Fostering a climate for weather firms

A blanket of freezing rain and sleet drew a lot of attention to Norman on January 5 – not because the south metro area was harder hit than anywhere else, but simply because the weather is a big business in Norman, and growing bigger.

Take Atmospheric Technology Services, for example, a new startup expected to open its doors in mid-January at the 10,000 square-foot business incubator, 710 Asp Ave., near the OU campus. Don Wood, executive director of the Norman Economic Development Coalition, called the new research company “a natural fit” for the synergies generated by weather-related business, government and academic research entities at OU.

And Weathernews Americas, a Tokyo-based forecast services company, moved from California to One Partners Place at the end of the year as an anchor tenant in the new commercial business complex. The company now occupies 25,000 square feet and employs 100 people, Wood said.

“We have negotiations going on with a couple of other weather-related companies as well,” he said. “There are two or three additional developments in the small range that you can expect to see announced soon – five to 30 employee type of operations.”