Is Twitter's new weather service worth your money?

San Francisco, California - Twitter has launched its new subscription weather information service, called Tomorrow. It offers a broad range of information and the ability to talk to a professional meteorologist, but is it actually worth $10 a month?

Twitter aims to be your one-stop-shop for morning news and weather (stock image).
Twitter aims to be your one-stop-shop for morning news and weather (stock image).  © collage: 123RF/rvlsoft & Anton Melnikov

Twitter's new local weather service, Tomorrow, is available for select cities, according to 9To5Mac. However, the features it offers may not justify the cost to most subscribers.

"Weather is a perfect match for Twitter. Some of the largest spikes in conversations on Twitter are tied to severe events like hurricanes, floods, and fires," said Twitter’s VP of product Mike Park.

The launch is a collaboration with Eric Holthaus, a meteorologist and climate journalist, who says he plans to hire 20-30 climate specialists to build an interactive weather service.

Holthaus notes, "During Hurricane Sandy, my Twitter following went from 5,000 to 150,00 in a week. I was just interpreting weather information through plain language and meeting people where they needed me at that moment."

Tomorrow will eventually be available to most larger cities in America and some abroad

Holthaus revealed to Axios that the service will start at $10 a month, which seems a bit pricey when most devices and wearables offer instant weather notifications. The idea is to offer subscribers access to ticketed live audio rooms, specialized newsletters through Twitter's Revue platform, and eventually be able to have "unlimited" Q&A sessions with meteorologists and climate experts.

Holthaus also said that he wants to try and bridge the gap that is created during natural disasters when important information from federal sources isn't reaching the general population. Tomorrow will offer crucial updates, such as evacuation routes and emergency plans, which is vital in cases where that info isn't reaching people from federal sources.

However, such an innovation begs the question: shouldn't important and potentially life-saving information like that be free of charge?

Tomorrow is available so far in Atlanta, Boston, Charlotte, Chicago, Dallas/Fort Worth, Detroit, Houston, Minneapolis, New York City, Philadelphia, Portland, San Antonio, San Francisco, Toronto, Washington DC, and the Dominican Republic, and will gradually roll out to more major cities.

Cover photo: collage: 123RF/rvlsoft & Anton Melnikov

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