Weather is one of the biggest influences in our lives. In the last few years, social media tools have become increasingly important in the communication of weather related warnings and forecasts.  Businesses with heightened access to detailed, relevant, real-time weather information are able to make more informed decisions which can significantly impact their bottom line and save lives. As the trend towards data analytics continues, the role of social media in the future of weather tracking will be notable.  In fact, many weather services claim that social media will be a key tool in helping track severe weather in the future.  Recent research completed by Warwick University in Britain found that certain words and photos on social media can act to predict extreme weather conditions before they actually occur.  According to Warwick, certain words on social media platforms like Flickr can signal weather risks developing in specific locations at specific times.  “Our analysis demonstrates that metadata in social media image postings enables them to be used as social sensors, which can serve as a valuable supplement to instrument-based systems for predicting and monitoring floods, and other kinds of natural hazards” said researcher, Nataliya Tkachenko of the Warwick Institute for the Science of Cities. The growth of the Internet of Things will have a positive impact on social media’s use with weather. For example, several U.S. States use a variety of sensors to provide real-time data on pavement conditions.  The sensors can determine “grip factor” which is a measurement of how slippery the road is.  The lower the grip factor, the more adverse the road conditions.  The conditions read by the sensors are monitored by the Transportation Management Center which is the nerve center for hundreds of plows and road crews around the state. Sensor data is tracked and used to communicate road conditions to drivers on the message boards along the highways.  In the future, such data from weather information systems could potentially be used  by self-driving vehicles to make navigation decisions. The Weather Company, an IBM Business, is the world’s largest private weather enterprise, helping people make informed decisions  and take action in the face of weather. The company offers the most accurate, personalized and actionable weather data and insights to millions of consumers, as well as thousands of marketers and businesses. In 2015, IBM announced the purchase of The Weather Company which included a large number of weather data collection points and consumer and business applications…. Read more »