Weather Underground
Weather Underground, founded in 1993 and now a subsidiary of The Weather Company, LLC, operates a global hyperlocal weather forecasting platform powered by a 250,000-plus personal weather station network and its proprietary BestForecast engine, serving general consumers, weather enthusiasts, and B2B enterprise data licensees.
- Company typePrivate
- Founded1993
- HeadquartersSan Francisco, United States
- Headcount51–100
- GTM typeB2C
- OfferingSoftware
What Weather Underground does
Weather Underground is a privately held online weather information service founded in 1993 as the Internet's first weather destination and currently operated as a subsidiary brand of The Weather Company, LLC, headquartered in Brookhaven, Georgia (with a San Francisco office per firmographics). The company operates wunderground.com and native iOS and Android applications, delivering hyperlocal weather forecasts, current conditions, severe weather alerts, historical data, and interactive mapping through its WunderMap product. Its core differentiator is the Personal Weather Station (PWS) network — a crowd-sourced, community-managed global mesh of more than 250,000 stations — combined with the proprietary BestForecast engine that cross-verifies ECMWF, GFS, and NAM model outputs at 4 km spatial resolution updated every 15 minutes.
Underlying the platform is a hybrid data architecture that fuses crowd-sourced PWS observations with governmental feeds from NOAA (MADIS, NDFD, MeteoAlarm), FAA (ASOS), the EPA (AirNow ozone), and the Australian Bureau of Meteorology. Station-grade quality controls operate on observations refreshed as frequently as every 2.5 seconds. The PWS data flywheel is augmented by an OEM hardware partner ecosystem (RainWise, Davis, Ambient Weather, Netatmo, AcuRite, La Crosse) and connectivity-bridge tooling such as WeatherBridge, MeteoBridge, and AirBridge.
Weather Underground commercializes through three primary revenue streams: (i) consumer advertising on the website and mobile apps, with a freemium ad-free subscription tier available direct and via Apple/Google app stores; (ii) B2B weather data and API licensing to 'thousands of customers' globally via The Weather Company's enterprise sales motion and developer.weather.com; and (iii) affiliate referral fees from the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program for compatible weather station hardware. Customer segments are horizontal — general consumers, weather enthusiasts and PWS owners, and B2B enterprise licensees — with no publicly disclosed revenue figures and no independent venture funding events.
Weather Underground firmographics
Firmographics- Name
- Weather Underground
- Legal name
- The Weather Company, LLC
- Website
- https://wunderground.com
- Company type
- Private
- Founded year
- 1993
- Operating status
- Operating
- Headcount range
- 51–100 employees
- Short description
- Weather Underground, founded in 1993 and now a subsidiary of The Weather Company, LLC, operates a global hyperlocal weather forecasting platform powered by a 250,000-plus personal weather station network and its proprietary BestForecast engine, serving general consumers, weather enthusiasts, and B2B enterprise data licensees.
- Ownership category
- akta.pro rank
Where Weather Underground is headquartered
LocationHeadquarters
- HQ city
- San Francisco
- HQ country
- United States
- HQ region
- North America
Offices1 record
Markets served
Weather Underground business model
Business model- GTM type
- B2C
- Offering type
- Software
- Cost components
- Technology or R&D, Infrastructure, Personnel, Operations, Marketing or Sales
Revenue model
- Consumer Subscriptions: Ad-free subscription plans for consumers accessing Weather Underground and Weather Channel apps. Subscriptions are available through direct site purchases (weather.com, wunderground.com) with monthly or annual billing, and through third-party platforms (Apple App Store, Google Play Store) with auto-renewal. Free trials are offered to new subscribers.
- Advertising: Weather Underground generates advertising revenue from its website and mobile applications. The company utilizes online behavioral advertising and works with online advertising companies to provide relevant ads. Ad-free subscription options are available for users who prefer not to see advertisements.
- B2B Weather Data Licensing: Weather Underground and parent company The Weather Company license weather data to thousands of customers globally for display on their own properties. B2B weather data products include Weather Data APIs offered through developer.weather.com and data.weather.com. Commercial use requires separate written agreements with The Weather Company.
- Subscription Bundles: The company offers subscription bundles providing access to multiple apps, websites, platforms, or services. Bundles may be available through third-party platforms (Apple App Store, Google Play Store) or directly through the Sites, with contents, price, and subscription periods disclosed at purchase.
- Personal Weather Station Hardware Referrals: While Weather Underground does not sell hardware directly, the company features compatible weather stations from manufacturers like RainWise, Davis, Ambient Weather, Netatmo, and AcuRite on its buying guide pages, earning referral commissions through the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program.
Pricing tiers
| Model | Billing | Price |
|---|---|---|
| Freemium | Others | Free tier with basic weather features and advertisements |
| Subscription | Monthly | Ad-free subscription for enhanced experience |
| Subscription | Monthly | Multi-app bundles through app stores |
| Subscription | Annual | Enterprise and commercial data licensing |
Go-to-market motion4 records
Distribution channels5 records
Marketing channels7 records
Weather Underground product offering
Product offeringCore offering
Weather Underground operates a hyperlocal weather information platform delivered through wunderground.com and mobile apps, powered by a proprietary BestForecast engine and the world's largest personal weather station network of 250,000+ stations. The platform provides current conditions, multi-day forecasts, severe weather alerts, interactive radar, and historical data to individual consumers, while separately licensing commercial weather data and APIs to enterprise customers through The Weather Company.
Product overview
Weather Underground operates a comprehensive weather information platform centered on its proprietary BestForecast system and the world's largest Personal Weather Station Network with over 250,000 connected stations. The core product consists of the Weather Underground website and mobile apps delivering hyperlocal weather forecasts, current conditions, severe weather alerts, and interactive maps through WunderMap. The platform is distinguished by its community-driven data collection model where members contribute real-time weather observations from their own stations, which feeds into BestForecast for enhanced prediction accuracy. Additional offerings include historical weather data archives, a suite of weather data APIs for commercial use, and access to an extensive network of government weather stations. Founded in 1993 as the Internet's first weather service and now owned by The Weather Company, Weather Underground serves both consumer and enterprise markets with weather data spanning most countries worldwide.
Differentiator
Problem solved
Functional benefit
Brands
- WunderMap: Interactive weather map and radar feature providing visualization of weather data across the globe.
- PWS Network
- BestForecast
Products and services
- Weather Underground Website and Mobile App The primary Weather Underground platform providing hyperlocal weather forecasts, current conditions, severe weather alerts, and interactive maps accessible via the wunderground.com website and iOS/Android mobile applications. Targeted at general consumers, weather enthusiasts, and travelers seeking accurate, location-specific weather data.
- WunderMap Interactive weather map and radar product that displays real-time weather conditions, radar imagery, satellite data, severe weather overlays, and personal weather station data on a customizable map interface. Available to consumers via web and mobile and used by weather enthusiasts for detailed local visualization.
- Historical Weather Data Archive Historical weather data archive allowing users to search and access past weather conditions by city, zip code, or airport code across selectable date ranges. Serves consumers researching past conditions and professionals needing historical analysis.
- Personal Weather Station (PWS) Network A global community network of over 250,000 personal weather stations whose owners contribute real-time environmental data and, in return, receive precision forecasts for their exact location, visualization dashboards, and historical data archiving. Operates as a community-driven data collection program supporting the core platform.
- Weather Data APIs Commercial weather data APIs offered by The Weather Company providing businesses and developers programmatic access to Weather Underground's forecasts, current conditions, historical data, and personal weather station network. Commercial use is governed by separate written agreements with The Weather Company and is sold through enterprise sales.
Quantifiable outcome
- 4km grid resolution provides 36% more forecast points than NWS (5km grid)
- +3 more outcomes
Companies that use Weather Underground
Customer profileNamed customers3 records
Segments3 records
Ideal customer profiles3 records
Weather Underground technology and API
TechnologyTechnology focussed Yes
API detail
- Has API
- Yes
- API docs
- API detail
Core technology
AI maturity
App detail
Integration14 records
AI capability6 records
Feature4 records
Weather Underground partnerships and signals
Strategic signalPartnerships
Nine partnerships are on record, tiered core and minor.
- RainWisecoreRainWise manufactures personal weather stations that are directly integrated with Weather Underground. Featured products include the RainWise MK4-C Cellular Weather Station and RainWise MKIII with discounted pricing for WU users. Stations connect directly to Weather Underground without need for additional hardware.
- Davis InstrumentscoreDavis VantageVue and VantagePro2 weather stations are compatible with Weather Underground. Users can connect Davis stations via Ambient Weather AirBridge and WeatherBridge to push data to Weather Underground.
- Ambient WeathercoreAmbient Weather manufactures PWS hardware and connectivity solutions (AirBridge, WeatherBridge) that integrate with Weather Underground. Their stations including WS-2902B are featured on Weather Underground's buying guide.
- National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA)coreWeather Underground sources data from NOAA's Meteorological Assimilation Data Ingest System (MADIS) which includes over 26,000 US stations and 16,000 international stations. Also utilizes National Weather Service data including NDFD forecasts and MeteoAlarm severe weather alerts.
- Federal Aviation Administration (FAA)coreNearly 2,000 Automated Surface Observation System (ASOS) stations at airports across the US, maintained by the FAA and updated hourly (or more frequently during adverse weather), provide data to Weather Underground.
- WeatherBridge / MeteobridgecoreWeatherBridge is a device that allows weather stations to send data to Weather Underground without need for a computer. Works with many different weather stations via USB connection. MeteoBridge is designed to work most easily with Ubiquiti AirCam and supports webcams.
- Apple Inc.coreWeather Underground subscriptions and apps are available through the Apple App Store. Apple is a third-party beneficiary of Weather Underground's Terms of Use and may enforce terms against users as a third-party beneficiary.
- Google Inc.coreWeather Underground subscriptions and apps are available through Google Play Store. Google is a third-party beneficiary of Weather Underground's Terms of Use and may enforce terms against users as a third-party beneficiary.
- Amazon Services LLCminorWeather Underground participates in the Amazon Services LLC Associates Program, an affiliate advertising program. Weather Underground earns advertising fees by linking to Amazon product pages for weather station hardware.
Scale indicators6 records
Recent moves6 records
Expansion highlights5 records
Weather Underground competitors and assessment
Company assessmentDirect peers
- StormGeo: StormGeo delivers commercial weather forecasting and decision support for shipping, energy, and aviation. It overlaps with Weather Underground's enterprise licensing product for industries that require decision-grade forecasts and operational meteorology.
- OpenWeather: OpenWeather offers global weather data APIs, including forecasts, current conditions, and historical data, used by developers and enterprises. It competes with Weather Underground's commercial API on price-sensitive developer and SMB integrations.
- DTN: DTN provides weather, climate, and agronomic data and analytics to enterprise customers in agriculture, energy, transportation, and logistics. It is a direct competitor in the B2B weather data and API licensing space where Weather Underground's commercial API product competes.
- AccuWeather: AccuWeather is a direct competitor offering consumer weather forecasts, severe weather alerts, and enterprise weather data licensing. Both compete on forecast accuracy, app presence, and B2B API/data services for the same consumer and enterprise customer bases.
- AerisWeather: AerisWeather provides a weather data API and mapping platform used by developers and enterprises to embed forecasts into apps and websites. It is a direct competitor to Weather Underground's Weather Data APIs in the developer and B2B integration market.
Others
- Ambient Weather: Ambient Weather manufactures personal weather stations and connectivity devices (AirBridge, WeatherBridge) that integrate with Weather Underground. It is an ecosystem partner that supplies PWS hardware contributing data to the network.
- National Weather Service (NOAA): The US National Weather Service is a free, authoritative government source of forecasts, warnings, and underlying observational data. Weather Underground both relies on NWS data and competes with it for end-user attention on severe weather alerts and forecasts.
Broad incumbents
- Apple Weather: Apple Weather is the pre-installed weather service on iOS, iPadOS, and macOS, powered in part by data from The Weather Company. It competes for the same consumer weather attention that drives Weather Underground's ad impressions and subscriptions.
- The Weather Channel (weather.com): The Weather Channel / weather.com is a sister brand under The Weather Company and the most direct consumer weather incumbent. It competes for the same consumer attention and ad/subscription dollars while also leveraging shared B2B data infrastructure with Weather Underground.
Emerging players
- Tomorrow.io: Tomorrow.io is an AI-native weather intelligence platform offering enterprise forecasting APIs and decision-support tools. It competes with Weather Underground's B2B Weather Data APIs, particularly for industries seeking higher-resolution and nowcasting-grade forecasts.
Market position
Strengths1 record
Weaknesses1 record
Competitive moat5 records
Key risks6 records
Key highlights6 records
Customer concentration
Weather Underground social profiles
Digital presenceWeather Underground financial estimates
Financial estimateRevenue estimate
Valuation estimate
Weather Underground leadership team
Management profileNumber of profiles
Weather Underground funding detail
Funding detailFunding overview
Funding rounds
Investors
Funding detail is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Weather Underground M&A and investment
M&A and investmentM&A
Investments
M&A and investment is available on the Subscription and Enterprise plan.Contact sales →
Frequently asked questions about Weather Underground
What does Weather Underground do?
Weather Underground operates a hyperlocal weather information platform delivered through wunderground.com and mobile apps, powered by a proprietary BestForecast engine and the world's largest personal weather station network of 250,000+ stations. The platform provides current conditions, multi-day forecasts, severe weather alerts, interactive radar, and historical data to individual consumers, while separately licensing commercial weather data and APIs to enterprise customers through The Weather Company.
Is Weather Underground a public or private company?
Weather Underground is a private company. It is classified as corporate owned and is currently operating.
When was Weather Underground founded?
Weather Underground was founded in 1993. It employs 51 to 100 people.
Where is Weather Underground based?
Weather Underground is headquartered in San Francisco, United States, in the North America region.
How does Weather Underground make money?
Five revenue lines are on record. Consumer Subscriptions are the primary driver. The others are advertising, B2B Weather Data Licensing, subscription Bundles and personal Weather Station Hardware Referrals.
Who are Weather Underground's main competitors?
Direct peers on record are StormGeo, OpenWeather, DTN, AccuWeather and AerisWeather. Others are Ambient Weather and National Weather Service (NOAA). Broad incumbents are Apple Weather and The Weather Channel (weather.com). Tomorrow.io is listed as an emerging player.
Does Weather Underground have an API?
Yes. Weather Data API offered by The Weather Company for commercial and enterprise use. The API provides access to weather data including forecasts, current conditions, and historical data. Commercial use requires a separate written agreement with TWC. Personal Weather Station owners can receive an API key to access the Weather Underground Data Feed for personal, non-commercial purposes. Developer documentation is at www.weathercompany.com/weather-data-apis.