Isabel Fuels AccuWeather.com Page Views; Drives Site Traffic to Nearly Double Previous Record; 99% Viewer Availability at Height of Storm Surpasses Competing Sites.

Business Editors

STATE COLLEGE, Pa.--(BUSINESS WIRE)--Sept. 19, 2003

AccuWeather.com (www.accuweather.com) announced today that concern over the arrival of Hurricane Isabel generated three days of record page views this week. The peak in site usage occurred on Thursday as Isabel made landfall in North Carolina.

As Isabel neared the mid-Atlantic coast of the United States, AccuWeather.com posted a series of new records. Monday, Sept. 15, 2003, saw 5.84 million pages served. The total for Wednesday, Sept. 17 was 6.67 million pages. Both records were topped by the 10.05 million page views recorded on Thursday, Sept. 18. The previous record for site traffic, set on April 7, 2003, had been 5.73 million page views.

Performance statistics compiled by Keynote Systems, the global leader in Internet performance management and testing services, indicated that during the 24-hour period leading up to Hurricane Isabel's landfall on Thursday, the AccuWeather.com site achieved an availability rate of 98.99%. (The availability rating measures the number of page requests which are served correctly without "site busy" problems or similar error messages.) Other major Internet weather sites had availability rates as low as 78% during the same period. The comparison was even more marked during the crucial time period from 9 am EDT until 3 pm EDT when Isabel was devastating coastal areas of North Carolina and Virginia. AccuWeather.com's availability was 97.96%, while the availability of other major Internet weather sites dipped as low as 18%.

The AccuWeather.com Internet site was not the only AccuWeather information source feeling the effects of the storm. Subscribers turned to the AccuWeather.com cellular wireless service in record numbers during the storm, and Thursday, Sept. 18 also saw usage of the company's wireless weather reach a level nearly twice the previous peak.

Detailed statistics of information usage within the site clearly confirmed that the unprecedented numbers of visitors were coming to the AccuWeather site again and again for hurricane information, said Dr. Joel N. Myers, AccuWeather founder and president. He noted that the AccuWeather site offered complete details on Isabel including forecasts of wind, rain, storm surge and potential for damage, as well as the current position, satellite and radar images, and preparation tips for those in the storm path.

"AccuWeather is dedicated to saving lives and protecting property," said Dr. Myers. "We strive to provide the most accurate, local and accessible severe weather warnings and updates. We're pleased to have been able to help so many people in the storm's path during this difficult time."

AccuWeather.com, launched in 1996, offers Internet users the most sophisticated weather data, graphics, forecasts, and applications on the Internet. It includes AccuWeather's proprietary 15-day and Hour-by-Hour(TM) forecasts for every location on earth, the Internet's most localized, real-time Metro Radars(TM), and the patent-pending RealFeel(R) Temperature, a unique gauge that incorporates eight different weather factors to replace the obsolete wind chill and heat index. The AccuPOP(TM) feature, another AccuWeather.com exclusive, is the first multi-period, three-hour probability of precipitation that is updated hourly.

For wireless Web-enabled PDAs and cell phones users with color handsets, the AccuWeather.com Wireless Application allows wireless users to download AccuWeather's up-to-the-minute weather from their wireless provider. Features include AccuWeather's pinpointed 10-day local forecasts; detailed Hour-by-Hour(TM) local forecasts; rain, snow and ice forecasts; zoomable radar animations for local, metro, state and regional radars; and regional and national satellite imagery.

About AccuWeather and AccuWeather.com

AccuWeather, The World's Weather Authority(TM), provides a portfolio of products and services through the airwaves, via the Internet, in print, and behind the scenes that benefit hundreds of millions of people worldwide. AccuWeather services 40,000 paying customers in media, business, government and institutions, and millions more through AccuWeather.com. AccuWeather also provides content onto more than 600 Internet sites including CNN Interactive, ABC's owned and operated stations, The Associated Press(C), The Washington Post and The New York Times.

To speak with an AccuWeather meteorologist about breaking weather news, contact 814-235-8650.

For additional information on AccuWeather and AccuWeather.com, please contact Emily DiTomo or Tony Defazio at 610-642-8253.