StormProof Triangle
A hyperlocal severe-weather companion for Raleigh-Durham residents that turns NOAA SPC risk levels into a personalized prep checklist — what to do tonight, what to charge, what to park inside — based on your exact address.
Raleigh-Durham homeowners and renters who need to act on Level 1–5 severe storm risks, not just see a radar
- Pulls your address and pushes a tailored checklist when an SPC Level 2+ risk includes your grid cell — charge stations, outdoor furniture, cars, kids' pickups
- 'Verify' tracker that shows how often this week's risks actually produced storm reports in your zip, so you learn the local pattern
- Family-mode: one checklist shared with roommates, plus an out-of-town 'house sitter' handoff
- Post-event logging: tap to log hail size, wind damage, or power loss so the next forecast is calibrated to your block
WRAL's own meteorologist just published that 18 of 28 July days had severe risks and 9 of those reached Level 2 — local audiences are primed for a tool that goes beyond radar to actual prep.
WRAL runs active 'Weather Alert Day' coverage and NC averages 40-50 thunderstorm days/year (~10% severe per RaleighNC.gov); WRAL just reported SE severe-storm ingredients are becoming more common, but 'prep checklist' is a narrow slice on top of heavy existing radar coverage.Severe Weather Preparedness - RaleighNC.gov ↗The ingredients behind severe storms — and how they may be changing — WRAL ↗
At least two near-clones already exist: Hyperlocal Weather (custom severe alerts pinned to exact spot) and the open-source SkyAware iOS app (NWS + SPC, hyper-local severe awareness), plus Carrot Weather's premium severe tier — leaving thin differentiation for a single-metro app.Custom Weather Notifications — Alerts, Your Way | Hyperlocal Weather ↗GitHub - justinrooks/project-arcus: Hyper-local, privacy-first severe weather (SkyAware) ↗
Carrot Weather proves users pay $5-10+/yr tiered subscriptions for premium weather, but a single-metro TAM (~1.4M Triangle pop) limits revenue ceiling and the free WRAL/NWS apps anchor willingness-to-pay low.CARROT Weather Subscriptions FAQ ↗CARROT Weather app for iPhone — Download ↗
Severe weather in NC is a permanent seasonal concern, not a trend
All data is free public NOAA/SPC/NWS feeds; single-metro scope plus geocoded address lookup makes MVP a weekend build with off-the-shelf weather APIs — very low technical risk.NOAA/NWS Storm Prediction Center ↗