Weather Data Solutions For Africa

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In weather terms, "historical data" refers to the recorded weather observations from the past. This data encompasses a wide range of meteorological information, such as temperature, precipitation, wind speed, humidity, atmospheric pressure, and other weather-related variables, collected over extended periods, often spanning decades or even centuries.

Historical weather data is used for various purposes:

Climate Studies:

Researchers use historical data to study long-term climate trends, such as global warming, changes in precipitation patterns, and the frequency of extreme weather events.

Weather Forecasting

Forecasters analyze historical data to understand patterns and anomalies, which helps improve the accuracy of future predictions.

Risk Assessment

Insurance companies, urban planners, and policymakers use historical weather data to assess risks related to natural disasters like floods, hurricanes, and droughts.

Agriculture

Farmers and agricultural planners use historical data to make informed decisions about planting, irrigation, and crop selection based on past weather conditions.

Energy Management

Energy companies use historical weather data to predict energy demand, manage resources, and optimize the operation of renewable energy sources like wind and solar power.

Historical weather data is essential for understanding how weather patterns have changed over time and for making informed decisions in various sectors that depend on accurate climate and weather information.

In weather terms, "observation data" refers to the real-time or historical data collected from various sources that provide information about current atmospheric conditions. This data is crucial for monitoring weather patterns, making forecasts, and studying climate trends. Observation data can include measurements from:

Surface Stations:

These are weather stations located on the ground that measure temperature, humidity, wind speed, wind direction, atmospheric pressure, and precipitation.

Weather Radars:

Radars detect precipitation, its intensity, and movement, helping in tracking storms and rainfall patterns.

Satellites:

Weather satellites provide data on cloud cover, sea surface temperatures, and other large-scale atmospheric conditions. They offer a global view and are essential for monitoring weather systems over oceans and remote areas.

Weather Balloons (Radiosondes)

These balloons carry instruments into the upper atmosphere to measure temperature, humidity, and pressure at various altitudes, providing a vertical profile of the atmosphere.

Buoys and Ships:

These provide data on sea surface temperatures, wave heights, and wind speeds over oceans and large bodies of water.

Aircraft:

Commercial and research aircraft can carry instruments to collect data on temperature, humidity, and wind at cruising altitudes.

Automated Weather Stations:

These are automated sensors installed in various locations, often in remote areas, to continuously collect and transmit weather data.

Observation data is foundational for weather forecasting, climate research, and understanding atmospheric processes.

In weather terms, "forecast data" refers to predictions about future atmospheric conditions based on the analysis of current weather data, mathematical models, and historical patterns. This data provides estimates of what the weather will be like over a specific period, ranging from minutes to weeks ahead.

Forecast data typically includes predictions for:

Temperature

Expected high and low temperatures for specific locations.

Precipitation

The likelihood, type (rain, snow, etc.), and amount of precipitation expected.

Wind

Predictions of wind speed, direction, and gusts.

Humidity

Forecasted levels of atmospheric moisture.

Atmospheric Pressure

Changes in pressure that can indicate the approach of weather systems.

Cloud Cover

The expected amount and type of cloud cover.

Severe Weather

Alerts for extreme conditions like thunderstorms, heavy rain, tropical cyclones, tornadoes, and storm surge.

Forecast data is generated using sophisticated weather models that simulate the atmosphere's behavior. These models use current observation data as input and apply physical laws governing the atmosphere to predict future conditions. The accuracy of forecast data generally decreases the further it projects into the future, with short-term forecasts (up to 48 hours) being more reliable than long-term forecasts.

This data is crucial for planning daily activities, preparing for extreme weather, and making decisions in sectors like agriculture, aviation, and emergency management.

Our Services

Weather Risk Assessments

Weather Verification for Insurance Claims

Property and assets are often affected by severe weather events such as hail, lightning, wind, fires, floods, severe winter storms, and hurricanes, among others.

Insurers covering weather-related incidents must ensure that claims are valid.

Our Weather Guard Claims Verification tool helps insurers assess the legitimacy of damage claims by cross-referencing them with observed weather conditions at specific times and locations.

Weather Guard is perfect for verifying the impact of weather on incidents, including but not limited to:

Car accidents / damages
Structural damage to buildings (e.g., walls, foundations)
Roof collapses
Power line incidents
Damage to outdoor equipment (e.g., patio furniture, playgrounds, sports facilities)
Boat or watercraft accidents
Agricultural damage (e.g., crops, livestock)
Damage to solar panels or wind turbines
Aviation-related incidents (e.g., damage to aircraft, airport infrastructure)
Damage to communication towers

Weather Guard enables every claim manager to easily verify weather conditions for specific claims and can be customized to align with your company’s specific definitions for hail, rain, lightning, and wind.

Wind

Details of wind speeds
Table of recorded values by weather stations according to WMO standards
Clear summary of results

Hail

Information on hail and hailstone size
Clear summary of results

Lightning

Details of lightning strikes, close-proximity lightning, and lightning strength
Information on power surges, distance, and storm activity
Details of the first and last lightning strikes
Overview of all lightning activity (image)

Heavy Rain

Precipitation quantities
Thunderstorm activity
Clear summary of results

Main benefits

Reduction in fraud
Reduce time spent on claim
Reduction in cost to send an assessor to the adress where the incident happened

Lightning Alert

Early lightning detection plays a crucial role in protecting lives by providing advance warnings of potential lightning strikes, allowing individuals and organizations to take appropriate safety measures. Here's how it helps:

Early Warning Systems

Lightning detection systems can identify the presence and approach of thunderstorms from a distance. This allows for timely alerts to be issued, giving people enough time to seek shelter before lightning strikes.

Preventing Outdoor Accidents

In areas like sports fields, parks, and construction sites, early lightning detection enables the evacuation or suspension of activities, reducing the risk of lightning-related injuries or fatalities.

Protection for Aviation

Airports and aviation operations use lightning detection to ensure the safety of flights. Early detection helps in rerouting or delaying flights to avoid flying through areas with intense lightning activity.

Safeguarding Critical Infrastructure

Early detection allows power grids, communication networks, and other critical infrastructure to implement protective measures, such as shutting down systems or activating surge protection, minimizing the risk of damage and maintaining service continuity.

Disaster Preparedness

Lightning detection can be integrated into broader disaster preparedness strategies, helping communities and emergency services respond more effectively to storms and reduce the risk of lightning-related disasters.

Educational and Public Awareness

Providing real-time lightning data to the public raises awareness about the dangers of lightning, encouraging people to take precautions during thunderstorms.

By enabling timely responses to approaching storms, early lightning detection significantly reduces the likelihood of lightning-related injuries, fatalities, and damage to property.

Real-time alerts are triggered whenever lightning is detected near your asset. You can customize three alert levels—Information, Warning, and Alarm—by setting specific alert distances, clear times, and notification lists for each level. These active alerts and all-clear notifications are automatically sent to your designated contacts via email and SMS.

Weatherguard also offers the unique capability to predict lightning risk up to 60 minutes in advance. You can configure forecast alerts to activate at intervals of 10 minutes, allowing you to receive warnings as early as 60 minutes before lightning is expected near your asset.

In weather-related terms, a "nowcast" refers to a short-term weather forecast, typically covering a period from the present up to a few hours ahead, usually within the next 0 to 6 hours. Nowcasting provides real-time updates on weather conditions and is often used to predict immediate and rapidly changing weather phenomena, such as thunderstorms, tornadoes, heavy rainfall, or snowfall.

Nowcasts are highly detailed and rely on a combination of real-time data from weather radar, satellite observations, and surface sensors, as well as advanced modeling techniques. This makes them particularly useful for issuing timely warnings and alerts to protect lives and property.