Whether or Knot LLC, d/b/a AerisWeather, is a global weather RESTful API and tile mapping layer provider established by Paul Douglas, David Hubbard, Michael Vaughan, and Craig Mataczynski. It is based in Eden Prairie, Minnesota.[1] The company is owned by Vaisala Group following an acquisition in late January of 2022.
History
Paul Douglas first had the idea for outsourced weather production in 1979 but shelved it due to the expected high cost, mostly for satellite feeds ($5 to $7 million a month). After being laid off from WCCO-TV in 2008, Douglas started WeatherNation, as broadband's growing availability decreased the costs. Douglas was CEO and Todd Frostad, formerly of Digital River and a commercial real estate businessman, was president and co-owner. The company hired 5 other meteorologists.[2] One of the company's first clients was the St. Cloud Times,[3]