During times of severe weather, sometimes it’s tough to send reports of what is going on in your area.  But there is a new app that allows anyone to send weather and precipitation reports from where ever your are!  The NOAA National Severe Storms Laboratory, in partnership with the University of Oklahoma, has launched a free app for users to anonymously report precipitation from their Apple or Android mobile device.  With the mPING app, anyone can send a weather observation on the go.  The user simply opens the app, selects the type of precipitation that is falling at his or her location, and presses submit.  The user’s location and the time of the observation are automatically included in the report.

All submissions will become part of a research project called PING – Precipitation Identification Near the Ground.  NSSL and OU researchers will use the mPING submissions to build a valuable database of tens of thousands of observations from across the United States.  In addition to reporting winter precipitation, mPING users can report observations of hail occurrence and hail size during the summer months.  All reports in the PING database, both past and real-time, can be viewed on the project’s web site.  This allows anyone to see all observations in time and space to better identify the locations where hazardous forms of precipitation exist.  To further analyze the data, researchers will compare the reports with what radars detect and use the information to develop new radar and forecasting technologies and techniques.

After you download the app, submitting a weather report is very simple.  As long as you have the GPS switched on your phone, you can submit what your weather condition is, from sunny skies, rain, thunderstorms, hail, wind damage, mudslides, and even tornadoes.  After selecting your report, you click send report to NOAA/NSSL and your are done.  You can even view all-weather reports submitted by mPING users at their website at:  http://www.nssl.noaa.gov/projects/ping/display/

Downloading the app is free, and submitting weather reports will help make the weather forecast simpler, so get started and download the app on Google Play and on iTunes.  Learn more about mPING at: http://www.nssl.noaa.gov/projects/ping/

Related articles

• ‘Citizen scientists’ use NOAA Ping app to improve severe-weather warnings
• Download the mPing
• You can help report on the Winter Weather
• The PING Project
• mPing lets you get involved in the weather, rather than just complain about it

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