Freese-Notis
Encyclopedia
The Freese-Notis Weather company, commonly known as Freese-Notis, is currently a world leading weather forecasting corporation and is known worldwide for its mid-range and long range weather forecasts. Headquartered in Des Moines
, Iowa
, United States
, it has a global presence in the fields of meteorology, analytics, and related services, and also provides Internet Access DSL and Web hosting services. The company strengths for natural gas
and energy markets now creates forecasts spanning industries such as media and web content found in the United States
and foreign countries.
in 1973. The company originated on the Iowa State University campus
in nearby Ames while they were post-grad students at Iowa State during the 1973 oil crisis
.
The partnership was formalized on May 1, 1973 with a typewriter
as its first piece of office equipment and acted as collateral for shares of stock. A friend of Harvey and Charlie suggest to name the enterprise "Freese-Notis Weather."
The only "problem" (if you want to call it that) with the name was that during the first couple years of existence, some of the radio listeners during the summer months would get a little confused when the radio announcer would introduce the Freese-Notis forecast that some thought was a "freeze-notice" forecast. How was that possible in the middle of July? Actually, it turned out to be a perfect name for recognition and uniqueness.
In 1995 Quote.com
became one of the early users of content written by meteorologists highlighting weather with commodity symbols for easy access by traders. Shortly after that, both sponsored and subscriber based web pages were added to Successful Farming magazine's site, through the portal for the agribusiness and producer audience. Doppler
weather radar
imaging for the site called InterRAD provided a national, regional and local views across the contiguous states plus the District of Columbia
but geared to the farmer. The service evolved to a second generation even more tuned to use with web portals
after the year 2000 to included mobile applications and other kinds of weather map displays.
In 1995, other web sites added sponsored content pieces and subscription services. Into the later years of the Internet boom, even companies like Enron's
Azurix
subsidiary added content from Freese-Notis containing unique weather information related to water consumption and use. Irrigation
users of the Azurix
web site had a unique perspective on risk management with Freese-Notis weather providing a series of maps outlining the trends for their operations. Freese-Notis had also been the recipients of Christmas Baskets from Enron trading for appreciation of their weather forecasting services multiple times, even in 2001 making the final cut despite the troubles within that firm.
Although unique subscription based web content
with earlier partners like Quote.com
, the general model switched to either advertising based
or sponsor based types of web content. Eventually those forms became more prevalent in the later years as the era shifted with the models of various portals. Only a very high value sites like Energy.net and Hoovers remain for subscriber access in the current form of the Internet
with paid contract access for a select and exclusive few seeking a market advantage.
Des Moines, Iowa
Des Moines is the capital and the most populous city in the US state of Iowa. It is also the county seat of Polk County. A small portion of the city extends into Warren County. It was incorporated on September 22, 1851, as Fort Des Moines which was shortened to "Des Moines" in 1857...
, Iowa
Iowa
Iowa is a state located in the Midwestern United States, an area often referred to as the "American Heartland". It derives its name from the Ioway people, one of the many American Indian tribes that occupied the state at the time of European exploration. Iowa was a part of the French colony of New...
, United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
, it has a global presence in the fields of meteorology, analytics, and related services, and also provides Internet Access DSL and Web hosting services. The company strengths for natural gas
Natural gas
Natural gas is a naturally occurring gas mixture consisting primarily of methane, typically with 0–20% higher hydrocarbons . It is found associated with other hydrocarbon fuel, in coal beds, as methane clathrates, and is an important fuel source and a major feedstock for fertilizers.Most natural...
and energy markets now creates forecasts spanning industries such as media and web content found in the United States
United States
The United States of America is a federal constitutional republic comprising fifty states and a federal district...
and foreign countries.
Company history
Charlie Notis and Harvey Freese both were students at Iowa State UniversityIowa State University
Iowa State University of Science and Technology, more commonly known as Iowa State University , is a public land-grant and space-grant research university located in Ames, Iowa, United States. Iowa State has produced astronauts, scientists, and Nobel and Pulitzer Prize winners, along with a host of...
in 1973. The company originated on the Iowa State University campus
Iowa State University
Iowa State University of Science and Technology, more commonly known as Iowa State University , is a public land-grant and space-grant research university located in Ames, Iowa, United States. Iowa State has produced astronauts, scientists, and Nobel and Pulitzer Prize winners, along with a host of...
in nearby Ames while they were post-grad students at Iowa State during the 1973 oil crisis
1973 oil crisis
The 1973 oil crisis started in October 1973, when the members of Organization of Arab Petroleum Exporting Countries or the OAPEC proclaimed an oil embargo. This was "in response to the U.S. decision to re-supply the Israeli military" during the Yom Kippur war. It lasted until March 1974. With the...
.
The partnership was formalized on May 1, 1973 with a typewriter
Typewriter
A typewriter is a mechanical or electromechanical device with keys that, when pressed, cause characters to be printed on a medium, usually paper. Typically one character is printed per keypress, and the machine prints the characters by making ink impressions of type elements similar to the pieces...
as its first piece of office equipment and acted as collateral for shares of stock. A friend of Harvey and Charlie suggest to name the enterprise "Freese-Notis Weather."
The only "problem" (if you want to call it that) with the name was that during the first couple years of existence, some of the radio listeners during the summer months would get a little confused when the radio announcer would introduce the Freese-Notis forecast that some thought was a "freeze-notice" forecast. How was that possible in the middle of July? Actually, it turned out to be a perfect name for recognition and uniqueness.
In 1995 Quote.com
Quote.com
Quote.com is a website that delivers financial content and trading tools to active traders and individual investors. It provides free access to delayed worldwide quotes, charts and financial news covering major markets and more than 50 exchanges, including NYSE, NASDAQ, the London Stock Exchange...
became one of the early users of content written by meteorologists highlighting weather with commodity symbols for easy access by traders. Shortly after that, both sponsored and subscriber based web pages were added to Successful Farming magazine's site, through the portal for the agribusiness and producer audience. Doppler
Pulse-doppler radar
Pulse-Doppler is a 4D radar system capable of detecting both target 3D location as well as measuring radial velocity . It uses the Doppler effect to avoid overloading computers and operators as well as to reduce power consumption...
weather radar
Weather radar
Weather radar, also called weather surveillance radar and Doppler weather radar, is a type of radar used to locate precipitation, calculate its motion, estimate its type . Modern weather radars are mostly pulse-Doppler radars, capable of detecting the motion of rain droplets in addition to the...
imaging for the site called InterRAD provided a national, regional and local views across the contiguous states plus the District of Columbia
Conus
Conus is a large genus of small to large predatory sea snails, marine gastropod molluscs, with the common names of cone snails, cone shells or cones. This genus is placed in the subfamily Coninae within the family Conidae. Geologically speaking, the genus is known from the Eocene to the Recent ...
but geared to the farmer. The service evolved to a second generation even more tuned to use with web portals
Web portal
A web portal or links page is a web site that functions as a point of access to information in the World Wide Web. A portal presents information from diverse sources in a unified way....
after the year 2000 to included mobile applications and other kinds of weather map displays.
In 1995, other web sites added sponsored content pieces and subscription services. Into the later years of the Internet boom, even companies like Enron's
Enron
Enron Corporation was an American energy, commodities, and services company based in Houston, Texas. Before its bankruptcy on December 2, 2001, Enron employed approximately 22,000 staff and was one of the world's leading electricity, natural gas, communications, and pulp and paper companies, with...
Azurix
Azurix
Azurix Corp. is a water services company, headquartered in Houston, Texas. The company owned and operated facilities in North America , Europe, and South America...
subsidiary added content from Freese-Notis containing unique weather information related to water consumption and use. Irrigation
Irrigation
Irrigation may be defined as the science of artificial application of water to the land or soil. It is used to assist in the growing of agricultural crops, maintenance of landscapes, and revegetation of disturbed soils in dry areas and during periods of inadequate rainfall...
users of the Azurix
Azurix
Azurix Corp. is a water services company, headquartered in Houston, Texas. The company owned and operated facilities in North America , Europe, and South America...
web site had a unique perspective on risk management with Freese-Notis weather providing a series of maps outlining the trends for their operations. Freese-Notis had also been the recipients of Christmas Baskets from Enron trading for appreciation of their weather forecasting services multiple times, even in 2001 making the final cut despite the troubles within that firm.
Although unique subscription based web content
Web content
Web content is the textual, visual or aural content that is encountered as part of the user experience on websites. It may include, among other things: text, images, sounds, videos and animations....
with earlier partners like Quote.com
Quote.com
Quote.com is a website that delivers financial content and trading tools to active traders and individual investors. It provides free access to delayed worldwide quotes, charts and financial news covering major markets and more than 50 exchanges, including NYSE, NASDAQ, the London Stock Exchange...
, the general model switched to either advertising based
Advertising
Advertising is a form of communication used to persuade an audience to take some action with respect to products, ideas, or services. Most commonly, the desired result is to drive consumer behavior with respect to a commercial offering, although political and ideological advertising is also common...
or sponsor based types of web content. Eventually those forms became more prevalent in the later years as the era shifted with the models of various portals. Only a very high value sites like Energy.net and Hoovers remain for subscriber access in the current form of the Internet
Internet
The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the standard Internet protocol suite to serve billions of users worldwide...
with paid contract access for a select and exclusive few seeking a market advantage.
Recent developments
Charlie Notis and Harvey Freese acquired Captain Jack Communications based in Ankeny, Iowa in the summer of 2007. Although kept as a separate entity from Freese-Notis Weather, they will work in a complementary aspect with the other's business and are in close geographic proximity.See also
- Weather forecastingWeather forecastingWeather forecasting is the application of science and technology to predict the state of the atmosphere for a given location. Human beings have attempted to predict the weather informally for millennia, and formally since the nineteenth century...
- AzurixAzurixAzurix Corp. is a water services company, headquartered in Houston, Texas. The company owned and operated facilities in North America , Europe, and South America...
- DopplerPulse-doppler radarPulse-Doppler is a 4D radar system capable of detecting both target 3D location as well as measuring radial velocity . It uses the Doppler effect to avoid overloading computers and operators as well as to reduce power consumption...
weather radarWeather radarWeather radar, also called weather surveillance radar and Doppler weather radar, is a type of radar used to locate precipitation, calculate its motion, estimate its type . Modern weather radars are mostly pulse-Doppler radars, capable of detecting the motion of rain droplets in addition to the...
Imaging - DSL
- Quote.comQuote.comQuote.com is a website that delivers financial content and trading tools to active traders and individual investors. It provides free access to delayed worldwide quotes, charts and financial news covering major markets and more than 50 exchanges, including NYSE, NASDAQ, the London Stock Exchange...