Ford, AccuWeather Keep Drivers Weather-Ready with Hyper-Local Forecasts Minute-by-Minute Through SYNC AppLink

Ford Motor Company and AccuWeather are joining together to integrate one of the country’s leading weather apps featuring hyper-localized weather forecasting into the vehicle.

“The new integration of AccuWeather for Ford SYNC AppLink will bring our customers the most up-to-date weather information while on the road,” said Julius Marchwicki, Ford Connected Services Product manager. “The system is easy to use, and with the addition of MinuteCast, drivers will get minute-by-minute forecasts for up to two hours to help them make safer driving decisions during bad weather.”

AccuWeather, a global leader in digital weather information, is introducing its MinuteCast™ to Ford SYNC® AppLink™ customers. The technology uses an exact street address or GPS location to provide minute-by-minute weather forecasting, information about precipitation type, intensity and duration to the driver.

By selecting MinuteCast on the vehicle display menu, the driver will see a static image of the weather condition he or she will soon face, and the time the precipitation is expected to happen on the route. An audio warning will also be delivered. The service is available for a growing list of countries worldwide including the United States, Canada, United Kingdom, Ireland and Japan.

Steven Smith, chief digital officer for AccuWeather, said the AppLink-enabled AccuWeather app will make getting this information easier for commuters.

“We are thrilled to have our award-winning app available to drivers through SYNC AppLink,” said Smith. “With important features such as severe weather alerts and AccuWeather MinuteCast, our minute-by-minute precipitation forecast, Ford SYNC AppLink is connecting users with the weather information they need when they need it as they travel, to help provide a better driving experience.”

Ford set the benchmark for in-car connectivity with SYNC, which allows drivers to pair their mobile phones, make and receive calls, and operate other features hands-free using voice control.

The new technology will be demonstrated at the 2015 International CES, the largest consumer electronics show, Jan. 6-9 in Las Vegas.

About Ford Motor Company

Ford Motor Company, a global automotive industry leader based in Dearborn, Michigan, manufactures or distributes automobiles across six continents. With about 189,000 employees and 65 plants worldwide, the company’s automotive brands include Ford and Lincoln. The company provides financial services through Ford Motor Credit Company. For more information regarding Ford and its products worldwide, please visit www.corporate.ford.com.

About AccuWeather, Inc. and AccuWeather.com

Every day over a billion people worldwide rely on AccuWeather to help them plan their lives, protect their businesses, and get more from their day. AccuWeather provides hourly and Minute by Minute™ forecasts with Superior Accuracy™ for any longitude/latitude on Earth, with customized content and engaging video presentations available on smart phones, tablets, free wired and mobile Internet sites, connected TVs, and Internet appliances, as well as via radio, television, and newspapers. Founded in 1962 by Dr. Joel N. Myers – a Fellow of the American Meteorological Society who was recognized as one of the top entrepreneurs in American history by Entrepreneur Magazine’s Encyclopedia of Entrepreneurs – AccuWeather also delivers a wide range of highly-customized enterprise solutions to media, business, government, and institutions, as well as news, weather content, and video for more than 180,000 third-party websites. AccuWeather’s CEO, Barry Lee Myers, is an award winning leader in global weather information issues and one of the world’s most recognized advocates for cooperative relationships between government weather agencies and the weather industry. He is a leader in the digital weather information space.

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