WeatherBell Goes Pay-Per-View

[wxman57]

Beginning next Friday, WeatherBell (where Joe Bastardi is now) is no longer free. You'll have to pay either $16.99/mo or $160/yr to see anything there.

Their new website is up:
http://www.weatherbell.com/

[OuterBanker]

IMO, just too much for what you get. With Accuweather pro you got Joe and so much more for less. Me, I've dropped both and am opting for the Hurricane Track premium site. Just 9.99 mo and supports the chasers. They will have live feeds as well some new cool tools (like the new uav). Don't get me wrong, I will miss Joe. I just think it's too high for the common man.

[wxman57]

Yeah, too high for me, too. Can't even preview what model data might be available there. I liked the AccuWeather site because of the Euro model data. It's too expensive for us to purchase (6 figures per year). I don't see this company surviving.

[Rainband]

I saw this coming when he left. "the grass is always greener"

[hurricanetrack]

It is great to have folks like Outerbanker with us. We have offered a premium level service since 2005 when it was only live video that we were selling access to. Back then, we had to or we could not afford to do it at all. Now, we have so much more to offer. We have added Greg Nordstrom from MSU to our team which will be a fantastic asset to us and our clients. I think the thing that we try to convey the most is this: there are some excellent weather companies out there who put out great forecast products. We will not compete with that in the near future nor is that our goal. What we have, and have been good at since the late 1990s, is gathering ground data and video when a hurricane or tropical storm hits. This year, we have more tech than we ever have. The addition of our UAV is awesome. Our focus on aftermath will be a substantial part of our work this season. We're adding more instrumented wind towers with all RM Young equipment. Our pressure sensors will be all RM Young. This means top of the line, reliable and accurate data from the precise location of the hurricane's landfall. This is something that can only be done by being on the ground.

Our live video will be better and more expansive than ever possible this season. We'll have three cams just in the Tahoe alone! Plus, we have our stead-fast remote Storm Case cams to deploy as well. All of this adds up to a powerful suite of products for the times when a hurricane does in fact come ashore.

My point is, as good as any forecast firm is, there is a point where ground based data and info can become just as valuable as the forecasts were that preceded the hurricane's landfall. I am confident in our abilities for this season and beyond and have a great team in place. Of course, we still offer an incredible amount of info on the homepage at absolutely no cost at all.

[crownweather]

Much like many others in this topic, we cannot justify the monthly price for really as little as you get with WeatherBell. Much like Outerbanker, we opted to go with HurricaneTrack's premium service as the data gleaned from video, UAVs and the wind towers will be a big help in determining conditions before, during and after hurricane landfalls.

[hurricanetrack]

Wow. Some great endorsements there. We are proud to have the members that we do. But it's more than that. They're our clients- that's why we renamed it Client Services. We can talk via the live broadcasts directly to people on a first name basis if appropriate. We know their needs, we know what they want to know. I really think the future for reliable and accurate landfall data is bright. We've done it with success for many years and are now working on getting larger with more instrumentation covering a wider area. We have a fantastic team and what's more, it's not a one-way street. Outerbanker, Crownweather or any of our clients can interact with us in real time. This is true during our live briefings from our office or during our live field missions. It makes it more like one big family. I know it's cliche' but it's true. These people have a vested interest in our success. Anyhow, getting too promo oriented here but it's nice to see people putting their faith and hard earned money in to our work.

[crownweather]

Noticed this on the WeatherBell site this morning: "PLEASE NOTE: The first payment date for WeatherBell Premium services has been extended to June 1, 2011. Payment options will be provided upon login on that date.

I still think it's way too much money for what you get; also, the revamp of the site doesn't impress me at all as well. Very difficullt and clunky to navigate around.

[OuterBanker]

Well, I guess this will be my last opinion. I did try it until the final deadline in which they extended until June 1.

Just couldn't see paying for so little. They are full of promises of all the things that will provide in the future, but right now it is very little.

JB doesn't post anywhere near the amount he did at Accuweather. The videos are short and contain echoes (very annoying).

And to top it off the site is very sparse and cumbersome.

Looks like they went out and hired the experts in weather and gave little or no thought to web design.

It borders on amateur, but they want professional prices.