The Future of Weather Forecasting Is Hyperlocal

Subtitle: 'Researchers and companies are tapping into new sources of data to predict conditions in an area as small as a backyard or a city block.'

By Thomas E. Weber

Wall Street Journal

June 19, 2025

'Researchers and companies working on hyperlocal forecasts hope to tap a number of sources beyond traditional satellite and radar data. One is the Internet of Things—the billions of internet-connected devices that gather data, from barometric pressure sensors built into cellphones to webcam video feeds. Across the country, states have been building networks of weather stations called mesonets that can supplement the National Weather Service monitors typically found at airports. LIDAR technology, which can measure wind speed by bouncing lasers off particles in the air, is able to gather information with a small box on the ground instead of a weather tower.

Nearly every kind of weather forecasting relies on a mix of public and private data sources, but in the hyperlocal realm private companies are growing more prominent, in part because business customers have the most to gain from tailored forecasts. Microsoft, for instance, deploys its machine-learning technologies to refine weather predictions, which it then incorporates into broader cloud-computing products it markets to agriculture companies. Tomorrow.io provides hyperlocal forecasts to major airlines to help guide airport operations.'