Crowdsourced weather reporting app provides real-time updates

Despite advances in meteorological technology, and the ever increasing accuracy of weather predictions, there is still a degree of uncertainly that comes with any forecast. The new app Weddar hopes to solve this problem through the power of crowdsourcing. The app can be used to both submit and browse for local weather reports. For example, a user in the suburbs wondering what the weather is like in the center of town can send a request to Weddar to find out. Weddar will then alert other users in the town center who can upload a report on the the type of weather they are experiencing, as well as stating how they rate the temperature — as “perfect”, “hot”, “fresh”, or “freezing”, for example. Users can also upload reports unprompted by Weddar whenever they feel so inclined, with all the reports being placed on the Weddar map using the smartphone’s geolocator. Whenever an entry is submitted, reporters gain points and are allocated a respective rank on the leader board. Users can also set to have their reports shared automatically as status updates on Facebook or on Twitter. The reports, meanwhile, fade on the map over time, to ensure that those made many hours before the map is checked do not mislead. The app is currently available from the App store. Weddar enables highly localised weather reporting, and also gives users the subjective views of those making the reports. In the words of Ricardo Fonseca, the app’s co-founder, “With the old weather report services you get the usual, broad and generalist “New York, 93º f, 73% humidity, NE light wind” reports. In Weddar, someone, somewhere in Central Park will tell you that the weather “Feels perfect.”, another one near the river will tell you that “Feels good but windy”, because weather conditions really are different in a same city.” Makes sense to us! (Related: Emails warn patients about health-changing weather — Infolust on the go — Reviews help ensure quality on crowdsourced translation site.) Spotted by: Katharina Kieck