Weather Underground

Weather Underground is a digital weather service originally founded in 1995 as an offshoot of the University of Michigan's internet weather database. Known for its 'Personal Weather Station' (PWS) network, it aggregates data from over 250,000 private weather stations across the globe to provide hyper-local forecasts. The service revolutionized digital meteorology by making real-time environmental data accessible to the public.

Over the decades, the ownership of Weather Underground has shifted as part of the consolidation of digital media and meteorological data assets. It was first acquired by The Weather Channel (Weather Company) in 2012. In 2016, IBM purchased the digital assets of The Weather Company, including the Weather Underground platform, integrating its data into IBM's Watson AI and cloud infrastructure. Currently, the brand is owned by Francisco Partners, a private equity firm that acquired the consumer-facing digital assets (The Weather Channel and Weather Underground) from IBM in early 2024. The infrastructure remains primarily based in the United States, serving a global audience through its website and mobile applications.