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Our Story

Since our founding in 1998, StormGeo has become a 600-person company spread over 25 locations.

In the past two decades, StormGeo has grown from the brainchild of five young, enthusiastic, weather-loving entrepreneurs, to an international company with 24 offices and six global weather-operations centers. StormGeo provides weather intelligence and decision support services worldwide to several key industries: Shipping, Oil & Gas, Renewables, Aviation, Cross Industry and Media.

Along the way, we have never lost our fascination with the forces of the weather. Our passion for communicating the impact of weather on businesses and daily life has only grown.

Where We Began

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siri kalvik

Siri Kalvig presenting the weather for TV2

StormGeo started in 1997 as Storm Weather Center, a spin-off of Norway’s largest commercial broadcaster, TV2, which is headquartered in Bergen, Norway.

In 1993, TV2 had revolutionized weather report broadcasts by showing the first animated fronts and pressure systems. Viewers loved the innovation, and it quickly became an industry standard. TV2 Meteorologist Siri Kalvig saw the opportunity to offer customized weather services to media outlets and other industries. Thus began the collaboration with TV2 to create "Storm."

Almost immediately, far-reaching audiences were closely monitoring Storm forecasts. Specialized industry professionals such as energy traders were using the service as a tool for making important market decisions. With that growth, StormGeo as it's known today was born.

Expanding Our Vision

In 1998, we created our first weather service for the growing hydroelectric power industry. We also reached into a broader oil and gas energy market, which relies heavily on accurate weather and sea forecasts to ensure safe operations. Over the years, StormGeo has continuously expanded its vision of weather communications, including new markets that similarly benefit from our services. In response to customer demand, we opened new offices and integrated acquired businesses to build on the global, 24/7 services we provide today.

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In 2018, StormGeo was selected as a participant in the UN Global Compact, committing to ocean sustainability as a contributor to the Action Platform for Sustainable Ocean Business. As 75% of our work is done on the ocean, we're working to keep those waters clean. Our passion for weather and a protection of natural resources motivates us to support our clients in making informed, environmentally responsible business decisions. Each year, we route about 68,000 voyages, helping to save 1 million MT of fuel and reducing the emissions by 3 million MT of CO₂.

Innovation Through Research

When combined with global models, StormGeo’s high-resolution, in-house modeling helps us deliver the best possible products in the industry.

The driving force of the R&D team is innovation — continuously improving weather forecasts by providing StormGeo Group Best Data Science to our customers. Since its inception, StormGeo Group has invested 20% of its revenues in research and development. Our staff includes over 250 operational meteorologists, data scientists and industry experts. Their commitment and expertise allows us to operate seven 24/7 forecasting centers worldwide.

Broadening Our Horizons

2011: StormGeo expanded its operation into the Middle East with the acquisition of the Dubai-based weather forecasting company, Met Consultancy FZ LLC. StormGeo has been servicing the MENA region since the late 1990s, and we are now able to offer a range of location-specific services and immediate support.

2012: StormGeo acquires Houston-based company, ImpactWeather Inc., a leading provider of offshore and onshore weather monitoring, forecasting and alerting.

2014: StormGeo acquires Applied Weather Technology, Inc. (AWT), headquartered in Silicon Valley, California. AWT is the world-leading provider of weather and route forecasting for the shipping industry with offices in North America, Europe and Asia. Their services complemented the offshore services of the group, making StormGeo a full-service supplier providing decision support to weather sensitive operations.

2016: StormGeo acquires Nena, a leading analysis house delivering energy market insights. Nena provides price prognoses and market analysis to major utilities and trading entities, with weather data being a fundamental input component of its analysis. StormGeo currently provides energy trading analysis and services, and this acquisition complements StormGeo’s offering to propel the company into a leading position of production forecasts and price prognoses for the power markets.

2018: StormGeo acquires Nautisk, a leading global supplier of maritime charts and publications to the merchant marine. The combination allows StormGeo to be the first to integrate market-leading routing and weather services with state-of-the-art charts and publications solutions.

2019: StormGeo and DNV GL agree to consolidate their fleet performance solutions under the StormGeo banner, merging DNV GL's ECO Insight and Navigator Insight products with StormGeo's solutions. This new offering strengthens the offering of a complete and integrated shipping portfolio, including route advisory, navigation and planning, and fleet performance management services.

2019: StormGeo acquires 51% of Grupo Climatempo, the leader in meteorological services in Brazil. With the addition of Climatempo, StormGeo is now uniquely positioned to deliver innovative weather intelligence, not only to Brazil, but across all of Latin America.

2021: Alfa Laval acquires StormGeo to accelerate its digital services offering and to add an important tool to the decarbonizing toolbox offering. Alfa Laval is headquartered in Lund, Sweden and has a 138-year history of growth and visionary innovation, with 16,700 employees globally. The company serves the Food & Water, Energy and Marine industries. It is listed on the Swedish stock exchange.

Navigating tomorrow—today 

While StormGeo navigates a rapidly changing global environment, our core mission has always remained the same: To give our customers the most innovative decision support solutions and services for weather-sensitive operations. Our primary focus is to empower our customers to safeguard people, assets, and profits, while improving their business performance. 

Our customers often request insight in meeting the challenges of the 21st century:

  • How do I prepare for severe weather when dealing with a massive crisis?
  • How does the insurance industry prepare for risks related to climate change?
  • How will an oil rig respond to the state of the sea in tomorrow’s forecast?
  • What is the optimal route for a vessel in terms of safety, time, fuel consumption, and emissions?
  • Where is the ideal location to build a new wind farm?

The vast talent pool at StormGeo is well-equipped to answer your questions to navigate a changing environment. It is an intrinsic part of our culture to support our customers with localized advanced weather forecasts so they can make their next moves with confidence.

The Origins of Modern Weather Forecasting

vilhelm bjeknes meterologisk institutt

We draw much of our inspiration from our location in Bergen — StormGeo’s birthplace and now global headquarters. Situated in the midst of seven mountains on the North Sea coast of Norway, Bergen is a center for maritime industries. Known for its rainy weather, the city also boasts leading institutions for weather research, including the Geophysical Institute at the University of Bergen and the Bergen School of Meteorology. Both were founded by the author of modern weather, Vilhelm Bjerknes (1862–1951), a Norwegian physicist and pioneer of modern meteorology and weather forecasting.

Before Bjerknes introduced mathematics and physics into meteorology, weather forecasts were short-term and unreliable at best, as they were based on experience and scattered weather observations.

As a lecturer, Bjerknes shed light on the fundamental interaction between fluid dynamics and thermodynamics. He was the originator of the core equations that are used in climate models today. His work was applied to large-scale motions in the oceans and atmosphere, making modern weather forecasting possible.

In 1917, Bjerknes founded the Bergen School of Meteorology and the Geophysical Institute at the University of Bergen, where many of StormGeo’s talented scientists have trained. The Bergen School transformed the state of weather forecasting worldwide, introducing new concepts of weather fronts and air masses. The Bergen School worked to define the motion of the atmosphere through mathematics of the interactions between hydro- and thermo-dynamics. Bjerknes’ work made it possible to create mathematical predictions of the weather through systematic data analysis, specifically, making long-term forecasts.

“Sailors aim for the stars, not to reach them, but to hold a steady course. Do not forget about the stars.” – Vilhelm Bjerknes