Yes, I think that news is about as big as the news of the acquisition itself. Very exciting news! I have been trying to get the leadership of WU and TWC to do this for the last 3-4 years, and I'm very happy they are finally doing it. In the beginning[1], they made comments suggesting that they thought it was a dumb idea or a waste of time, and that the barometric pressure data from smartphones could never be used in a weather forecast model. I was flabbergasted and could not understand why they wouldn't even consider trying it.
Well, four years later here we are! Finally. We are at the beginning of a revolution in how we understand our atmosphere. There are now billions of internet-connected barometers that can be used in weather models - this should provide a revolution in our ability to forecast short-term mesoscale events like thunderstorms and tornadoes, among other things [2].
Well, four years later here we are! Finally. We are at the beginning of a revolution in how we understand our atmosphere. There are now billions of internet-connected barometers that can be used in weather models - this should provide a revolution in our ability to forecast short-term mesoscale events like thunderstorms and tornadoes, among other things [2].
[1]: http://gizmodo.com/5851288/why-the-barometer-is-androids-new...
[2]: http://cliffmass.blogspot.com/2015/10/apple-computer-could-r...
Some startups working on this are Sunshine, PressureNet, Weathermob, WeatherSignal:
https://thesunshine.co
https://pressurenet.io
http://weathermob.me
http://weathersignal.com