The Weather Channel has debuted a subscription service that delivers weather alerts via subscribers' home telephones or cell phones, pagers or directly to their e-mail address, or a combination of all media.
Called Notify!, the service delivers severe weather alerts from the National Weather Service about conditions in the consumer's geographic location. Alerts include flash-flood and tornado warnings and severe weather watches.
According to a prepared statement from the Atlanta company, subscribers can opt to receive updates on weather situations as they develop. Quiet times can be requested, when no messages are delivered. Or alerts can be sent only in dire situations, like an approaching tornado or developing flash flood.
Notify! costs $5.99 a month or $49.99 for the year. For an extra fee, subscribers can ask for the latest predictions on how the weather may affect outdoor activities, including sporting events and travel, as well as health. After choosing a city, subscribers get updates as the air quality changes.
Consumers sign on at www.weather.com/notify. Once registered, subscribers can have personalized Web pages to include Doppler radar images for a location, an interactive severe weather alerts map to track storms, severe weather news stories, storm videos and safety tips.
Notify! is part of The Weather Channel's efforts to monetize its online arm. Similar subscription alerts are planned for next year. The company recently began a subscription version of its Desktop Weather by The Weather Channel application. This version runs streaming video instead of ads, which support the free desktop variant.
