WEATHER ON THE GO: AN ASSESSMENT OF SMARTPHONE MOBILE WEATHER APPLICATIONS USE AMONG COLLEGE STUDENTS

Abstract

Millions of people in the United States regularly acquire essential information from weather forecasts for a wide variety of reasons. A myriad of sources exists for obtaining daily weather information, and the rapid growth in mobile device technology has created a very convenient means for people to retrieve this data. Smartphone and technology use have soared in recent years, and mobile weather applications (MWAs) have also rapidly gained popularity. Research on weather sources, however, has been unable to sufficiently capture the importance of this form of information gathering. As use of these apps continues to grow and the market expands with increasing options, it is important to gain insight on which MWAs and what MWA features are most useful to consumers. To better examine MWA preferences and behaviors relating to acquired weather information, a survey of 308 undergraduate college students from three different universities throughout the southeast United States was undertaken. Analyses of the survey showed that smartphone MWAs are the primary source among college students for seeking weather forecasts. Additionally, MWA users tend to seek short-term forecast information, like the hourly forecast, from their apps and spend very little time using the app itself. Additional results provide insight on daily MWA use by college students as well as perceptions of and preferential choices for specific MWA features, designs, and various brands in the weather enterprise. The information gathered from this study will allow other researchers to better evaluate and understand the changing landscape of weather information acquisition and how this relates to the uses, perceptions, and values people garner from forecasts. Companies and organizations that provide weather forecasts have an ever-growing arsenal of resources to disseminate information, making research of this topic extremely valuable for future development of weather communication technology.