In preparation for the 2008 hurricane season, WeatherFlow has completed the initial phase of installing its hurricane-hardened weather stations throughout Florida, primarily in the state's coastal regions and around Orlando. The provider of weather observation data and forecasting models has partnered with Risk Management Solutions (RMS), a hurricane risk modeling firm, to develop the WindX parametric index, for which the stations will collect location-specific wind speed values.

"More than 50 stations designed to withstand and accurately record winds exceeding 140 miles per hour have been planted across Florida," said Buck Lyons, CEO of WeatherFlow. "Eight stations have also been installed in Houston, Texas."

The stations, which are installed on concrete poles measuring 10 to 15 meters high, are not dependent on electrical or phone lines to record and communicate data year-round. They have been deliberately situated in vulnerable areas based on likely storm paths and potential for economic loss. During tropical storms and hurricanes, the stations can accurately record information to then be entered in the parametric index, which supports the transfer and trading of catastrophic hurricane risk in capital markets."An insurance-linked security structured on the index will trigger if wind speeds on particular weather stations exceed a certain threshold," said Peter Nakada, managing director of RMS Consulting. "This will enable insurers or reinsurers to tailor the index to their risk profiles and provide transparency to investors."