Utilizing a network of wireless weather stations to forecast weather in developing countries

Each year, extreme weather causes nearly 100,000 mortalities, with most of these deaths being concentrated in third world and developing countries. Additionally, extreme weather events account for $485 billion in US economic damage, with this number expected to inflate as global warming increases the frequency and intensity of natural disasters. The purpose of this research is to develop an inexpensive infrastructure of weather stations, to create more accurate forecasting networks for citizens and governmental officials of third world and developing countries. This research will compare the precision of inexpensive weather stations to commercial grade weather nodes, and data gathered from the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Finally, the research will assess the forecasting accuracy of the inexpensive forecasting technology systems, against popular weather media such as The Weather Channel© and the National Weather Service. The ultimate goal of this developmental project is to install the inexpensive weather infrastructure in developing countries, in order to help government officials accurately forecast and prepare for critical weather events.