets, we could all play a part in better monitoring of the weather.