AccuWeather App for Windows 8 Launches MinuteCast and Moves Toward Universal Windows App

AccuWeather provides Windows 8 tablet and desktop users with new hyper-local MinuteCast for global locations and builds technical infrastructure for universal Windows app AccuWeather Global Weather Center – November 14, 2014 – AccuWeather, Inc., the global leader in weather information and digital media, today announced it has launched an update to its AccuWeather for Windows 8 app to include the popular feature AccuWeather MinuteCast(R). MinuteCast is the only global minute-by-minute precipitation forecast for a person’s exact street address or GPS location. This patented forecast functionality was introduced to users of the AccuWeather app for Windows Phone in August 2014. With the Windows 8 app update, AccuWeather also further advances its goal to provide one universal app for Windows tablet, desktop, and phone users worldwide.

“Universal Windows apps are helping leaders in the app development world simplify the multi-platform development process and app users are benefiting from one unified app experience across their devices,” said Steven Smith, Chief Digital Officer of AccuWeather. “With this Windows 8 app update, we not only added important features that our users are asking for, such as AccuWeather MinuteCast, but we also put the technical infrastructure in place to support the Windows universal app functionality. With a future update planned on our current Windows Phone app, we will be able to offer one universal AccuWeather app experience on Windows to this growing user base worldwide.”

In addition to MinuteCast and the support for universal app functionality, the AccuWeather app for Windows 8 provides fully interactive, full-screen Bing Maps overlaid with AccuWeather’s precise weather data including radar for the United States, Canada, Europe, and Japan. Severe weather notices are available, as well as large, medium, small, and wide Live Tiles that automatically peek and refresh with current forecasts and weather maps for favorite locations. Users also get a quick look at current weather conditions for the next five days with an easy swipe to a calendar view of the forecasted conditions for each of the next 25 days.

"The AccuWeather app for Windows 8 is a great example of the type of high-quality, user-focused apps that consumers can find on Windows,” said Todd Brix, General Manager, Windows Apps and Store, Microsoft Corp. "With the addition of popular features such as MinuteCast and the infrastructure behind its universal Windows app, AccuWeather is providing users with relevant, hyper-local weather information, in an easy-to-use and enjoyable interface.”

AccuWeather MinuteCast includes precipitation type and intensity, as well as start and end times for precipitation. It gives users by-the-minute precipitation forecasts for the next two hours, set for their exact street location, with the Superior Accuracy™ that is AccuWeather’s hallmark. AccuWeather MinuteCast is uniquely supported by both national and international patented technology, and is currently available for the contiguous United States, Canada, Japan, Ireland, France, Germany, Belgium, Switzerland, Netherlands, Luxembourg, and the United Kingdom with additional locations to come.

AccuWeather for Windows 8 is available as a free download from the Windows Store.

About AccuWeather, Inc. and AccuWeather.comEvery day over a billion people worldwide rely on AccuWeather to help them plan their lives, protect their businesses, and get more from their day. AccuWeather provides hourly and Minute by Minute™ forecasts with Superior Accuracy™ for any longitude/latitude on Earth, with customized content and engaging video presentations available on smart phones, tablets, free wired and mobile Internet sites, connected TVs, and Internet appliances, as well as via radio, television, and newspapers. Founded in 1962 by Dr. Joel N. Myers – a Fellow of the American Meteorological Society who was recognized as one of the top entrepreneurs in American history by Entrepreneur Magazine’s Encyclopedia of Entrepreneurs – AccuWeather also delivers a wide range of highly-customized enterprise solutions to media, business, government, and institutions, as well as news, weather content, and video for more than 180,000 third-party websites. AccuWeather’s CEO, Barry Lee Myers, is an award winning leader in global weather information issues and one of the world’s most recognized advocates for cooperative relationships between government weather agencies and the weather industry. He is a leader in the digital weather information space.

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