Weather Channel app users to gain access to localized COVID-19 info beside weather forecasts, life indexes

The Weather Channel introduces COVID-19 tracking tools to its mobile app and desktop platforms. Image: courtesy of IBM via AFP Relaxnews

The Weather Channel’s parent company IBM announced this week that official, localized coronavirus information is being added to weather.com, its mobile app and an affiliated desktop dashboard so that users can access the latest news about COVID-19 from anywhere at any time.

To bring their Weather Channel app, website and desktop dashboard users quick and convenient access to the latest COVID-19 information in their regions, IBM announced Wednesday that the latest, localized, coronavirus details will be available beside their weather forecasts. The Weather Channel’s general manager Cameron Clayton states that this information will help users to understand “why social distancing matters in your community and why it’s important to heed instructions from your local, state and national resources.”

The new tools provide information from official sources both locally, down to the country level in some regions of the United States, and internationally recognized. Users have access to an AI-enhanced interactive “Incidents Map” of the coronavirus with data and statistics, a trend graph, the latest news and videos regarding the outbreak, and informational content like the locations of healthcare clinics and testing facilities.

Complementing these additions will be an IBM Watson-driven interactive dashboard for researchers and data scientists who want to conduct deeper, more comprehensive analyses on the outbreak.

These tools are currently only available in the U.S. No word has been disclosed suggesting an expansion to the company’s international platforms. JB

RELATED STORIES:

Apple App Store to expand to 20 more countries

Siri can now respond to some coronavirus questions