Editor’s Note: One of the nice things about living in a city as large as Memphis is that there’s an independent source for just about everything, including weather coverage. I recently spoke with Erik Proseus, an aviation meteorologist and entrepreneur. Below is our full-length interview about what Erik does, MemphisWeather.net and his recent saga with Apple’s App Store approval process.
Stephen: Thanks for taking some time to talk to me about your app and what you do. For those readers outside of Memphis, what is it that you do?
Erik: I own Cirrus Weather Solutions, a private meteorological firm based in Bartlett, TN. One of the primary “faces” of Cirrus is MemphisWeather.net, which provides a full suite of weather and climate data for the Memphis metro area to the general public. Over the past couple of years, one of the main vehicles we have embraced for information dissemination is social media, specifically Facebook and Twitter. Using social media, we have really worked to perfect a technique called “nowcasting,” which provides updated weather information for a hyperlocal area (for us, it’s the Memphis metro) during severe and winter weather. We discuss where storms are, where they are headed, when they will be there (or leave), what threats they pose, and especially details on any watches or warnings that are issued. It’s akin to “wall-to-wall coverage” on TV, only we use Facebook and Twitter, and we have achieved quite a following from people who have come to rely on this very specific information. This past spring, we branched out into mobile applications with Android and iPhone apps, which expands the products that we have provided for some time on our mobile website.
Stephen: I’m a huge fan of what you do. A lot of weather coverage seems to hype the danger and their SUPER! AWESOME! RADAR! TOOLS.
So, let’s talk about the iPhone app. You originally released it early last year, correct? Can you walk me through that timeline and why you decided an app was a good fit?
Erik: Thanks much! I’ve got tools and promote them, but without the hype. I’ll push information and education over hype every time.
The iPhone app was released in March 2011 after about two months of development and testing and was available in the App Store until mid-September when “the saga” began. Since that time, the app has been unavailable in the App Store in large part due to Apple’s inability to move the app through the review process. I won’t rehash that, as you can find the details on my blog. The latest on that is that the app has been rejected by Apple as of Jan 9 and we are now making some changes to get it back in the review process — hopefully a MUCH faster process this time!
Why an app? Early in 2011, I began getting more requests for mobile weather data. I have a mobile website — http://m.memphisweather.net/ — that has the basics (currents, forecast, severe weather map, links, etc.). Knowing that the mobile experience was only going to become more prevalent and that sooner or later I would have to either embrace it or go under, I did the former. I hooked up with [http://bendeming.com/](Ben Deming), who has turned out to be one of my best resources since starting MWN. He developed the iOS app based on my stated requirements and much of his own ingenuity. It takes the basics of the mobile site and expands on it, providing it all in a neat little package that doesn’t require the mobile user to fire up a browser. One of the main benefits of the app is that I can provide a consistent look and feel to my customers and followers, where that is not always possible with a mobile web solution and so many different mobile browsers. The app has been a hit.
Once Apple approves the next iteration, users will get to experience a new radar interface that includes pan and zoom capability, plus they will be able to optionally upgrade their severe weather experience by purchasing StormWatch+, which is our personalized severe weather alert tool for smartphone users. It uses push notification technology to alert based on whether a watch or warning is in effect for the user’s specific registered location, not just the county they reside in. It’s the future of weather alerting and we’re on the leading edge by incorporating it into mobile technology.
Stephen: What did Apple end up rejecting it over? Any word on what happened with it being on hold for so long?
Erik: Apple will never tell why it took so long. I firmly believe that after 4 months, they couldn’t approve it. They’d look worse than they already did for taking so long. They rejected it because they didn’t want me using auto-renewing subscriptions for StormWatch+. We’re switching to non-renewing subscription and prompts to the user that their sub is about to expire.
Stephen: I know several developers have seen this issue, including Marco at Instapaper. I think it’s a bad call by Apple, especially if iTunes could somehow remind customers before the subscription goes through.
I’m glad you guys are moving forward, finally. That said, what can customers look forward to with StormWatch+?
Erik: StormWatch+ is a personalized weather alerting service that allows users to receive push notifications in the event of severe weather at their location. A user can register up to two locations using either address, city/ST, zip code, or present GPS location. Whenever a severe, flood, or winter weather watch or warning is issued for a registered location, they will receive a push notification, even when the app is not actively running.
The difference between StormWatch+ and many other weather warning services (including tornado sirens and NOAA Weather Radio) is that StormWatch+ matches up the actual warning box, or polygon, that the National Weather Service issues with the latitude/longitude of their registered location to determine whether or not to send the alert. Almost all other services are county-based, which means that you may be warned when the path of the storm is actually several miles away. StormWatch+ is more accurate than any county-based solution, including NOAA Weather Radio and tornado sirens and helps prevent the public from becoming “siren-weary” or apathetic when warnings are issued due to the “Cry Wolf” syndrome. You are only warned when your location is in the path of the storm.
Stephen: That sounds really cool. I’m looking forward to installing the new version.
Looking back at this, do you find the iPhone market compelling enough to keep working on updated for the app, despite this setback?
Erik: I really wish that I had not had the issues with Apple, but yes, I will continue to provide updates. Almost like a necessary evil. I have sold about three times as many iPhone apps as Android apps and that is without the app being available in the App Store for 4 months. I also know that there is pent-up demand for StormWatch+ on iPhone, so I am excited to get it back in the Store!
Stephen: Well, best of luck. Thanks for taking the time to talk.