Weather Underground
Weather Underground is an online weather-information service combining official meteorological data with observations from a large worldwide network of personal weather stations.
Last updated October 14, 2026
AI crawler reads
2requests
1companies- Anthropic2
- Profile
- 2
- Controversies
- 0
- JSON · MD
- 0
- First read
- Nov 4, 2026
- Latest read
- Nov 4, 2026
From this site's server log
Overview
Weather Underground is an American commercial weather-information service that delivers current conditions, forecasts, maps, severe-weather information, historical observations and other meteorological data through its website and connected applications. Although its name resembles that of the 1960s political organization, the brand belongs to the weather and information-services sector and originated in an internet-weather project at the University of Michigan. The service began as UM-Weather, a menu-driven Telnet system created in 1991 by meteorology doctoral student Jeff Masters under the supervision of Professor Perry Samson. It was designed to make real-time weather information available through early computer networks. Alan Steremberg later joined the project, contributing software and helping develop Blue Skies, a graphical weather client intended in part to bring internet weather information into K–12 classrooms. The emergence of the Mosaic web browser made it practical to move the service from early network interfaces to the World Wide Web. The name Weather Underground was adopted in the early 1990s after feedback connected with a National Science Foundation funding proposal, and the project became a commercial company separate from the university in 1995. Weather Underground’s core proposition is the aggregation and presentation of weather data from multiple sources. It uses information from the United States National Weather Service and other official meteorological sources, while also incorporating observations from more than 250,000 automated personal weather stations around the world. This combination supports highly localized reporting and gives users access to neighborhood-level observations that may not be available from conventional city-based forecasts. Its interactive WunderMap product visualizes these observations and official station data on maps with changing weather and environmental layers. The brand has served both individual users and commercial or publishing customers. Its website provides forecasts for major cities and localities worldwide, while its data and summaries have been used by newspapers, third-party websites and the Associated Press. Weather Underground has also offered mobile applications, browser tools, mapping products and an advertising-free paid experience with additional features. Earlier services included user blogs, email forecasts, SMS alerts, rebroadcasts of NOAA Weather Radio and an API for external developers; several of these offerings were discontinued as the business changed direction. Weather Underground was acquired by The Weather Channel Companies in 2012 and continued to operate as a distinct website with its own identity and staff. In 2016, IBM acquired The Weather Company’s digital, mobile and cloud-based properties, including Weather Underground. IBM subsequently agreed to sell The Weather Company to Francisco Partners in 2023, with the transaction completed in February 2024. Weather Underground therefore remains part of The Weather Company portfolio under private-equity ownership. The service’s present identity is centered on web-based weather information, interactive maps and the use of crowdsourced personal-weather-station observations, although the scope of its legacy services is narrower than during its earlier period of expansion.
History
Weather Underground developed from an early University of Michigan internet-weather project. In 1991, meteorology doctoral student Jeff Masters created a menu-based Telnet interface that displayed real-time weather information from around the world. The work was conducted under Professor Perry Samson, and the original project was known as UM-Weather. Alan Steremberg joined in 1993, when the team also pursued a program intended to bring internet weather into primary and secondary-school classrooms. Steremberg developed Blue Skies, a graphical Mac Gopher client that received recognition for its technical and educational approach. The appearance of the Mosaic browser offered a path from specialist network interfaces to the public web. During the early 1990s, the project adopted the Weather Underground name. The name was a reference to the militant political organization of the same name, which had connections to the University of Michigan; Masters later expressed regret about the naming choice. In 1995, Weather Underground became a commercial company independent of the university. It expanded from a web service into a provider of weather information for newspapers, media organizations and other third-party outlets. A notable part of the company’s development was its emphasis on participatory observation. In addition to official data from the National Weather Service and related sources, the service accepted readings from automated personal weather stations operated by members. Over time, this network grew to more than 250,000 stations worldwide. Weather Underground used these observations in localized reports and in WunderMap, an interactive mapping product that placed personal-station and official-station data over a map interface with numerous weather and environmental layers. The company also built a community around weather-related publishing. Jeff Masters began a blog in 2005, and Richard B. Rood wrote regularly about climate change and societal responses from 2007 into early 2017. The blog operation was later reorganized under the Category 6 name, reflecting a focus on extreme weather, climate and interpretation of changing conditions. Weather Underground also supplied weather summaries to the Associated Press and supported newspaper and third-party publishing customers. The business entered a period of corporate consolidation in the 2010s. The Weather Channel announced its acquisition of Weather Underground in 2012, but the site retained a separate identity and continued to operate with its existing staff. In 2016, IBM acquired The Weather Company’s digital and cloud properties, including Weather Underground. During the following years, the service retired or reduced several legacy features: member blogs, WUMail, SMS alerts, NOAA Weather Radio rebroadcasts, aviation information and certain applications were ended or changed, and the public API ceased operation at the end of 2018. A planned withdrawal of user-provided weather-camera access in 2017 was reversed after substantial user feedback. Jeff Masters announced his departure in 2019. In 2023, IBM agreed to sell The Weather Company to Francisco Partners, and the transaction closed in February 2024. Weather Underground consequently became part of the Weather Company under Francisco Partners’ ownership. Its continuing role is that of a web and application-based weather service built around official forecasts, dense personal-weather-station coverage, mapping and consumer-oriented weather information.
- 2024
Francisco Partners takes control of The Weather Company
[1]Francisco Partners completed its acquisition of The Weather Company, including Weather Underground.
- 2019
Jeff Masters leaves the company
[1]The co-founder announced his departure from Weather Underground.
- 2018
Public API is retired
[1]Weather Underground ended its public weather-data API on December 31, reducing third-party developer access.
- 2016
IBM acquires the digital Weather Company properties
[1]IBM completed the acquisition of the digital, mobile and cloud properties of The Weather Company, including Weather Underground.
- 2012
Acquired by The Weather Channel Companies
[1]The Weather Channel announced the acquisition of Weather Underground, which continued under its own website identity.
- 2005
Associated Press weather-provider relationship begins
[1]Weather Underground became a weather provider for the Associated Press and expanded its role in media distribution.
- 1995
Weather Underground becomes a commercial company
[1]The service separated from the University of Michigan and began operating as a commercial entity.
- 1993
Educational internet-weather project expands
[1]Alan Steremberg joined the effort, and the team worked on bringing graphical internet weather into K–12 classrooms.
- 1991
UM-Weather Telnet service is created
[1]Jeff Masters developed a Telnet interface at the University of Michigan to distribute real-time weather information.
Products and positioning
A data-rich, community-enhanced weather service that combines official meteorological information with highly localized observations from personal weather stations.
Online weather service · 1995
Weather Underground website
The main web platform provides current conditions, forecasts, historical information, severe-weather content and reports for locations in the United States and many other countries. It combines official meteorological feeds with observations from the personal weather-station network and supports both consumer access and selected media or third-party distribution uses.
Interactive weather map
WunderMap
WunderMap presents weather information on an interactive map, including readings from personal weather stations and official National Weather Service stations. Its layered interface has supported dynamically updated views of conditions and environmental phenomena, making it one of the brand’s clearest expressions of localized, community-enhanced weather data.
Crowdsourced observation network
Personal Weather Station network
Weather Underground aggregates observations from more than 250,000 privately operated automated weather stations around the world. These stations extend the geographic density of the service beyond conventional official stations and help provide neighborhood-level current conditions, although readings originate from distributed third-party equipment rather than a single controlled network.
Mobile application · 2015
Storm
Storm was a universal iPhone and iPad application released by Weather Underground in 2015. Support was later removed as the company shifted users toward Storm Radar, an application released by The Weather Channel Interactive.
Tablet application
WunderStation
WunderStation was an iPad application associated with Weather Underground’s personal-weather-station ecosystem. It provided a dedicated interface for viewing station information and localized weather observations.
Web weather viewer · 2010
FullScreenWeather.com
FullScreenWeather.com was introduced as a full-screen weather-viewing tool with mapping and mobile-device considerations. It later redirected to weather.com and no longer functions as an independent Weather Underground product.
Marketing campaigns
- 2016Category 6 blog rebrand
International online audience
Weather Underground reorganized its blog identity under the name Category 6, emphasizing extreme weather, climate change and expert interpretation.
Outcome. Created a more focused editorial identity for the service’s weather and climate analysis.
- 1993Internet weather for K–12 classrooms
United States
The early project worked to make internet weather information accessible to schools. Blue Skies, a graphical client created by Alan Steremberg, was part of this educational and usability effort.
Outcome. Helped move the project toward graphical and eventually web-based weather delivery.
Brand decisions
2024
Change in control through Francisco Partners acquisitionM&ABackground
IBM agreed to sell The Weather Company, whose digital portfolio included Weather Underground, to Francisco Partners.
Action taken
The acquisition was completed in February 2024.
Aftermath
Weather Underground became controlled by Francisco Partners as part of The Weather Company.
2019
End the Email Forecast ProgramStrategyBackground
The service continued reducing legacy communication products after earlier feature retirements.
Action taken
Weather Underground announced that its Email Forecast Program would end on October 1.
Aftermath
Subscribers no longer received the discontinued email forecast service.
2018
End public weather-data APIStrategyBackground
Weather Underground had provided programmatic access to weather data for external developers and services.
Action taken
The company discontinued the API on December 31.
Aftermath
Third-party applications and developers lost access to the former public interface.
2017
Reverse planned discontinuation of user weather camerasStrategyBackground
Users were initially told that worldwide, user-provided weather cameras would no longer be available.
Action taken
Following significant user feedback, Weather Underground reversed the decision and continued the service.
Aftermath
The camera feature was retained instead of being removed on the originally announced date.
2017
Retire several member and broadcast featuresStrategyBackground
The service reassessed a number of community and distribution functions.
Action taken
Member blogs, WUMail, SMS alerts, NOAA Weather Radio rebroadcasts and aviation services were ended in April.
Aftermath
The decision narrowed Weather Underground’s earlier community and alerting feature set.
Sources2 sources
Cite this profile: Cite the canonical profile. /brand-wiki/weather-underground · Editorial policy · How profiles are compiled