STATE COLLEGE, Pa., US – AccuWeather, the world’s most accurate weather source, today announced the expansion of its popular AccuWeather MinuteCast® precipitation forecasting tool and its advanced radar capabilities to all of Central and South America, Mexico and the Caribbean for the first time, making it the only weather source to provide the most complete up-to-the-minute weather tracking tools in this hemisphere to complement its highly accurate forecasts.
As part of these new AccuWeather’s MinuteCast precipitation offerings will be enhanced and more accurate radar coverage locally, regionally and throughout the world. This revolutionary new radar product is a unique hybrid of ground-based and satellite-based radar, eliminating gaps where radar was previously unavailable and making AccuWeather forecasts even more accurate in places where radar was previously available.
MinuteCast offers superior minute-by-minute precipitation forecasts of precipitation four hours ahead of the weather occurrence. This expansion comes at a critical time for Central and South America, as October closes out the rainiest season of the year. According to AccuWeather meteorologists, mudslides and flooding can be catastrophic to several areas, such as northern Chile, where it takes very little rain to cause dangerous flooding problems.
“We are so pleased to be extending the safety, convenience and comfort afforded by AccuWeather’s MinuteCast to these new regions,” said AccuWeather Chief Meteorologist, Jonathan Porter. “This tool has proven to be one of our most popular features on our apps and on our website precisely because people find it most useful to plan before stepping out and at multiple points along their journey. Our users rely on MinuteCast to determine the best time to venture out to walk the dog, go for a run, stroll to dinner or how to dress for a sporting event, like ‘futbol.’ Because it’s central to the interface on our free app, this tool literally puts convenience right in the palm of people’s hands.”
MinuteCast will also be invaluable to help farmers prepare for upcoming precipitous weather, as South America alone accounts for approximately 10 percent of the global agricultural product export. Central and South America supplies a significant portion of the world’s corn, soybeans, wheat, coffee, bananas, cocoa and more, where irregular weather patterns in the region have already driven up global prices of some of these commodities. The ability of farmers to adjust activities based on accurate precipitation forecasts can help maximize their seasonal crop outputs.
“Innovation is in our DNA at AccuWeather and the expansion of MinuteCast is another example of our effort to provide people, communities and businesses with easy to use, life-saving technology wherever they are,” said AccuWeather Vice President of Science, Innovation and Development, Scott Mackaro. “Increasingly as volatile weather occurs, we are finding new ways to enhance peoples’ safety and well-being by helping them stay prepared ahead of any weather situation, with pinpoint precision.”
AccuWeather MinuteCast, coupled with AccuWeather’s Hurricane Tracker also available in Central and South America, Mexico and the Caribbean, can be lifesaving tools that provide people the lead time necessary to secure their assets and get to shelter as the Atlantic hurricane season continues through November. This season, we have already seen category 3 Hurricane Grace cause several casualties in Mexico as well as storms damage the Caribbean islands as they headed north.
The AccuWeather app for Android phone and tablet users is free at the Google Play store. The AccuWeather iOS app is free at the Apple store. Visit accuweather.com for additional information.
