System and method for providing personalized storm warnings

• US 7,139,664 B2
• Filed: 03/28/2005
• Issued: 11/21/2006
• Est. Priority Date: 11/06/2000
• Status: Expired due to Term

• Current Assignee: DTN, LLC (TBG AG)
• Original Assignee: Weather Central, Inc. (The Weather Company)
• Inventors: Marsh, Victor W., Kelly, Terence F., Wiggins, Randall T.
• Primary Examiner(s): MCELHENY JR, DONALD E
• Application Number:
  US11/091,724
• Publication Number:
  US 20060036366A1
• Time in Patent Office: 603 Days
• Field of Search: 702/2, 702/3, 702/4, 702/5, 702/15, 342/26.R, 342/26.A, 342/26.B, 342/26.C, 342/26.D, 342/460
• 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. 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 characteristics of a storm for which the user desires a storm warning to be provided. A detailed and accurate storm track is generated. Generated storm tracks are compared to individual user profiles. Personalized storm warnings are generated for user profiles defining locations of interest within a predicted storm track, if the storm track characteristics of the storm meet the characteristics specified in the storm profile established by the user, and 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 defined location of interest and at least one storm profile condition;

(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 personalized storm warning for the user location of interest automatically from the user profile and the storm track by comparing the user defined location of interest directly to the storm track of severe weather conditions to determine whether the user defined location of interest is within the storm track and generating the personalized storm warning if the user defined location of interest is determined to be within the storm track and the severe weather conditions satisfy the at least one storm profile condition; and

(e) providing the personalized storm warning to the 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 personalized storm warning to the user includes the step of delivering the personalized 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 personalized storm warning includes the step of generating a personalized storm warning e-mail message, and the step of delivering the personalized storm warning includes the step of sending the personalized 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 personalized storm warning includes the step of generating a personalized storm warning voice message, and the step of delivering the personalized storm warning to a user includes the step of sending the personalized 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 personalized storm warning includes the step of generating a personalized storm warning text message, and the step of delivering the personalized storm warning to a user includes the step of sending the personalized storm warning text message to a pager at the user contact pager number.

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

8. 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 current position of a storm cell from the first weather information periodically each time the first weather information is received, determining an updated current 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 current position of the storm cell.

9. The method of claim 8 wherein the step of determining an updated current position of the storm cell includes the step of determining an updated current 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.

10. The method of claim 8 wherein the step of determining an updated current 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 current location of the storm cell, and determining the updated current position of the storm cell from the second weather information.

11. The method of claim 10 wherein the second weather information source is live radar and the second weather information is live radar information.

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

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

14. 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 personalized storm warning to a user includes the step of providing the personalized storm warning so as to be accessible at the personalized internet web page address.

15. A personalized storm warning generating system, comprising:

(a) user profile generator means for establishing a user profile including a user defined location of interest and at least one storm profile condition;

(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 personalized storm warning for the user location of interest automatically from the user profile and the storm track by comparing the user defined location of interest directly to the storm track of severe weather conditions to determine whether the user defined location of interest is within the storm track and generating the personalized storm warning if the user defined location of interest is determined to be within the storm track and the severe weather conditions satisfy the at least one storm profile condition.

16. The personalized storm warning generating system of claim 15 comprising additionally means for providing the personalized storm warning to an addressable device.

17. The personalized storm warning generating system of claim 15 comprising additionally means for delivering the personalized storm warning to a user contact address.

18. The personalized storm warning generating system of claim 17 wherein the user contact address is an e-mail address and the storm warning generator means is adapted to generate a personalized storm warning e-mail message.

19. The personalized storm warning generating system of claim 17 wherein the user contact address is a phone number and the storm warning generator means is adapted to generate a personalized storm warning voice message.

20. The personalized storm warning generating system of claim 17 wherein the user contact address is a pager number and the storm warning generator means is adapted to generate a personalized storm warning text message.

21. The personalized storm warning generating system of claim 15 wherein the first weather information source is NEXRAD.

22. The personalized storm warning generating system of claim 15 wherein the storm track generator means includes means for receiving first weather information periodically from the first weather information source, means for determining a current position of a storm cell from the first weather information periodically each time the first weather information is received, means for determining an updated current 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 current position of the storm cell.

23. The personalized storm warning generating system of claim 22 wherein the means for determining an updated current position of the storm cell includes means for determining an updated current 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.

24. The personalized storm warning generating system of claim 22 wherein the means for determining an updated current 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 current location of the storm cell, and means for determining the updated current position of the storm cell from the second weather information.

25. The personalized storm warning generating system of claim 24 wherein the second weather information source is live radar and the second weather information is live radar information.

26. The personalized storm warning generating system of claim 15 wherein the storm warning generator means includes means for determining arrival time information for the severe weather conditions at the user defined location of interest, and wherein the personalized storm warning includes the arrival time information and an indication of the severe weather conditions.

27. The personalized storm warning generating system of claim 15 comprising additionally means for providing a personalized internet web page address to a user, and means for providing the personalized storm warning as a web page accessible at the personalized internet web page address.