For the first time, users of Epic Games’ Unreal Engine can now integrate high-fidelity global weather data into Unreal-powered simulation environments, whether offline or via API. 

ATLANTA – Nov. 7, 2024 – As weather grows more disruptive and impactful for people and businesses, it’s increasingly clear that proper planning requires reliable weather intelligence. As a provider of actual weather data for use in live, virtual, and constructive simulation environments, The Weather Company today announces Weatherverse^TM Sim for Unreal Engine is now available via plugin. Users of Epic Games’ Unreal Engine can now integrate offline or API-provided weather data for visual rendering within simulation environments. With access to high-fidelity weather data from the world’s most accurate weather forecaster,¹ anyone using Unreal-powered visual rendering can better visualize and understand the actual effects of weather conditions in an interactive and intuitive manner.

While many current simulations and digital twins use synthetic weather, The Weather Company’s Weatherverse™ solutions deliver real weather data, based upon historical, current and forecasted datasets and weather models, for use in planning and simulation environments at a global scale. This enables better informed insights, more confident decision making and improved outcomes where weather is a contributing influence.

“It’s no secret that weather impacts all of us every day. Whether you’re animating films, developing games, or creating 3D models or immersive experiences, being able to integrate realistic weather requires the most accurate forecasts and a trusted weather partner,” said Sheri Bachstein, president of The Weather Company. “This plugin is for anyone running simulations using the Unreal standard for visualization and who require the integration of actual, real-time weather conditions, rather than synthetic data and the limitations that can bring.”

A view of the actual weather in Washington, D.C. on a foggy day, as visualized within Weatherverse Sim by The Weather Company.

About the Technology: Better Accuracy Means Better Visualization

At the core of Weatherverse Sim is The Weather Company’s own GRAF system, a high-precision, rapidly-updating global weather modeling system capable of predicting phenomena as small as a thunderstorm virtually anywhere on the planet. The GRAF model uses high-resolution data to provide current and forecasted weather activity worldwide. As part of a continued collaboration with NVIDIA, The Weather Company will continue to advance weather forecasting, driven by AI, with GRAF to get an even more accurate forecast focused on high-resolution needs to help fuel business decisions with actionable forecasts and insights.

Weatherverse Sim utilizes the GRAF model to inject real weather data into planning and simulation environments, delivering accurate conditions from the surface up to 55,000 feet in elevation, in 1,000-foot increments. This results in hyper-realistic visual recreations of weather conditions, including clouds, precipitation, humidity, and visibility. Additionally, the data supports existing physics models in simulators, encompassing critical elements like turbulence, which, although invisible, can significantly impact objects and environments. For enhanced simulation rendering, Weatherverse Sim even incorporates probabilistic weather forecasts that express predictions as a range of possible outcomes with associated probabilities.

Weatherverse Sim for Unreal Engine can access current and forecast data anywhere around the globe from offline datasets as needed or, more commonly, via customizable API services tailored for each instance. Recognizing the diverse ways weather data can be used, The Weather Company offers variants to support a broad range of requirements—from simpler simulators that only need weather data for surface conditions to advanced Level-D simulators that benefit from increased fidelity with up to 50 additional vertical layers of data in 1,000-ft increments up to 55,000 feet in elevation. In every case, users can benefit from high-end, realistic weather condition visualizations for simulation needs anywhere in the world.

This plugin for Unreal Engine users is the next step in providing revolutionary weather capabilities to new audiences. Over the past year, The Weather Company team has been hard at work continuing to innovate and extend its expertise in weather forecasting into new markets with cutting-edge solutions. As one example, defense industry leaders and leading prime contractors are actively exploring Weatherverse solutions to improve the effectiveness of military planning, training and simulation outcomes. For more about Weatherverse SIM, visit www.weathercompany.com.

About The Weather Company
The Weather Company helps people and businesses around the world make more informed decisions and take action in the face of weather. With its deep industry expertise and highly accurate, high-volume weather data combined with advanced technology and AI, The Weather Company provides insights and solutions that harness the power of weather in a scalable, privacy-forward way. The world’s most accurate forecaster, the company serves hundreds of enterprise customers across media, advertising, aviation and more, and is trusted by hundreds of millions of monthly active users via digital properties from The Weather Channel (weather.com) and Weather Underground (wunderground.com). For more, visit weathercompany.com. 

We all know that feeling — the anticipation of winter and the holiday season. Whether it sparks child-like excitement or a hectic whirlwind of activities, one thing is for sure: Emotions run high the last few months of the year. But is it just the calendar stirring those feelings, or could weather be playing a role in influencing holiday consumer behavior?

Weather: the unexpected force behind consumer emotion

Weather influences our everyday decisions in more ways than we realize. In fact, 84% of consumers across all generations admit that weather affects them emotionally.¹ It’s why the shift in seasons is often a better gauge of consumer mindset than the date on the calendar. As the seasons change, people feel more optimistic, social, and ready for something new — making it the perfect moment for marketers to connect. According to The Weather Channel app^TM users:

But with climate patterns shifting globally, when does the “season” really start?

‘Tis it really the season?

Gone are the days when marketers could rely on a universal ‘start of winter’ to kickoff holiday campaigns. Today’s fluctuating seasons demand a more nuanced approach. For those aiming for timely, relevant campaigns, forward-thinking brands are embracing dynamic Weather Targeting, a powerful tool that allows brands to sync their messaging with the specific climatic cues that catalyze holiday shopping moods, regardless of the calendar date.

A beloved coffee chain leveraged The Weather Company’s expertise to tap into the holiday spirit and winter weather cravings. By combining Weather Targeting and high-impact dynamic creative on the homescreen, they aligned their limited-time offer messaging with real-time local weather conditions on The Weather Channel app. This strategy capitalized on the fact that 66% of people say winter weather impacts their beverage choices,² and nearly half are excited about seasonal drinks.² The result? An impressive 94,400 incremental store visits and a 12.2% lift in foot traffic, proving that understanding weather’s influence on consumer behavior can brew up significant success.³

The purchasing power of seasonal shifts

Winter weather doesn’t just mark a change in temperature; it signals a shift in seasonal buying trends, as evidenced by The Weather Channel app survey data:

Let it snow, let them shop

Seasonal spending habits may seem tied to the holiday calendar, but it’s the weather that really dictates how consumers feel — and when they’re ready to spend.

Marketers can tap into this powerful insight by using proven, accurate weather data⁵ to target consumers at the right moment, with the right message. Weather Targeting is a privacy-friendly approach to contextual marketing that can predict consumer needs, helping brands future-proof their strategies with scalability across the advertising ecosystem.

Holiday marketing strategies will always be about timing, and with Weather Targeting, you’ll be ready when that seasonal excitement strikes. As the temperature falls, let the deals drop. That’s when the real holiday magic happens.

Editor’s note: All data sourced from The Weather Company Entertainment Behavior Survey, January 2024

The entertainment industry is buzzing with anticipation this time of year, as cinema blockbusters and binge-worthy series hit the big screens and streaming platforms. But while studios and networks are busy promoting their latest and greatest, there’s an influential director getting rave reviews from marketers: Mother Nature.

Weather plays a starring role in our content consumption, from sunny days that lure us to the theater to stormy nights streaming a nostalgic film at home. This show-stopping link between weather and how we engage with media presents a unique opportunity for marketers seeking the spotlight.

The Weather Company helps brands tap into weather-driven strategies, so your campaigns are as irresistible as the aroma of fresh popcorn.

So grab your snacks, take your seat, and enjoy the show…

Download infographic

How to leverage weather data during “peak binge” season

Just as a director uses many techniques to create a cinematic masterpiece, savvy marketers can harness the power of accurate weather data¹ to craft a seat-filling campaign full of offers consumers can’t refuse. Script your brand’s success story with Weather Targeting, which allows you to:

• Increase awareness through highly relevant, dynamic messaging
• Deepen the connection with content viewers by promoting brand products or services using Weather Targeting for OTT/CTV platforms
• Engage entertainment enthusiasts with contextual targeting solutions
• Foster brand loyalty in daily weather-influenced decision moments

Ready for your brand’s big break? With The Weather Company’s tailored solutions, your marketing may go from box-office snub to award-season darling.

Predictive storm tracking solution offers hyperlocal, street-level severe weather and news alerts 
across 70+ stations within Sinclair Broadcast Group

ATLANTA – October 29, 2024 – To help keep their communities safe and informed of the latest weather information, broadcasters need accurate, compelling and flexible tools built on the latest technology. On-screen crawling alerts deliver some of the most critical updates during severe weather threats, when stations see large spikes in viewership. The Weather Company today announced that WKRC-TV, Sinclair Broadcast Group’s television station in Cincinnati, has recently upgraded its weather alerting platform to Max Alert Live from The Weather Company to help ensure the reliability and trust its viewers depend on. Sinclair Broadcast Group has also made the tool available to over 70 of its U.S. stations.

“When severe weather strikes, our viewers depend on us to deliver urgent updates that keep their families safe,” said John Gumm, chief meteorologist at WKRC-TV. “With Max Alert Live, I can see storms coming with an incredible level of granularity and quickly communicate those threats in a flexible manner. I can automatically broadcast and visualize county-by-county storm threats without disrupting programming.”

Max Alert Live is a severe weather alerting platform that helps broadcasters stay ahead of weather threats so viewers can stay in the know. Reliable data and graphics from The Weather Company, the world’s most accurate weather forecaster,¹ help pinpoint the path, timing and intensity of storms down to a specific neighborhood up to 6 hours in advance. Max Alert Live then automatically renders the alerts, allowing WKRC to keep its viewers updated with customizable graphics, maps and crawls, as well as automatic delivery of targeted storm warning and alerts.

Cloud-based remote access allows broadcasters to manage alerts from anywhere with an internet connection, ensuring seamless coverage and uninterrupted severe weather alerting. Crawls and graphics can match a station’s current on-air look and dynamically adapt to changing weather conditions and urgency. Broadcasters can tailor trigger conditions, frequency, maps, graphics and text in an easy-to-use interface, as well as integrate rich graphical content already created within an existing Max account from The Weather Company.

Key capabilities and benefits for viewers include:

• Warnings displayed while watching other shows: Flexible programming integration allows critical radar maps, customized alert crawls and live county-by-county warning graphics to be overlaid onto regular broadcasts without disrupting live shows, and across OTT, web, mobile and social channels.
• Hyperlocal, customized alerts: High-resolution live radar maps give a 3D view of storms and tropical threats with neighborhood-level precision to help viewers best prepare for severe weather.
• Quick and engaging weather notifications: Direct integration with National Weather Service data triggers automatic weather watches and warnings to scroll across the bottom of the screen, with added details or images if desired.
• One-stop shop for weather and non-weather alerts: Beyond weather notifications, viewers can also see alerts on school closings from BTi. Max Alert Live also provides the ability for manual alerting to share sports scores, news headlines and more coming soon.

“As extreme weather grows more intense and impactful, it’s critical that broadcasters have the most powerful technology to help keep their communities safe and informed,” said Bill Dow, head of enterprise product from The Weather Company. “Combining the nation’s most robust radar data and severe weather alerting with high-resolution graphics and remote cloud capabilities, Max Alert Live is revolutionizing how innovative broadcasters like WKRC and those across Sinclair’s station group communicate urgent weather information to their communities.”

Learn more about WKRC’s use case with Max Alert Live.

Max Alert Live is commercially available today as part of The Weather Company’s Max suite of solutions urpose-built for media companies. For more information, visit weathercompany.com.

About The Weather Company
The Weather Company helps people and businesses around the world make more informed decisions and take action in the face of weather. With its deep industry expertise and highly accurate, high-volume weather data combined with advanced technology and AI, The Weather Company provides insights and solutions that harness the power of weather in a scalable, privacy-forward way. The world’s most accurate forecaster, the company serves hundreds of enterprise customers across media, advertising, aviation and more, and is trusted by hundreds of millions of monthly active users via digital properties from The Weather Channel (weather.com) and Weather Underground (wunderground.com). For more, visit weathercompany.com.