NORMAN, Okla. (January 22, 2003) Weather Decision Technologies Inc. (WDT), announces HailExpress™ a new daily email service of hail path locations and size estimates. The service benefits CAT professionals, roofers, dent removal companies and others who need to react when hailstorms have occurred.

The HailExpress™ service is created on a daily basis, for the prior 24-hour period and is sent via email or provided via the internet. When hail occurs, a regional color map (showing where hail fell and the estimated size) is created along with city-level maps for cities within the region (population of 100,000+). The maps are provided in .pdf format, allowing the customer to zoom in and closely examine where hail fell including areas with 3/4" to 1 3/4" diameter hail and 2" or greater diameter hail.

HailExpress™ is an important tool for organizations and personnell that need to react to hailstorms. For Example, if a massive hailstorm produces 2" or greater hail in a highly rural area, evaluations can be made to determine if personnel in the area is sufficient to handle the resulting losses. If that same storm occurs over a highly populated area, dispatching of personnel and resources becomes critical to managing the event and working towards well-organized and timely restoration.

The technology behind HailExpress™ is WDT's patent-pending HailSwath Prediction Algorithm (HPA) that integrates National Weather Service, NEXRAD Doppler Radar Data and observed hail data. Coupling state-of-the-art weather information from the Radar data with actual sightings (as available from the National Weather Service and other sources) provides a statistically reliable data set from which the algorithm can estimate hail size and the geographical regions where hail fell. The HPA runs 24 hours a day, 7 days a week monitoring for hail activity.

HailExpress™ Service starts at just $2,370 for a one region, six-month service. Enhancement features or customization to integrate with other data (population density, zipcode boundaries, etc.) is also available.

About Weather Decision Technologies
Based in Norman, Okla., Weather Decision Technologies, Inc. was created by a team of leading experts in developing automated systems that predict weather phenomena. WDT has developed, and/or exclusively licensed a number of unique patented techniques that automatically predict hazardous weather phenomena up to 60 minutes in advance that provide an unmatched ability to minimize downtime and reduce operating costs. Current clients include American Airlines, Williams Energy Marketing & Trading Company, Western Resources, Salt River Project and Greater Harris County (Tex.) 911. Find more information at www.wdtinc.com.


Released: January 22, 2003