Earth Networks and Climatempo Partner to Deliver Weather, Lightning and Early Warnings On-Air, Online and in Professional Products to Millions in Brazil

AUSTIN, Texas & GERMANTOWN, Md.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Earth Networks^SM the operator of the largest weather, lightning and climate observation networks and owner of WeatherBug®, announces a new partnership with Climatempo Group, the largest private weather company in Brazil. Under the agreement, Climatempo will disseminate updates and information from Earth Networks’ PulseRad^SM radar alternative technology, plus lightning data and exclusive Dangerous Thunderstorm Alerts (DTAs) from the Brazilian Total Lightning Network known as BrasilDAT, to audiences across Brazil. In business since 1988, Climatempo provides weather content to millions of professionals and consumers through more than 50 national television broadcast stations, 4,000 radio stations, and thousands of websites throughout the country.

“Our lightning data, PulseRad proxy radar solution and Dangerous Thunderstorm Alerts are demonstrating their value to governments and industries by providing valuable insight and faster alerting to severe weather”

“Climatempo chose to partner with Earth Networks to leverage BrasilDAT, the high-performance Brazilian Total Lightning Network, and their innovative lightning-derived products that enable earlier warnings to severe weather than ever thought possible,” says Carlos Magno Nascimento, President, Climatempo. “Brazil frequently experiences intense thunderstorms with high rates of lightning. Working with Earth Networks, we will be able to alert and inform both consumers and enterprises to severe weather in their region that could potentially lead to dangerous conditions such as flooding, which has impacted thousands across Brazil in past few years alone.”

Watch a video forecast from Climatempo TV showing data provided by Earth Networks: http://youtu.be/0bvHNjizPI0

The partnership with Climatempo further expands Earth Networks’ extensive international presence. In 2010, Earth Networks established a strong partnership with Instituto Nacional de Pesquisas Espaciais (INPE), the National Institute for Space Research in Brazil. What began as a joint research effort to evaluate new lightning detection network technology has quickly grown into the development of one of the world’s largest, densest and most advanced total lightning networks. The Brazilian Total Lightning Network (BrasilDAT) includes approximately 60 lightning sensors in operation today, growing to more than 80 in 2013. The network provides coverage for the entire eastern and southern portions of the country, reporting total lightning data in real-time to end users. Additionally, Earth Networks has placed sensors throughout Paraguay, Argentina, Chile and Ecuador, and throughout North America, Europe, Africa and Asia.

Climatempo will use data and products from Earth Networks during its on-air weather reports, in online news updates and in professional products used by utilities, agricultural operations, engineering and construction firms and other industries. These products include Earth Networks’ PulseRad^SM, a patent-pending radar alternative technology based on total lightning detection that is designed to improve forecasting and lead times for dangerous storms with the potential for flooding or severe weather. Climatempo will also utilize total lightning data and Dangerous Thunderstorm Alerts from Earth Networks.

Earth Networks’ Total Lightning Network is the largest total lightning detection network with more than 600 sensors deployed worldwide. These sensors detect both cloud-to-ground as well as in-cloud lightning. The presence of high rates of in-cloud lightning often indicate the potential for severe weather phenomena, including heavy rain, large hail, dangerous cloud-to-ground lightning strikes, tornadoes and downburst winds. When total lightning rates exceed a “severe” threshold and there is an increased threat for severe weather, Dangerous Thunderstorm Alerts are automatically issued.

“Our lightning data, PulseRad proxy radar solution and Dangerous Thunderstorm Alerts are demonstrating their value to governments and industries by providing valuable insight and faster alerting to severe weather,” says Jim Anderson, Vice President of International Network and Business Development, Earth Networks. “In Brazil today, numerous electric utilities, mining and petroleum operations are using data from the network to support operations and planning, and more organizations are rapidly adopting this technology. Aviation, public safety and other organizations that require real-time weather updates for planning and safety are also benefiting from the Brazilian Total Lightning Network. We are delighted that our partnership with Climatempo will accelerate our market reach across enterprise and consumer segments in Brazil.”

Professionals from Earth Networks - WeatherBug will present and discuss research based on the Earth Networks Total Lightning Network, PulseRad, and lightning data at AMS 2013 in Austin, Texas from January 7 - 10. For a full list of presentations, visit http://earthnetworks.com/MediaCenter/Events/AMS2013.

About Earth Networks^SM

For 20 years, Earth Networks^SM has been Taking the Pulse of the Planet with the world’s largest weather observation, lightning detection, and greenhouse gas monitoring networks and is establishing a network for collecting data within the planetary boundary layer. The company’s popular WeatherBug® website, desktop application and mobile apps for major smartphone platforms provide real-time neighborhood-level weather and advanced severe weather alerts to millions of consumers. Enterprise solutions from Earth Networks enable organizations and markets, including energy and utilities, agriculture, schools, sports and recreation, emergency operations and government entities, to safeguard lives, prepare for weather and climate events and improve business operations. Founded in 1993, Earth Networks (www.earthnetworks.com) is headquartered in the Washington, D.C. area with additional locations in Mountain View, Calif.; New York, NY; Milan, Italy and a local presence in 50 countries worldwide.

About Climatempo Group (http://www.climatempo.com.br/)

Founded in 1988 Climatempo Consulting has the pioneering, leadership and innovation as its hallmark. It was the first to offer newsletters to media and custom analyzes for various industry sectors.

In 1999 the company created its own weather channel, the only one in the country, called TV Climatempo. The performance of Climatempo began to expand and spread to the internet, working with big companies such as UOL, Terra, IG, Estadão, Abril, among others. Since then, the scope of services offered by the company has not stopped growing. Climatempo Portal was born in 2000 offering accurate weather forecasts and bulletins to all regions of the country, as well as satellite images in real time. The analyzes of forecasts also started to be given for long periods, which helped industries, farmers and government agencies in making decisions more safely in areas that depended on weather conditions.