Building on early success, Scripps extends Storm Shield's appeal to the Android platform

Popular emergency weather app now available to millions of additional mobile devices

News provided by

Sep 06, 2012, 08:00 ET

CINCINNATI, Sept. 6, 2012 /PRNewswire/ -- Fast on the heels of a devastating hurricane and just in time for National Preparedness Month, The E.W. Scripps Company (NYSE: SSP) announced today that its popular Storm Shield app, a comprehensive and customizable weather product made specifically for mobile media consumers, now is available to users of Android-powered devices.

Downloadable to Apple- and Android-powered tablets and smartphones for only $4.99, Storm Shield delivers completely customizable weather alerts in up to five locations, as well as a 'follow-me' option. Once users choose their preferred locations and the types of weather events of most concern to them, the app pushes a text alert along with the National Oceanographic and Atmospheric Administration audible message right to their phone in time to take action. In other words, smartphone owners no longer have to depend on an analog weather radio for timely and potentially life-saving information.

Storm Shield consistently has been one of the most-popular paid weather apps since its recent launch. It kept thousands of people ahead of the storm when Hurricane Isaac approached the Gulf Coast last month.

To download the app to an Android-powered device, users should search for Storm Shield in the Google Play store.

Storm Shield has caught the attention of such trusted outlets as CNET (4 out of 5 stars, "a detail-rich app for weather bugs, with an emphasis on smart, active, automatic alerts for severe weather …its ability to pinpoint data to your location could literally be a life-saver") and The Unofficial Apple Weblog ("Storm Shield is like having a sophisticated weather radio on your iPhone").

It also has won the applause of customers who have submitted feedback such as, "During the roughest part of the storm I was constantly getting push messages to my iPhone and iPad. Thanks for developing this amazing app!" and "I love this app because it finds your location. GREAT APP! Someone did what was needed, well worth the small price of it!" Click on "testimonials" here for more.

The app was developed in conjunction with Norman, Okla.-based Weather Decision Technologies. Because the reliability of this service is so crucial, the Storm Shield alerting infrastructure is being hosted in a secure center designed to withstand the winds of the most severe (EF-5) tornadoes.

More information about the product can be found at http://stormshieldapp.com/

About Scripps

Scripps (www.scripps.com) delivers quality journalism and creates valuable marketing environments through television stations, newspapers and a growing menu of digital products and services that now includes social games. Creative and mission-driven employees "give light so the people can find their own way" at 19 television stations in major U.S. markets and at newspapers in 13 markets.

About Weather Decision Technologies

Founded in 2000, Weather Decision Technologies is a high technology leader in the weather industry, providing life-safety applications and weather decision support services and systems to our partners and customers. WDT's iMap services provide dynamic, web-based and mobile interactive mapping solutions for the world's leading local media companies. WDT maintains operational offices in Norman, Oklahoma, and Atlanta, Georgia. Corporate websites: wdtinc.com, and weatherops.com.

SOURCE The E.W. Scripps Company