I have decided to create SA Weather Reports (@SAWXREP) on Twitter to provide the public with accurate weather and disaster information. This will allow users to get weather and disaster notifications directly via Twitter and possibly SMS messages. SA Weather Reports looks to help users get important and accurate information from credible organizations when other communications services aren't accessible or available.
This service has already seen positive take-up across the country under the previous names SAWDIS and SAWDOS but had to be terminated due to a large research project by the author in 2013. It is during this research project that I discovered that Twitter currently appears to be the best social media application to help users receive information during emergencies.
According to Twitter, Twitter is: “without a doubt the best way to share and discover what is happening right now.”
Perhaps a less biased description of Twitter would: “Twitter is a free social networking and microblogging service that enables its users to send and read messages known as tweets.” - Wikipedia
WHAT IS A TWEET?
It is a 140 character (or less) message that a user (tweeter) sends out that is posted on their Twitter home page and also sent to the tweeter’s subscribers called followers?
Tweets can include:
- A simple text message
- Links to a picture
- Links to a web page
- Directly communicate with public
- Tweet forecasts
- Tweet storm tracks/watch/warning info
- Advertise your weather observations
- Helps to stay in contact
- Tweet weather facts, info and statistics
- Answer weather questions
- Receive weather reports from the public
- Interact with the public
WHAT TYPES OF REPORTS ARE WE LOOKING FOR?
You can tweet any weather event that occurs in your local area, but we are most interested in significant events: severe weather including hail, strong wind , flooding, marine hazards, snowfall, etc.
In particular:
- Damage from winds--briefly describe what was damaged and time it occurred.
- Hail--include size of hail and time it fell.
- Tornadoes or funnel clouds.
- Flooding--briefly describe what is occurring.
- Snowfall during an event and storm total. When reporting snowfall, include the time period when it fell.
- Freezing rain or Black Frost producing a 'glaze' on objects or roads.
- Dense fog restricting visibility
- Marine observations including high seas or winds, and dense fog or torrential rain restricting visibility
If geotagging is available on your 3rd party (Cellphone, Ipad, Tab etc.)
Twitter application:
- Make sure geotagging is turned on for your 3rd party Twitter application.
- Make sure geotagging is turned on for your Twitter account page. - Through the web page: http://twitter.com/account/settings or from your mobile device: http://twitter.com/account/settings/geo
Some examples of weather report tweets with geotagging:
Example 1: #sawxreport Flooding on road with water up to the bottom of doors on cars
Example 2: #sawxreport Gale Force Wind knocked down tree at 4:25 pm
If geotagging is NOT available on your 3rd party Twitter application (or you want to use the web-based Twitter.com):
- Log into your Twitter account via the web or mobile device.
- Submit your tweet report in the following format: #sawxreport - your location; your significant weather report. Example: #sawxreport - 14h30 Mossel Bay: Gale Force SW Wind blowing.
To monitor or view your reports after submitting...Check - https://twitter.com/SAWXREP or http://twubs.com/saweather
The following external links will monitor #sawxreport tweets (click the links below):
- Twitter search using #sawxreport
- Twitter search using #sawxob
- Twitter search using #saweather
- #sawxreport - For the #sawxreport, it would cover significant weather the tweeter actually saw and would include: tornado, hail, snow greater than an inch, dense fog and dust, floods, strong winds etc.
- #sawxob - For the #sawxob, it would cover weather observed that was not significant and would include: standard weather obs, non-significant weather etc.
- #saweather - For the #saweather, it would cover weather information that would be useful to the public and would include: reported storm tracks, reported storm damages, road closures, watch and warning information etc.
- Large user database - 100 million users around the world
- Rich flexible Application - Programming Interface (API) Easy to search tweets and get results
- Potential to receive hundreds of weather tweets
- You can monitor the tweets yourself
- Real time feedback for ongoing weather Reports, pictures and videos
- The capability to utilize "geotagging" - geographical information that is associated with something, in this case individual Tweets. This allows SAWXREP to correlate each Tweet to its location when it was sent. This capability will help to enhance and increase timely and accurate online weather reporting and communication between the public and SAWXREP.
- The purpose of this venture is to allow people to submit reports.
- Please be responsible and respectful of the purpose.
- Be as specific as possible when describing the weather report.
- A valid Twitter user account is required to submit reports.
- A question and answer post will soon be created for the benefit on new Twitter users.
The success of this venture depends on the media, members of the public, radio amateurs and real time weather observers that make news articles, photos, weather station data, info and reports available to SAWXREP for publication. SAWXREP ask the general public out there to send reports, photos and weather observations via Twitter to SAWXREP. Without the support of the general public, media, roll players and radio amateurs this venture will not be a success and I will have to closed the Twitter account. Let's illustrate what can be done when South Africans and even non-South Africans team up to provide Weather and Disaster reports the general public. With your help we can render a free service to the public and hopefully contribute to save and better the lives of others.
If you have any questions or suggestions for this venture, please contact Johan at: sawois05 AT gmail DOT com
