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Stormwatch+ blog

What the updated Wireless Emergency Alerts policy means to you

8/10/2021

 
You are probably familiar with Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA), the push notification-based alert you receive on your smartphone when a Tornado or Flash Flood Warning has been issued in your area. These alerts are defaulted on from the cell phone companies, but can be disabled in your phone's alert settings if you wish. They are triggered from cell towers to those within their broadcast area whenever the tower's coverage area (roughly) overlaps the weather-warned area. Thus, they are a little more precise than county-based alerts (like those from NOAA Weather Radio), but not quite as precise as a well-designed weather alert app that pinpoints your specific location.
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Beginning August 2, 2021, the National Weather Service made a nationwide change to "tag" Severe Thunderstorm Warnings into one of three categories based on expected impact. The highest of these alert levels will also be sent to smartphones via the WEA system. All three categories will continue to be called "Severe Thunderstorm Warnings," but there will be additional information in the warning as to their degree of severity. The three categories are:
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1. Base (or baseline) - These warnings follow the existing criteria for a severe thunderstorm: 1.00 inch (quarter-sized) hail and/or 58 mph thunderstorm winds are expected. These are the lowest level of severe thunderstorm and are a threat to those not properly sheltered and will not trigger a WEA.

2. Considerable - Warnings tagged as having the potential to cause considerable damage are expected to contain at least 1.75 inch diameter (golf ball-sized) hail and/or 70 mph thunderstorm winds. These also will not trigger a WEA, but pose a higher level threat.

3. Destructive - Storms that pose a threat of destructive damage will be tagged as such and will trigger WEA alerts. The threshold for a destructive storm is at least 2.75 inch diameter (baseball-sized) hail and/or 80 mph thunderstorm winds. These storms are estimated to comprise less than 10% of all severe thunderstorms. Extra precaution is warranted (similar to actions taken during a Tornado Warning) given the level of damage they can cause - similar to a low-end tornado, particularly to weak structures.

So while additional alerts will be generated to your smart device, the number will be small and they will be high-end storms capable of significant damage. For your location, perhaps you could expect to receive ONE of these warnings per year. And remember that they are in essence based on your neighborhood - based on a cell tower location - not your county. This move by the National Weather Service and Federal Communications Commission is a good one and will hopefully draw more public attention to, and therefore result in a better rate of taking action, for the most destructive storms.

However, you want even more precise alerts with more control over those alerts - those that ONLY alert when your specific location is expected to be impacted by the type of alerts you select! StormWatch+ Alerts is your solution! Subscribe in the StormWatch+ app and take control over which alerts you receive and for where (multiple locations anywhere in the U.S.).
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THE NEXT STEP - BOOSTING THE POWER BEHIND SW+ ALERTS

2/18/2021

 
The Challenge

The SW+ Alerts service in the StormWatch+ app is unique in many ways.
  • Its class leading Critical Alerts functionality ensures you don't miss a notification for weather phenomena that could pose a risk to life or property
  • We strive to strike the right balance in offering you ease of use and a suite of rich customization options, while giving you access to the geeky details
  • Unlike many weather apps, we offer a service in a way that respects your privacy and security, without invasive trackers or ads, as we recognize you as the customer, not a product to sell to data brokers

Today, mobile applications depend on rich cloud services to offer great in-app experiences. Many web services and apps, such as your favorite music streaming service or social media app, enjoy predictable fluctuations in demand. Given that severe weather can strike at a moment's notice, our SW+ Alerts service must be able to cope with extraordinary increases in demand.

How do we characterize extraordinary? Our web services can't just cope with a doubling or tripling of baseline demand. They must be able to successfully handle nearly instantaneous demand increases of orders of magnitude (10-20 times or more) when severe weather alerts are triggered over a populated area. Moreover, without the financial backing of large corporate entities, we must maintain our backend services in an economical manner that allows us to offer the service at a modest price to you.
The Solution

We're pleased to announce that the SW+ Alerts service now takes advantage of a spate of advancements in cloud computing offerings that have emerged over the last 18 months. With this infusion of technology, the SW+ Alerts cloud service now has over 25 times the capacity while simultaneously improving responsiveness nearly 50 times. This means we can better meet the needs of SW+ Alerts users today and as our user base grows in the future.
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SW+ Alerts and Do Not Disturb

4/20/2020

 
Audio tones emanate from SW+ Alerts (commonly called "wake-me-up alerts") when a Tornado or Severe Thunderstorm Warning is issued for a location being monitored by your device. There have been many question about whether wake-me-up alerts can be heard if one's device is silenced or on Do Not Disturb. iOS devices and Android devices work differently. Let's take them one at a time.

iPhones/iPads
Apple has granted "Critical Alerts" status to SW+ Alerts found in the StormWatch+ app. This means that warnings that require immediate action to protect life and property (Tornado Warnings and Severe Thunderstorm Warnings) will override devices that are silenced, muted, or on Do Not Disturb, sending a loud "wake-me-up" audio tone.
 
You must have granted the app permission to sound Critical Alerts when you installed/updated to this version of the app. To check whether Critical Alerts are enabled, open your device's Settings app, scroll down and tap StormWatch+, then Notifications, then turn ON "Allow Critical Alerts."​
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Android devices
On modern Android devices, it is possible for you to configure your device's settings to allow SW+ Alerts audio notifications to override Do Not Disturb  when it's activated. (This does not apply to silenced devices.)

From within the StormWatch+ app with an active subscription to SW+ Alerts, tap the Settings button on the Active Alerts card.

Tap "Send Test Notification," which should test your device to make sure your settings are correct and send you a test push notification. On the bottom of that test screen, tap "Go To Settings App," which takes you to your phone's settings for the StormWatch+ app.

You should see your device's app notifications options for StormWatch+. Tap "SW+ Alerts: Wake Me Up Alerts" and scroll to the bottom. You will see "Ignore Do Not Disturb." Turn this ON.

Wake-me-up alerts sent by SW+ Alerts will now sound even if Do Not Disturb is activated on your device.

Note on SW+ Alerts Pricing

12/24/2019

 
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Since the initial release of the StormWatch+ mobile app in 2012, we have charged a one-time flat fee for the ability to receive life-saving severe weather alerts pushed to the app. The service has generally been very reliable and is one of the fastest ways to receive mobile app-based weather alerts on the market today. Over the intervening years, we have continued to upgrade back-end processes and hardware, as well as communication channels with the app, to bolster the reliability of the service even further. We are proud that we have achieved 99.95% uptime and delivery of weather alerts to our users, providing a stable and lightning fast delivery service.

This level of service and the infrastructure to support it, however, does not come without a price. In fact, we incur ongoing monthly and annual expenses to maintain the servers, processing, and app updates necessary to maintain high reliability and support new development, even if the weather is quiet! 

In addition, Cirrus Weather Solutions, LLC is a micro-business and does not have large corporate backing that allows us to subsidize one product on the back of another. We also do NOT place ads in our apps (or to charge you to remove them) because we believe that you are looking for great content in a straight-forward and easy-to-use interface uncluttered by advertisements. Finally, because we value your privacy over a little profit, we have made the intentional decision NOT to sell your data to any third party in exchange for some gain (monetary or otherwise) on our part. Period. (See our straight-forward Privacy Policy here.) You will not find a mobile weather alert app on the market that provides an alert service like ours for free that does not either fill it with ads or sell your data. It simply does not exist.

Therefore, effective with the release of StormWatch+ 4.0, while the base app will remain free to download, the SW+ Alerts service will become subscription-based rather than a one-time charge. This transition will allow us to continue to provide the highest level of service that both you, and us, require, while also allowing us to continue to keep the app ad-free, protect your data, and develop new features for the app going forward. And the roadmap is full of exciting new ideas that we know you will use and appreciate, including an Android app early in 2020! Many of these updates will come on the heels of a strong investment we have made in version 4.0 of StormWatch+.

As far as pricing, SW+ Alerts will be offered both as a monthly subscription for a minimal charge, or as an annual subscription, which will be discounted over paying monthly for an entire year. In addition, we are offering a discounted rate on annual subscriptions for a limited time to encourage new users to sign up.

As for those who already have the app and have previously purchased SW+ Alerts for a one-time fee, you will not be required to transition to the subscription based plan. Your one-time purchase will entitle you to lifetime alerts at no additional cost, unless you change the account you use with the App Store and thus are required to re-purchase SW+ Alerts at a later time. This includes restoring of a previous one-time purchase on a new device, as long as the same App Store account is used. 

Unfortunately, Apple requires separate purchases to be made on new App Store accounts for any and all apps and in-app purchases. We greatly appreciate all of you who have supported Cirrus Weather Solutions over the past 7 years by downloading the StormWatch+ app and purchasing the in-app upgrade to receive weather alerts. 

For new users, we hope that you understand the reasoning for our new pricing plans and trust that you will find the service well worth the minimal cost to ensure peace of mind when severe weather threatens.
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As always, thank you for your support and understanding!

Erik Proseus
Owner and Meteorologist
Cirrus Weather Solutions, LLC

Comparing Wireless Emergency Alerts to Stormwatch+ Alerts

12/23/2019

 
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The wireless industry, Federal Communications Commission (FCC), and Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) now disseminate Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA) to cell phone users across the nation.  The National Weather Service (NWS) utilizes WEA to push select extreme weather bulletins using this platform.  WEA, also known as Commercial Mobile Alert System (CMAS) or Personal Localized Alerting Network (PLAN), is a national emergency alert system to send concise, text-like messages to users’ WEA-capable mobile devices.  Along with severe weather alerts, other messages that will be sent as Imminent Threat Alerts include natural disaster notices, such as in the event of an earthquake.  In addition to Imminent Threat Alerts, AMBER Alerts will be sent via WEA, as well as Presidential Alerts.

WEA Basics
  • Users are automatically enrolled in the program, but can opt out of all alerts except Presidential Alerts
  • Alerts will only be sent to WEA-capable devices (most phones released in the past few years)
  • Carriers representing more than 97% of cell phone users are represented
  • Mobile users are NOT charged to receive these messages
  • Messages will appear similar to text messages, though they utilize more robust delivery technology than traditional text messages that is not susceptible to network congestion
  • Alerts will arrive on your device with a distinct tone and vibration which is different from a standard text message
  • Alert messages will be sent to those within a targeted area (individual cell towers can be programmed to send a specific alert), unlike text messages which are not location aware
  • Though the messages are targeted, your location is not "tracked." An alert to a particular area will be delivered to all capable devices within that area, regardless of where the device originates or it's "home" area (i.e., someone from Boston traveling in Dallas will receive any severe weather alerts for Dallas while he is in the affected area)
  • Messages will be limited to 90 characters (though an expansion is planned in early 2020)

Weather alerts sent via WEA (may vary by area)
  • Tsunami Warning
  • Tornado Warning
  • Extreme Wind Warning
  • Severe Thunderstorm Warnings with "catastrophic damage" expected
  • Flash Flood Warning
  • Hurricane Warning
  • Typhoon Warning
  • Blizzard Warning
  • Ice Storm Warning
  • Lake Effect Snow Warning
  • Dust Storm Warning

While this sounds like a direct (and free) competitor to our SW+ Alerts service, SW+ Alerts actually has several distinct and important advantages over the WEA system.

Benefits of StormWatch+ over WEA
  • Delivery method
    • WEA - SMS-like text message
    • SW+ Alerts - Push notification with link to full-featured content in app
  • Weather alert types
    • WEA - Limited set of high-end warnings, no watches
    • SW+ Alerts - Expanded list of warnings, advisories, and watches
  • User selection of alerts
    • WEA - All on/off (except Presidential alerts)
    • SW+ Alerts - User controls individual alert types, quiet time, and vacation stop
  • Location(s) monitored
    • WEA - current location only
    • SW+ Alerts - 5 user-defined locations anywhere in the U.S., as well as GPS-based location alerts for use while traveling
  • Area warned
    • WEA - entire county + "bleed over" if cell tower near county line
    • SW+ Alerts - Only within NWS warning polygon
  • Reliability
    • WEA - fairly reliable but statistics not available
    • SW+ Alerts - proven based on extensive use in all weather types (well above 99% reliability)
  • Availability
    • WEA - all recent iOS/Android smartphones
    • SW+ Alerts - all iOS/Android smartphones and tablets
  • Additional content
    • WEA - none
    • SW+ Alerts - local radar, forecast, current conditions, graphical depiction of warning + full text of the alert

For more information on SW+ Alerts, please visit www.StormWatchPlus.com

For more information on Wireless Emergency Alerts, refer to these sources:
CTIA - The Wireless Association (includes links to WEA info for specific carriers)
NWS Central Region WEA page (with more information on how the NWS plans to use WEA)
FCC website on CMAS
FEMA website on CMAS

StormWatch+ Alerts – Fast and Accurate

12/20/2019

 
Timeliness and accuracy. When it comes to severe weather alerting via mobile device (or any method), these are the two most important criteria in the eyes of recipients of this life-saving information. Given the average lead time for a typical Tornado Warning in the United States of 8-10 minutes, alerts delivered even a few minutes after their initial issuance by the National Weather Service deprive those in the path of the storm of precious time needed to properly shelter. In addition, unnecessarily warning those not in harm’s way of a nearby storm leads to warning fatigue, thereby leading to complacency on the part of those who may, on subsequent occasions, be in the storm’s path.

StormWatch+ Alerts (SW+ Alerts) has recently proven its exemplary performance in each of these areas beyond a shadow of a doubt. Starting with timeliness, recent upgrades to the back-end architecture and software that make up SW+ Alerts have resulted in an improvement in delivery speed by orders of magnitude! What does that mean? In simple terms, our ability to retrieve a severe weather alert from our database and deliver it to your mobile app, even during active weather events, is now under TWO SECONDS. In fact, there have been multiple occasions of late that SW+ Alerts has alerted users prior to the National Weather Service’s own iNWS text message-based system. (Remember that the NWS is where the alerts originate!) Here’s a testimonial from one very impressed user:
“I have multiple apps (18 to be exact) that will alert me to severe weather…. this app [StormWatch+] is consistently one of the first apps that alerts me during any type of severe weather. A+ app with gold star customer service.” –App Store Review
Another area where SW+ Alerts has excelled, and remains a market leader, is accuracy. NOAA Weather Radio, outdoor warning sirens, and even some broadcaster mobile apps continue to warn entire counties for alerts that are issued for fractions of those areas. Even Wireless Emergency Alerts (WEA) that are now standard on recent mobile devices overwarn, as they target any capable devices that are within transmission range of a tower that is within the warned area, creating “bleed-over” into unwarned areas. There have been many instances in which the boundary of a Severe Thunderstorm or Tornado Warning polygon is mere blocks away from a user’s location and SW+ Alerts accurately warns (or doesn’t) that device. Using ultra-precise latitude/longitude locations for both the warning “polygon” and the user’s location(s) to be monitored, a simple cross-reference is done and the alert is pushed only to the locations in harm’s way. An extreme example occurred recently, which even caught us off-guard and required some deep investigation. As it turns out, our trust in the technology behind SW+ Alerts only increased.

The image below shows a zoomed area of Manhattan, New York City, NY. A StormWatch+ user lives in the apartment building circled in the image. A Severe Thunderstorm Warning was presumably issued for his location, but he did not receive a push notification. On closer inspection (very close!), the boundary of the warning polygon literally went right through his apartment building. His side of the building was just outside the warning - literally within FEET - so he accurately did not receive the warning!
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Here’s another testimonial from a satisfied app user:
​“I am a storm spotter. I use this app and [a popular radar app] to chase and spot storms. I have used [other] weather alerts apps…but nothing compares to the accuracy of this one. No false alarms, no alarms about storms out of my range.” –App Store Review
In conclusion, when severe weather threatens, people simply want to know if they will be impacted and want as much warning as possible. SW+ Alerts provides both – the fastest alerts possible (in some cases beating the NWS’ own dissemination technology) and the most precise warnings. ​
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Photo used under Creative Commons from Charles Patrick Ewing