System and method for providing personalized storm warnings

• US 20060036366A1
• Filed: 03/28/2005
• Published: 02/16/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 11/06/2000
• Status: Active Grant

• Current Assignee: DTN, LLC (TBG AG)
• Original Assignee: Randall T. Wiggins, Terence F. Kelly, Victor W. Marsh
• Inventors: Marsh, Victor W., Kelly, Terence F., Wiggins, Randall T.
• Granted Patent: US 7,139,664 B2
• Time in Patent Office: Days
• US Class Current: 702/3
• CPC Class Codes: G01K 2203/00 Application of thermometers in cryogenics
• CPC Class Codes: G06Q 30/02 Marketing; Price estimation or determination; Fundraising
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 27/005 with transmission via computer network
• CPC Class Codes: G08B 27/006 with transmission via telephone network
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 61/4547 for personal communications, i.e. using a personal identifier
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/12 specially adapted for proprietary or special-purpose networking environments, e.g. medical networks, sensor networks, networks in vehicles or remote metering networks
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/306 User profiles
• CPC Class Codes: H04L 67/55 Push-based network services

Abstract

A system and method for generating storm warnings which are precisely tailored automatically for a particular individual or business user'"'"'s geographic location of interest, which maybe provided automatically to the individual user or business. The user establishes an individualized user profile, in which the user may define a particular location of interest and a contact address to which a personalized storm warning is to be delivered. The user may also establish a storm profile defining attribute characteristics of a storm for which the user desires a storm warning to be provided, and an amount of advanced warning to be provided by the personalized storm warning. A detailed and accurate storm track, which includes information describing storm characteristics (severe weather conditions) as well as the current location and predicted track of movement of the storm, is generated. The storm track may be generated automatically from weather radar data, such as NEXRAD data, either alone, or in combination with local live weather radar information, to provide a more accurate storm track. Generated storm tracks are compared to individual user profiles. Personalized storm warnings identifying in detail the storm conditions approaching a user location of interest and arrival time information for that location of interest are generated for user profiles defining locations of interest within a predicted storm track, if the storm track characteristics of the storm meet the attribute and advance warning characteristics specified in the storm profile established by the users. The personalized storm warnings may be delivered to users via e-mail, cell phone, pager, etc.

Claims

1. A method for generating a personalized storm warning, comprising the steps of:

(a) establishing a user profile including a user location of interest;

(b) receiving first weather information from a first weather information source;

(c) generating automatically a storm track of severe weather conditions from the first weather information;

(d) generating a storm warning for the user location of interest automatically from the user profile and the storm track; and

(e) providing the storm warning to a user.

2. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of establishing a user profile includes the step of providing a user profile set-up menu user interface.

3. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of establishing a user profile includes the step of establishing a user contact address and wherein the step of providing a storm warning to the user includes the step of delivering the storm warning to the user contact address.

4. The method of claim 3 wherein the user contact address is an e-mail address, the step of generating a storm warning includes the step of generating a storm warning e-mail message, and the step of delivering the storm warning includes the step of sending the storm warning e-mail message to the user contact e-mail address.

5. The method of claim 3 wherein the user contact address is a phone number, the step of generating a storm warning includes the step of generating a storm warning voice message, and the step of delivering the storm warning to a user includes the step of sending the storm warning voice message to a phone at the user contact phone number.

6. The method of claim 3 wherein the user contact address is a pager number, the step of generating the storm warning includes the step of generating a storm warning text message, and the step of delivering the storm warning to a user includes the step of sending the storm warning text message to a pager at the user contact pager number.

7. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of establishing a user profile includes the step of establishing a storm profile including at least one storm profile condition.

8. The method of claim 7 wherein the step of establishing a storm profile includes the step of establishing at least one storm attribute characteristic storm profile condition.

9. The method of claim 7 wherein the step of establishing a storm profile includes the step of establishing an advanced warning storm profile condition selected from the types of advanced warning storm profile conditions consisting of time conditions and distance conditions.

10. The method of claim 7 wherein the step of generating a storm warning for the user location of interest includes the step of comparing the storm track to the storm profile and generating a storm warning for the user location of interest only if the storm track satisfies the storm profile condition.

11. The method of claim 1 wherein the first weather information source is NEXRAD.

12. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of generating a storm track of severe weather conditions from a first weather information source includes the steps of receiving first weather information periodically from the first weather information source, determining a position of a storm cell from the first weather information periodically each time the first weather information is received, determining an updated position of the storm cell at least once between each reception of the first weather information, and determining a predicted track of the storm cell extending from the determined position of the storm cell.

13. The method of claim 12 wherein the step of determining an updated position of the storm cell includes the step of determining an updated position of the storm cell based on direction and speed of movement information for the storm cell contained in most recently received first weather information.

14. The method of claim 12 wherein the step of determining an updated position of the storm cell includes the steps of receiving second weather information from a second weather information source at least once between each reception of the first weather information, the second weather information including an updated location of the storm cell, and determining the updated position of storm cell from the second weather information.

15. The method of claim 14 wherein the second weather information source is live radar and the second weather information is live radar information.

16. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of generating a storm warning for the user location of interest includes the step of determining arrival time information for the severe weather conditions at the user location of interest, and wherein the storm warning includes the arrival time information and an indication of the severe weather conditions.

17. The method of claim 1 wherein the step of providing the storm warning to a user includes the step of providing the storm warning to an addressable device.

18. The method of claim 1 comprising additionally the step of providing a personalized internet web page address to a user, and wherein the step of providing the storm warning to a user includes the step of providing the storm warning so as to be accessible at the personalized internet web page address.

19. A personalized storm warning generating system, comprising:

(a) user profile generator means for establishing a user profile including a user location of interest;

(b) means for receiving first weather information from a first weather information source;

(c) storm track generator means for generating automatically a storm track of severe weather conditions from the first weather information; and

(d) storm warning generator means for generating a storm warning for the user location of interest automatically from the user profile and the storm track.

20. The personalized storm warning generating system of claim 19 wherein the user profile generator means, the storm track generator means, and the storm warning generator means are implemented in at least one general purpose computer.

21. The personalized storm warning generating system of claim 19 wherein the user profile generator means includes means for generating a user profile set-up menu user interface and for providing the user profile set-up menu user interface to a user.

22. The personalized storm warning generating system of claim 21 wherein the means for providing the user profile set-up menu user interface to a user includes means for providing the user profile set-up menu user interface to a user over a computer network.

23. The personalized storm warning generating system of claim 19 comprising additionally means for providing the storm warning to an addressable device.

24. The personalized storm warning generating system of claim 19 comprising additionally means for delivering the storm warning to a user contact address.

25. The personalized storm warning generating system of claim 24 wherein the user contact address is an e-mail address and the storm warning generator means is adapted to generate a storm warning e-mail message.

26. The personalized storm warning generating system of claim 24 wherein the user contact address is a phone number and the storm warning generator means is adapted to generate a storm warning voice message.

27. The personalized storm warning generating system of claim 24 wherein the user contact address is a pager number and the storm warning generator means is adapted to generate a storm warning text message.

28. The personalized storm warning generating system of claim 19 wherein the user profile generator means includes means for establishing a storm profile including at least one storm profile condition.

29. The personalized storm warning generating system of claim 28 wherein the at least one storm profile condition includes at least one storm attribute characteristic storm profile condition.

30. The personalized storm warning generating system of claim 28 wherein the at least one storm profile condition included an advanced warning storm profile condition selected from the types of advanced warning storm profile conditions consisting of time conditions and distance conditions.

31. The personalized storm warning generating system of claim 28 wherein the storm warning generator means includes means for comparing the storm track to the storm profile and generating a storm warning for the user location only if the storm track satisfies the storm profile condition.

32. The personalized storm warning generating system of claim 19 wherein the first weather information source is NEXRAD.

33. The personalized storm warning generating system of claim 19 wherein the storm track generator means includes means for receiving first weather information periodically from the first weather information source, means for determining a position of a storm cell from the first weather information periodically each time the first weather information is received, means for determining an updated position of the storm cell at least once between each reception of the first weather information, and means for determining a predicted track of the storm cell extending from the determined position of the storm cell.

34. The personalized storm warning generating system of claim 33 wherein the means for determining an updated position of the storm cell includes means for determining an updated position of the storm cell based on direction and speed of movement information for the storm cell contained in most recently received first weather information.

35. The personalized storm warning generating system of claim 33 wherein the means for determining an updated position of the storm cell includes means for receiving second weather information from a second weather information source at least once between each reception of the first weather information, the second weather information including an updated location of the storm cell, and means for determining the updated position of storm cell from the second weather information.

36. The personalized storm warning generating system of claim 35 wherein the second weather information source is live radar and the second weather information is live radar information.

37. The personalized storm warning generating system of claim 19 wherein the storm warning generator means includes means for determining arrival time information for the severe weather conditions at the user location of interest, and wherein the storm warning includes the arrival time information and an indication of the severe weather conditions.

38. The personalized storm warning generating system of claim 19 comprising additionally means for providing a personalized internet web page address to a user, and means for providing the storm warning as a web page accessible at the personalized internet web page address.