a230  1421  01 Aug 89
AM-Dial-A-Storm,0253
American Express Joins Weather-by-Numbers Group
Eds: 'New Media' correct in 9th graf.
    NEW YORK (AP) - Worried about hail in Hawaii? Afraid of getting
fogged in at Heathrow? Fear not, yet another Dial-the-Weather service
has opened.
    American Express announced Monday that it has opened 1-900-WEATHER,
a 24-hour number which provides temperatures and conditions for more
than 600 locations around the world.
    The new service joins USA Today's 1-900-370-USAT, which provides
more than 500 far-flung forecasts.
    Jeffrey Bander, vice president for development of new products at
American Express, said the credit card company conducted two
different research projects before launching its weather phone.
    They discovered ''how important weather is to travelers,'' said
Bander. ''This is one more way we could provide service.''
    The idea behind the weather lines is not new; before its
court-ordered break-up, AT&T provided local weather information via
telephone.
    There's one major difference: the new lines cost more.
    Unlike the old 10-cent call for local weather, these lines run about
80 cents for the first minute and 50 cents for each subsequent
minute.
    ''It's not going to make you a whole bunch of money, but that's not
why we're doing it,'' said Phil Fuhrer, vice president of Gannett New
Media.
    1-900-WEATHER offers callers the current weather and a three-day
forecast, plus skiing and highway conditions in the winter and
coastal reports during the summer.
    USA Today, which prints comprehensive national weather forecasts
each day, launched its service on May 8 and now receives about 500 to
600 calls daily, said Fuhrer.
    
 
AP-NY-08-01-89 1711EDT
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