As Sandy the hurricane made herself known on the East Coast of the US and the media surged around her, it was surreal to watch the rest of the world continue to report their weather on Weathermob. The rest of the world has weather, too.
The Weathermob app for iPhone is in 132 countries. Weathermob asks real people to make weather reports about the weather they are in and how it makes them feel. Easy, touch iconic, reporting buttons allow everyone to participate. Photo, video, text, are all options.
This week on Weathermob, Switzerland, the Czech Republic, Austria, Canada and Minnesota have reported snow -- holiday card snow. Western Spain and Southern California are still on the beach. Bulgaria, Russia, Texas, Japan and Mexico are sunny, too. Much of the UK is rainy and gray -- no news there. France is rocking amazing sunsets.
All weather is local, unless it is a showstopper and, even then, it is hard to feel it in firsthand. But not on the Weathermob platform. From all around the world, our real people weather reporters have been sending non-stop notes of concern and good wishes to those on the East Coast of the US, along side their own local weather news.
Weathermob has always been a global conversation, but the severity of Sandy has made our already warm and friendly community even closer. This connecting has reminded Team Weathermob of our mission: to tell the weather story as a human story. Because it is.
Long after Sandy blows through, the people she affects will continue to feel the effects, the damage, the relief. There will be big stories and small stories in the aftermath. They will all be part of the humble, human mosaic of what it means to face weather -- a big storm -- together. These stories are what will bind and remind us that, while the weather can make us feel smaller, so can sharing.