Thursday, September 29, 2011

New Weather App Sets the Bar for All Others

The outdoors changes all the time just like the world of technology. As anglers and hunters search for anything to make them better in their chosen hobby some move to technology to find ways to improve. Professional Angler, Chris Jackson is right there with them. While fihsing at an event in New York and faced with a choice to stay in an area or move to an area closer to the check in and safety due to some clouds rolling in. It was at that time it hit Chris. He told his co-angler, "we need a weather app that works on smart phones to let us know when its going to get bad." Well after making the run back and weighing his fish he made a phone call. " I called my close friend and meteorologist, Brad Huffins back in Alabama.". I told him I knew he worked closely with Weather Call, a home based weather aleart system that would call you in the event of severe weather, and wanted to make it mobile. I also asked him about adding a lightning detector to the service as well. After we talked a few hours the ball started rolling. It was only about a month later Brad called Chris and said "I think we have it.". Brad sent Chris a site to test and after over a solid year or more of testing both on the road traveling to events and on the water fishing it was tweeked and prefected.

On the 28th of September Chris released a new app for any smart phone called "chrisjacksonfishing.com Mobile Weather Alert". This new app for the phones can save you not only on the water but also on the road as well as at home. It's easy to use and one of the most important things affordable for everyone to have at only $17.95 a year, YES thats a YEAR.

This app is one of the coolest things I have ever had on my phone. I can travel to a tournament log on and set it in the seat. It goes off if I am traveling into bad weather and lets me know I need to either change my route or prepare to get wet. On the water "IT ROCKS", he says. I can be fishing and no worry about a cloud coming over the top of a mountian and bring nasty weather with it. I know if its coming long before I see the cloud and can adjust what I am doing. "It has saved me on more than one tour event or guide trip, because getting a co-angler or client on a guide trip struck by lightning is just bad for business", Chris says while joking.

AS Chris walked us through how to get started I noticed how easy it was to get the app and how much this thing really does. Once you go to his website www.chrisjacksonfishing.com, click on the link at the top of the page and it takes you to the page. It explains what options you have you get the app and load it to your phone by following the steps on the page. Then all you have to do is click the icon on your homescreen, set your location and go about your day. If Lightning strikes within 6 miles of your reported location your sent a phone call, text, and/or email letting you know. If another strike doesnt happen in the next 15 mins your sent another text telling you it's safe to return to what you were doing. The same with severe weather, tornado's, and flash floods within a mile of your location.

While getting updates on lightning and severe weather is the main reason to have this app, Chris points out something else he uses it for. " You can go to the page, load it and get some awesome options.". "I can hit the detailed weather tab and get up to date weather forcast as well and an up to date"real time" radar for the area I am in" says Jackson. This is awesome while on trips but really great on the water. I can see the direction winds are shifting which might make me move to a better location for catching fish. So it's a win/win anyway you look at it.

Enev though this app was created with anglers and hunters in mind it's not just for them. Everyone should have it if you ever go outside. I used it at an outdoor concert once and knew to go ahead and head toward cover when lightning was in the area. By the time everyone else "saw" the lightning I had the best seat in the house because I beat them to it knowing it was coming about 10 mins before they did. So even if you dont hunt of fish this is an app for you as well. To get more information about the app be sure to go to www.chrisjacksonfishing.com and keep you and your family safe in the outdoors. Remember when severe weather strikes seconds count and can mean the difference between life and death.

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