Mid-Atlantic Wx Tropical Model Maps By Subscription

[TampaFl]

Mid-Atlantic WX.Com is going to offer those great model maps we have seen the last several years by subscription only for the 2005 hurricane season. Thoughts and comments welcomed.

http://www.midatlanticwx.com/modelmap.htm


Robert

[mf_dolphin]

I really hate to see this but I understand. The cost of servers and bandwidth has to be paid for somehow. Thankfully our members have been generous in supporting S2K so we don't have to charge like some sites have been force to do.

[TampaFl]

Agree mf_dolphin with the cost and such. Thanks to everyone at Storm2K for all they do to supply us with some very valuable maps and information .

Robert

[chadtm80]

Robert, Scott has to now pay for the software that makes those maps as well.. The cost is minimal and WELL worth it

[cyclonaut]

Looks like I won't be using midatlanticwx.com's model maps this season.

Ok I'm over it.

[chadtm80]

Again, Let me reiterate that it is well worth it.. Scott has kept this feature free as long as possable. He has been around for ALL of us for years, and will continue to do so.. Unfortunatly he has to start charging for the maps.. I for one will be more then willing to shell out the money Thanks for all you do Scott

[TampaFl]

Chadtm80, do you know how much the service is/will be? They do have great maps.


Robert

[GulfBreezer]

I have to agree with Chad that Scott's site is great for model maps and he has been a GREAT source opf information for us the last few years!! I will be more than willing to pay! It is a great product!

[Scott_inVA]

Guess it's time to weigh-in. Yes, the model maps will become part of a new pay side to the site called "Premium Service" Weather.

I am *not* happy to do this. The site's former sponsor hired a new Publisher who is moving marketing revenue elsewhere. That's an annual hit of around four thousand dollars.I have devoted literally hundreds of hours running maps and hurricane info without a penny and have no problem doing so. But, this labor of love is only a small part of the process.

The new modeling software and licensing for other wx products and graphics all requires money. In peak hurricane season I usually pay excessive bandwidth fees (or host buts a choke on site which I won't permit). Hurricane remnants last year in VA caused 3 power failures here so I've installed a bigger UPS to hopefully keep the wx station and model maps online as much as possible. We pay higher than average host fees to support redundancy and live 24/7 tech support so the site is reliable. My new job requires alot of travel so a laptop and mobile connectivity is now required in an effort to keep maps current near landfall. And, in case the server blows up or can't be reached from here, a mirror site is being investigated. [/whining]

I understand the "Premium Service" won't be acceptable to some folks. It will be far less than other prices on the web and hope folks will agree our benefits will make a modest subscription investment more palatable.
Hope to get benefits/prices/subscription online around the 25th. If you'd like to be notified when this is ready there's a link on the model map page.

I appreciate the previous support given to WREL Online and the first year of Mid-Atlantic WX.com. I, like many others here who runs sites, take very seriously the work and want to serve as many people as possible. While I'd prefer keeping model maps free like hurricane info and local wx, every effort is made to keep the site relevant and reliable. One little positive; the site is now totally ad-free! So if you become a subscriber you'll sorta be part-owner

Thanks and please feel free to comment here or email me at the site.

Thanks again.

Scott
Mid-Atlantic WX.com
Lexington, Virginia

[Rainband]

Again, Let me reiterate that it is well worth it.. Scott has kept this feature free as long as possable. He has been around for ALL of us for years, and will continue to do so.. Unfortunatly he has to start charging for the maps.. I for one will be more then willing to shell out the money Thanks for all you do Scott

[mf_dolphin]

Again, Let me reiterate that it is well worth it.. Scott has kept this feature free as long as possable. He has been around for ALL of us for years, and will continue to do so.. Unfortunatly he has to start charging for the maps.. I for one will be more then willing to shell out the money Thanks for all you do Scott

Couldn't have said it better! Count me in Scott.

[Rainband]

Some things are worth paying for

[HurricaneQueen]

After researching it I will probably pay for the service. After all, Scott has worked tirelessly for us for years getting the model maps out even if it meant staying up all night. It's the least we can do as long as someone in a psoition of authority understands why they are getting subscriptions (SCOTT!!!!).

Lynn

[Betrock]

If it will get me timely accurate updates of the quality we've come to expect from Wx, $20.++
is cheap! I''ve paid!

Tks,
Betrock

[Scott_inVA]

If it will get me timely accurate updates of the quality we've come to expect from Wx, $20.++
is cheap! I''ve paid!

Tks,
Betrock

Thanks! I hope you find value in everything that's ready to go.

The $20.70 will last at least into the weekend. At some point it goes to $23 but for now that's what it is.

Things should stay timely for the season but think I'm getting Carpal Tunnel surgery next week so hopefully nothing spins for a few days after that. Ouch!

Scott
Mid-Atlantic WX.com
Lexington, VA
http://www.midatlanticwx.com/modelmap.htm

[Steve]

It's not worth it to me. The models can be run from any number of sites. Seems as though someone could just plot the tracks and post it here on S2K in a thread and it wouldn't cost anything. Not that I don't appreciate the hard work and investment into what you've done Scott, but it's not for me. I'd donate a $10 or $20 to S2k, because i use it pretty often vs. 5 or 6 times a year for 10 or 15 seconds each.

Good luck though and I hope you recoup whatever out-of-pocket costs you've got into it.

Steve

[TampaFl]

I signed up the first day that it was available . For the price, you cannot get a better deal than what is being offered . Thanks Scott for making this available this year. Looking foreward to using it this year.

Robert

[dhweather]

Some things are worth paying for

You ain't kidding!

grlevelx, for example, well worth it to me.

[dhweather]

If it will get me timely accurate updates of the quality we've come to expect from Wx, $20.++
is cheap! I''ve paid!

Tks,
Betrock

Thanks! I hope you find value in everything that's ready to go.

The $20.70 will last at least into the weekend. At some point it goes to $23 but for now that's what it is.

Things should stay timely for the season but think I'm getting Carpal Tunnel surgery next week so hopefully nothing spins for a few days after that. Ouch!

Scott
Mid-Atlantic WX.com
Lexington, VA
http://www.midatlanticwx.com/modelmap.htm

Egad! Well rest those carpal tunnels!

You've been spending too much time on the computer.

Hi there Pot, I'm kettle!

[dougjp]

Well I had a look at the overall services offered and it was a no-brainer, I subscribed today.

It wasn't the maps alone that resulted in saying yes, although the time and aggravation saved by not having to find and reconstruct them myself would have made it worthwhile. A number of other things really stood out.

The Model Forecast Error data is of particular interest, as getting information looking back at how well each model did (even short term) to form my own opinions on each models' success rates over time, has been pretty hit or miss, usually resigned to happening upon posts partially discussing this. Getting e-mail notifications of Invests/TC's starting to be tracked is invaluable and a time saver. I like the fact I will have one click access to buoy observations and conditions, and looped doppler local radar as a storm nears land.

Together with storm2k's previous existing plus its newly added features, my crazy long list of Internet Favorites can finally be pared down to just a few!