computer science

WeatherBug

WeatherBug is a computer science topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand WeatherBug rather than just read about it. In short: WeatherBug is a brand based in New York City that provides location-based advertising to businesses. WeatherBug consists of a mobile app reporting live and forecast data on hyperlocal weather to consumer users.

Key takeaways

WeatherBug belongs to computer science; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect WeatherBug to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of WeatherBug from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

WeatherBug is a brand based in New York City that provides location-based advertising to businesses. WeatherBug consists of a mobile app reporting live and forecast data on hyperlocal weather to consumer users.

History Originally owned by Automated Weather Source, the WeatherBug brand was founded by Bob Marshall and other partners in 1993. It started in the education market by selling weather tracking stations and educational software to public and private schools and then used the data from the stations on their website. Later, the company began partnering with TV stations so that broadcasters could use WeatherBug's local data and camera shots in their weather reports. In 2000, the WeatherBug desktop application and website were launched. Later, the company launched WeatherBug and WeatherBug Elite as smartphone apps for iOS and Android, which won an APPY app design award in 2013. The company also sells a lightning tracking safety system that is used by schools and parks in southern Florida and elsewhere. The company used lightning detection sensors throughout Guinea in Africa to track storms as they develop and has more than 50 lightning detection sensors in Brazil. Earth Networks received The Award for Outstanding Services to Meteorology by a Corporation in 2014 from the American Meteorological Society for "developing innovative lightning detection data products that improve severe-storm monitoring and warnings." WeatherBug announced in 2004 it had been certified to display the TRUSTe privacy seal on its website. In 2005, Microsoft AntiSpyware flagged the application as a low-risk spyware threat. According to the company, the desktop application is not spyware because it is incapable of tracking users' overall Web use or deciphering anything on their hard drive. In early 2011, AWS Convergence Technologies, Inc. (formerly Automated Weather Source) changed its name to Earth Networks, Inc. In April 2013, WeatherBug was the second most popular weather information service on the Internet, behind only The Weather Channel's Web site, and ahead of the sites run by Weather Underground and AccuWeather. In November 2016, it was announced that xAd acquired WeatherBug from Earth Networks. In June 2017, xAd rebranded as GroundTruth to reflect a change in company focus from advertising to media and data services. In May 2026, it was announced that WeatherBug would be changing their logo to a more refined look.

Mobile application The company developed WeatherBug, a mobile application of their service for Android, iOS and Windows Phone platforms. Spark is a component of the WeatherBug app that reports where the nearest lightning strike is to the user based on data from the Total Lightning Network (run by WeatherBug's former owner, Earth Networks) and your phone's GPS location. WeatherBug is a mobile application created by WeatherBug for Android and iOS platforms. An iPhone version was available in October 2007, and the Android version was released in November 2008 and 2009.

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with WeatherBug

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what WeatherBug claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In computer science, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to WeatherBug before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about WeatherBug ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of WeatherBug

In research: WeatherBug appears in computer science research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses WeatherBug in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: WeatherBug is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 2016 mergers and acquisitions, Android (operating system) software, Business services companies established in 1993, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for WeatherBug outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study WeatherBug in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what WeatherBug means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain WeatherBug out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is WeatherBug in simple terms?

Why does WeatherBug matter?

Because it connects several computer science ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study WeatherBug?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on WeatherBug.