The best weather API must have a radar integrated into its data platform. Visual Crossing didn’t pioneer this – other providers such as Tomorrow.io and Open Weather have done so as early as 2021. However, their approach brings broader accessibility and developer-friendly integration options, instead of primarily targeting enterprise and industrial use.
The update’s main focus has been neatly explained: “Adding real-time radar unlocks a new level of precision in location-aware applications”, said the Visual Crossing spokesperson, further explaining, “It allows developers to track storms and rain minute-by-minute and adjust their services accordingly”.
More Intelligent Movement Through Environmental Context
GPS tells apps ‘where’ users are, but it fails to explain ‘what’ is happening at that location. During severe weather, such blind spots can result in critical failures.
What radar-enhanced APIs add to the platforms is factoring in active conditions – rainfall, storm fronts, wind fields – and let’s geospatial apps and location-based platforms to adapt in real time.
Thanks to this upgrade, routing systems (e.g., maps, navigation apps) can now do more than just adjust their ETAs; they can now reroute around active storm cells, flooded areas, or hail zones, they can score and rank route segments based on safety, warn users about sudden weather hazards, display live storm overlays on maps, and more.
Ride-hailing platforms, such as Uber and Lyft, can now delay/cancel pickups, adjust driver incentives or surge pricing based on storm proximity, alert both drivers and riders of incoming weather threats, and do ride prioritization based on unsafe weather conditions.
Even micromobility apps (e-scooters, bike rentals) can temporarily disable rentals in areas that are expected to suffer severe weather conditions thanks to incoming radar signals, keeping their users safe.
Data from the U.S. Department of Transportation, FHWA (Federal Highway Administration), shows that approximately 21% of 5,900,000 annual vehicle crashes are weather-related. This equates to about 1,235,000, from which there are nearly 5,000 deaths and 418,000+ injuries.
Thanks to real-time radar implementation into weather APIs, these dreadful numbers could be significantly reduced.
Operational Resilience and Business Continuity
Of course, real-time radar data extends way beyond just navigation. Logistics networks, on-demand services, and location-based retail platforms can now adapt their operations based on real-time weather changes – not after the fact.
FedEx and Amazon rely on extremely precise ETAs to keep their operations flowing, so they gain by benefiting from real-time radar by enabling reroutes on shipments based on storm proximity, shifting loading schedules if there’s too much precipitation, or pausing entire deliveries if there are hazards such as hail or flash flooding.
Considering over 70% of the roads in the U.S. are located in snowy regions, having real-time weather alert updates can help make logistics more efficient and safe, because it allows fleet management systems to timely reroute vehicles to keep the drivers safe and away from icy roads.
In early 2024, 31.3% of businesses in Tennessee and 28% in Arkansas reported financial losses because of extreme weather. That’s a major disruption, and it indicates just how critical it is to factor weather into any location-based service.
Retail also stands to gain from this upgrade. Apps will now be able to automatically push coffee discounts on cold mornings or promote patio dining promos on sunny afternoons.
In fact, a study published in the Journal of Retailing and Consumer Services found that daily sales can vary by up to 23.1% depending on where the store is and as much as 40.7% based on product themes – both directly tied to weather conditions.
Visual Crossing’s Radar Update Hopes for Smarter, Safer Apps
With radar-powered weather APIs now in play, the apps we use on a daily basis can shift from reactive to real-time adaptation – improving responsiveness across all sectors, more reliability, and more safety.
From https://www.computerworld.com/article/1449983/ten-ways-your-smartphone-knows-where-you-are.html with anchor knowing where they are
From https://www.computerworld.com/article/1626354/crowd-sourced-weather-apps-claim-accuracy-but-watch-the-sky-anyway.html with anchor deliver trusted weather reporting
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