FAQ's ~ Frequently Asked Questions

FAQ's of a General Nature:

Who is WeatherBank?
What does WeatherBank do?
How do I contact WeatherBank?
Why pay for weather information when I can get it for free on public web sites?
How is WeatherBank different from the National Weather Service and The Weather Channel?
How is WeatherBank different from its competitors?

Can I use weather information from weatherbank.net on my personal or company web site?

FAQ's applicable to Businesses:

How can I get WeatherBank's weather services for my business?

FAQ's applicable to Individuals:

How can I sign up for personal weather services from WeatherBank?
What browser is required to use the weatherbank.net web site?
How does the 2 week free trial work?
How do I cancel my subscription?
How do I change from a Standard to an Unlimited or Professional personal account?
Why should I sign up for a corporate account via a proprietary web site instead of a personal account?
Can I get historical weather data with a personal Standard or Unlimited Account?

What is WeatherBank's Policy on Client Privacy?

FAQ's on "How To's:"

How do do I find a local forecast?
What are the basics of Weather Radar?

What are the basics in navigating the WeatherBank web site?

How do I create my "Hotlist" of items?

FAQ's of a General Nature:

Who is WeatherBank?
A. WeatherBank is a privately owned, meteorological consulting and weather information service provider. We purchase raw data and products from many worldwide sources for use in the construction of our own unique line of products and forecasting services. For more information on our company, click here.

Q. What does WeatherBank do?
A. WeatherBank provides historical weather data and products, real-time weather observations and products, and proprietary forecasting products and services.

Our primary focus is in the "B2B" arena where many professionals and larger businesses require access to a robust line of weather data, products, and services. Examples would include our proprietary products for use with sophisticated energy load models, and specialized DMA or MSA retail sales models. These products are only available by contacting us personally to review your specific needs and to design a custom solution for your company.

Routinely, our staff will generate custom, client-specific weather products to meet your all of your needs. These products are transmitted to you via the Internet, with a private and secure web browser (HTTP), or following File Transfer Protocols (FTP); or over our proprietary, digital satellite feed (or a combination of two or more methods).

Alternatively, much of our weather data and many of our weather products are available with our personal, online service, WeatherBrief®-NET. Access to this service is granted by subscribing to one of three levels: Standard, Unlimited, or Professional Level.

This service, at all three subscriptions levels, is generally suited to the individual who is a weather enthusiast (Standard or Unlimited Level), or the small business professional (Professional Level) whose weather requirements are less demanding than larger businesses.  In most cases, you'll find that our WeatherBrief®-NET offers more data and products than you've ever found in one location. Click here to learn more about this our personal, online, service - WeatherBrief®-NET.

Our WeatherBrief®-NET service, at all levels, provides access to a limited amount of historical data. However, if you require historical data older than a couple of weeks, it must be purchased from us separately. Please contact us to acquire historical data.

Q. How do I contact WeatherBank?
A. You can contact WeatherBank by many methods, to view our complete contact information, click here.

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Q. Why pay for weather information when I can get it for free on public web sites?
A. There' an old adage that says: "You get what you pay for." That's especially true in the weather services industry. When you need to know specifically at what hour of the day will be the hottest, or how many heating degree days to expect for a two-week period, seven months from now; call WeatherBank.

Furthermore, we provide thousands of text and graphic products that you can't find anywhere on the worldwide web. Also, our graphic products are provided in large formats (normally 640 x 480, or larger) so the details of the data being presented can be easily understood. We give you immediate access to the latest weather information and products - mere minutes after they are constructed - all without distracting commercials or banner ads.

Q. How is WeatherBank different from National Weather Service and The Weather Channel?
A. Both the National Weather Service and The Weather Channel serve the general public. WeatherBank uniquely serves the needs of the most demanding clients by providing access to a larger array of timely and accurate products.

Q. How is WeatherBank different from its competitors?
A. WeatherBank is a rapidly growing business that's still small enough to treat each and every client as if they were our only client. Time and time again, our clients tell us that its our detail and attention to their needs that separate us from every other weather services provider. Our staff is friendly, professional, flexible, and experienced in meeting all of your weather information needs. But don't just take our word for it. Read what some of our customers have to say.

Q. Can I use weather information from weatherbank.net on my personal or company web site?
A. No. Unless you have a specific, written agreement with us that explicitly states otherwise, redistribution of the weather products available on weatherbank.net, or any web site created for you by our company, is strictly prohibited. If you are interested in redistributing our weather products in any manner, please contact us. By doing so, you will avoid unnecessary complications later on.

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FAQ's applicable to Businesses:

Q. How can I get WeatherBank's weather services for my business?
A. There are a variety of ways WeatherBank can meet the weather needs of your business or government agency. Visit our Products and Services pages on our web site to learn more, or simply call us at 1-800-687-3562.

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FAQ's applicable to Individuals:

Q. How can I sign up for personal weather services from WeatherBank?
A. You can subscribe online with a valid credit card on our secure site, or call us toll-free 1-800-687-3562.

If you would like to sign up without using a credit card, you can mail us a check or money order for a total of 3 months or more advanced monthly payments. Make checks or money orders payable to WeatherBank, Inc. Please include a letter with your contact name, address, phone and email address, and the type of personal online account you would like to subscribe to, as well as, your preferred Nickname and Password you would like to use to login to your account. As soon as we receive this information, we will setup your account and notify you once your account has been processed.

Q. What browser is required to use the weatherbank.net web site?
A. weatherbank.net is best viewed with the latest versions of Microsoft® Internet Explorer® and Netscape®.

Q. How does the 2 week free trial work?
A. Sign up online for either a Standard, Unlimited or Professional level, personal account. If you're not completely satisfied, send an Email to support@weatherbank.net within 2 weeks of the date you signed on and we'll refund your money. It's that simple.

Note: This offer is good for personal access accounts only. For a free trial of our commercial applications, please call us at 1-800-687-3562.

Q. How do I cancel my subscription?
A. We ask that you provide us with at least 30 days notice and a written request to cancel your subscription, either by Email or regular US mail.

Send your Email to Michael Root, or send a cancellation letter to us in care of Michael Root at WeatherBank. Please include a contact name, the type of personal account you subscribed to and the Nickname and Password of the authorized user.

Q. How do I change from a Standard to an Unlimited or Professional personal account?
A. Call our Customer Service Department at 1-800-687-3562 or send us an email indicating your desire to upgrade your account level.

Q. Why should I sign up for a commercial account via a proprietary web site instead of a personal account?
A. A corporate account allows for increased bandwidth and multiple users, whereas a personal account is geared toward the single user who occasionally views the web site.

In addition, with a corporate account, you're able to add custom and client-specific product, including real-time lightning data, custom base maps for radar or lightning images, custom forecast products, custom weather web site layouts and much more. Contact us for more information.

Q. Can I get historical weather data with a personal Standard, Unlimited or Professional account?
A. Yes, to a some extent, with limited information going back about two weeks. Access to WeatherBank's historical weather database is provided as a separate service and is accounted for and billed separately. For more information on the kind of historical data that's available from WeatherBank, visit our web site section dealing with historical data. Questions can also be submitted to Steven Root via email.

Q. What is WeatherBank's Policy of Client Privacy?
A. Yes, WeatherBank respects your privacy. We do not sell our mailing lists to third parties, and aggressively maintain the confidentiality of our customer base. The information we collect from you is used to manage your account, provide quality services, and help direct internal marketing efforts.  If you have questions or concerns about WeatherBank’s commitment to your privacy, please contact us.  Thank you for giving us the opportunity to serve you.

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FAQ's on "How To's:"

Q. How can I get a local forecast?
A. If you are a subscriber to the Unlimited or Commercial personal level subscription, you can easily find the current weather conditions, a 7-day area forecast and the weather conditions from the past 24-hours ago by entering a zip code. You can do this by clicking on the Insert Zip Code box in the upper left hand corner of the main screen after logging into your account.

If you are a Standard level subscription user or if you don’t know the zip code of your destination, you can easily find a local forecast from the National Weather Service by knowing the county name. By clicking on the NWS Text Products link from the main Product Menu you will be directed to the complete suite of National Weather Service text products. Next, click the State Zone Forecasts link to select your state. The term zone stands for county. After selecting a state, you will see a list of counties in numerical order by zone number. By clicking on a county name, you will be directed to the 7-day forecast from the National Weather Service.

These forecasts are updated twice a day, once in the morning and in the afternoon.

If you would like to see a complete list of NWS products for a local area, you can select the Menu by Office option to select information for a particular city.

Q. What are the basics of Weather Radar?
A. Radar, which stands for Radio Detection and Ranging, refers to the use of radio waves to detect the presence and the distance of a target. Radar works by transmitting a radio signal outbound, and capturing its return signal, deflected from targets. Upon reaching a target, most of the transmitted energy is dispersed or scattered. Some energy, however, will be reflected back to the radar receiver. The presence of the target can be confirmed by the reflected signal. Radio waves travel at a known velocity, and thus the distance to a target can be defined.

"Doppler" radar employs the phenomena of Doppler Shift to measure the distance of a target and its velocity as well. By comparing the frequency of the transmitted signal to the frequency of the returned signal, target characteristics are defined. "NEXRAD" is NEXt generation RADar and refers to the nationwide network of Doppler radar sites recently installed by the government. NEXRAD sites are tremendously more sensitive than older radar technology, and provide more data at more atmospheric levels, more often (in most cases, ever 6-minutes).

Each NEXRAD site operates in one of two modes, "Clear Air" mode or "Precipitation" mode. Clear air mode (CAM), the normal operational mode, is used during periods of little or insignificant precipitation and is very sensitive.   As an example, cold, light snow is best detected in CAM.  During significant precipitation events, the radar will change to Precipitation Mode (PM). PM provides higher resolution for strong echoes.

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Q. What are the basics in navigating the WeatherBank web site?

A.Upon logging into your account, you will find our complete menu of product categories for you to choose from down the left hand side of nearly every screen. This product menu may look different depending on what type of personal level account you have purchased.  The vertical scroll bar lets you scroll up or down to view more items.

To find and begin viewing products from the menu, you must first choose a product category.  Upon choosing a primary product category, you will be directed through a series of sub-menus that will help narrow your product search.  For example, by selecting Radar Maps you can choose NEXRAD Doppler Composite or local NEXRAD Radar Maps through our Weather Risk Management Radar program.  (NOTE:  Our Weather Risk Management Radar is only available through a Commercial level subscription.)   By clicking on the Composite Radar maps you must then select whether you are using Internet Explorer or Netscape as your Internet browser. Then choose from static or animated map views for the U.S., by Regions or a state level map.

To make the viewing area larger, move your cursor over the left hand edge of the scroll bar until you see the left and right direction arrows. By holding down your left mouse button and moving your mouse in the left direction, this will change the size of your viewing area.

You also have the ability to make the product which you are viewing larger or smaller using our unique Resize Image feature. You can find the Resize Image command at the bottom of each graphic map. Selecting Resize Image will open a new window with the chosen graphic product that can be resized and positioned anywhere on your screen. Multiple windows can be opened for viewing any number of graphic products at the same time.

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Q. How do I create my "Hotlist" of item?

A.The Hotlist feature on our web site eliminates navigation time by allowing you to put the items you view more frequently in one convenient place for easy retrieval. This is a function similar to the "Favorites" or "Bookmark" features of popular Internet browser programs. Your Hotlist items will always reside in their own menu, near the center of your screen, upon logging into your subscription account.

To begin adding products to your Hotlist, select a product from the Product Menu.  Above every product display there is a link to add that product to your Hotlist.  Clicking this link will automatically do so, and you will see a message screen to let you know the item has been added.  Products are sorted in the order that they were selected.

To begin viewing items from your Hotlist or to return to your Hotlist at any time, click the Go To Hotlist link from the top of the Product Menu.  You can also click on the WEATHERBANK, INC logo at the top of the page to move your Hotlist items to the left hand side of your screen. To display a product, click on the product name.

You can also click on the WEATHERBANK, INC. logo at the top of the page to move your Hotlist items to the left hand side of your screen for easier access. To return to your product menu, click the Back To Toolbar link at the top of your Hotlist items.

You can delete items from your Hotlist by clicking the Edit Hotlist link located at the bottom of the screen where the Hotlist is displayed.  This will display a table with your Hotlist items, and the option to delete each one.

To delete an item, simply click the Delete Item link located to the right of each product in your Hotlist.  The item will be deleted, and the table will be redrawn with the deleted product removed.

To return to your Hotlist, click the link at the bottom of the frame entitled Return to Hotlist.

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Copyright 2006, WeatherBank, Inc.