With a solid foundation of the National Weather Center in Norman and a highly skilled workforce coming out of the premier OU School of Meteorology, Oklahoma is the natural choice for weather-related businesses. In fact, more than 700 people are employed in the weather industry in Norman alone.
Weathernews Americas, Inc.
Weathernews Americas opened an office in Norman in 2003. A subsidiary of Weathernews International, -- the world's largest publicly traded full service weather company -- Weathernews Americas is providing round-the-clock forecasting and flight planning services for airlines including American and American Eagle. Weathernews employs 25 people in its new state-of-the-art facility in Norman.
"For over four years, I envisioned Oklahoma as the setting for Weathernews' next phase of growth in the U.S.," said Hiroyoshi Ishibashi, Global Chairman and CEO of Weathernews Inc. "I believe that the unique partnerships we have forged will help further the research and development of meteorological services to aid people and businesses all over the world."
One of the main reasons Weathernews located to Oklahoma is the "center of excellence" that the University of Oklahoma (OU) has helped create. Weathernews is the anchor tenant on OU's research campus, which also includes the National Weather Center.
Public/Private Partnerships
The National Weather Center leads the nation in forming partnerships with private industry.
- In 1996, NWC's Center for Analysis and Prediction of Storms created an alliance with American Airlines to use computer weather prediction technology.
- In 2001, NWC entities partnered with Williams Energy to customize climate-forecasting technologies for energy applications.
Vieux & Associates, Inc.
Vieux & Associates, Inc. is a technology development company specializing in geographic information systems, hydrology, and radar rainfall applications. The company integrates key technologies in a multi-disciplinary environment to serve client needs for spatial rainfall and flow rate information. Vieux & Associates' mission is to harness the power of advanced information technology for hydrologic applications both on the desktop and in real-time.
VfloTM is the first commercially available fully distributed hydrologic model and was introduced by Vieux & Associates, Inc. in 2001. Combining physics and geospatial data, VfloTM provides integrated solutions from catchment to river basin scale. Applications include flood alert, water resources, engineering design, and other hydrologic analyses.
RainVieux and PreVieux produce high-resolution radar rainfall measurements tailored to userdefined needs. Radar and rain gauge networks are harmonized in a statistically controlled system to provide accurate rainfall information.
Weather Decision Technologies
Named one of the fastest growing independent companies in the United States by Forbes magazine, Weather Decision Technologies (WDT) was formed in 1999 by some of the nation's top weather researchers and technology innovators.
Headquartered in Norman, WDT offers a wide array of patented technologies that automatically predict hazardous weather phenomena up to 60 minutes before it occurs and a highly acclaimed, extremely accurate 48-hour plus forecast capability.
Private, weather-related companies in Oklahoma such as Vieux & Associates and Weather Decision Technologies have received hundreds of thousands in Small Business Innovation Research Grants from the NSF along with grants from Oklahoma Center for the Advancement of Science and Technology.
WeatherBank, Inc.
WeatherBank was founded in 1972 in Salt Lake City and moved to Edmond, Okla., in 1996. The company employs nearly 40 people including professional meteorologists, computer programmers, graphic artists, customer service and marketing personnel.
The company is celebrating over 30 years of providing custom weather information products and services to those who rely on timely and accurate weather information--from individual weather hobbyists to commercial businesses and government agencies. Information is accessible 24x7 with a variety of delivery methods to choose from: a private digital satellite feed, general Internet access, individual FTP data delivery and custom web applications. Furthermore, both the data and the delivery method can be customized to suit individual business needs.
WeatherBank's consulting division also provides custom weather forecasting support to clients worldwide. These services include: spot weather forecasts, interpretation of significant weather events, historical databases, computer modeling, environmental instrumentation and verification and more.
Computational Geosciences, Inc.
Computational Geosciences, Inc. of Norman develops weather-related decision support/risk management systems for professionals planning and responding to weather-related events and natural disasters. The company specializes in the application of Doppler radar technology to water resource management. It has also developed advanced statistical methods for a more accurate assessment of site-specific tornado risks.
Related Website:
Norman Economic Development Coalition
Contact:
Oklahoma's Fast Forward Team
800-879-6552
