WSI Brings TV/WEB Weather Forecasts Into the "Realistic" Video Age

Weather-graphics industry pioneer unveils computer-built, video-animated forecasting ability

Minneapolis, MN. - September 11, 2001.
Weather Services International (WSI), a global leader in real-time weather data, imagery and forecast services, today unveiled Skycast, a breakthrough sensory enhancement to weather forecast presentation for television and station Web sites. Mirroring the experience of weather to depict the future, the customizable system uses WSI's unparalleled computer weather modeling capabilities and vast weather video library to present forecasted weather literally as it will look outside the local viewer's window.

In the roughly half-century history of televised weather forecasting, this is a fundamentally new view. Akin to time-lapse photography, Skycast takes thousands of metrics from WSI's computer models and maps them to video clips showing the spectrum of possible weather visuals. Based on each local forecast, an appropriate view of the "future" weather is overlapped onto a local visual scene selected by the station.

For broadcasters, Skycast enables forecasts to be presented over a chosen skyline imprinted with a station's branded "look" and logos. The system can be used as a turnkey operation or station meteorologists can easily revise the timing and imagery to suit their predictions. For viewers, Skycast elevates forecast presentation on TV or the Web from the current standard of animated icons over maps to a natural looking representation of unfolding conditions as they will look in the future based on near, mid- and extended forecasts.

"We have finally solved the visual riddle of how to present a forecast that is truly evocative of real weather in real locations," said Steve Ward, WSI vice president of sales and marketing, media. "Skycast is the first tool on the market to realistically show how the weather is going to unfold locally each day. Any station using it can justifiably promote itself as being on the cutting-edge of weather forecast presentation technology."

Skycast is a hardware/software enhancement to WSI's WeatherProducer™, the broadcast industry's leading on-air meteorological workstation and graphics production system. Prices for Skycast vary depending on a station's WeatherProducer configuration.

About WSI
Weather Services International (WSI Corporation), a wholly-owned subsidiary of Landmark Communications, is one of the world's largest suppliers of real-time weather data, imagery, programming and weather forecast services to customers in the broadcast, aviation, utilities, and government markets.

About Landmark
Landmark Communications is a privately held multi-media company with national and international interests in newspapers, broadcasting, cable programming, interactive media and other interests. Landmark, based in Norfolk, Va., employs more than 5,000 people in 20 states and Europe. Landmark owns The Weather Channel Networks, which include The Weather Channel, headquartered in Atlanta; weather.com; El Canal del Tiempo, broadcasting to Latin America; and O Canal do Tempo, serving Brazil. It owns CBS-TV affiliates NewsChannel 5 Network in Nashville and KLAS TV in Las Vegas; and the Travel network based in London. More information about Landmark can be found at www.landmarkcom.com.

For more information contact:

Linda Maynard
WSI Corporation
(978) 262-0715
lmaynard@wsi.com

More information about WSI can be found at www.wsi.com.