Twitter officially dips its toe in the subscription waters with its first paid service, Tomorrow, a paid weather news subscription service. Partnering with climate journalist and meteorologist Eric Holthaus, Tomorrow will include local newsletters, drop-in audio chats during dramatic weather events, original journalism centered around climate justice, and a paid service that will let people ask unlimited questions and get answers from meteorologists.

Holthaus shared the news on Twitter on June 1:

“Tomorrow is a weather service – a community of people sharing resources and delivering justice, hope, connection, safety, and resilience in a world in urgent need of systemic action. It’s weather that changes the world,” Holthaus wrote. “It’s a revolutionary weather service for a revolutionary moment in history.

The news was also announced on YouTube.

The Tomorrow website explains that the concept is a simple one: weather affects everyone, and it is something that brings everyone together. According to the website, subscribers will get a message in their inbox with a forecast from a local meteorologist, along with some type of content (e.g., news article, poem, meme, short video, or all to action).

“Our goal is to share the joy of being alive at this particular moment in history, and be there with you no matter what the weather. When the weather gets scary, we’ll have a team of experts to talk you through it. When there’s injustice happening somewhere that needs more attention, we’ll let you know about it. When there’s a project or idea that could use your help, we’ll ask you to pitch in if you want to. Our goal is to change the narrative of our shared Tomorrow. The bottom line is: The climate is changing, and it’s going to take all of us to build a better world that works for everyone. Tomorrow is going to be great, and we’re so happy that you’re a part of it,” says the Tomorrow website.

At launch, Tomorrow will focus on 16 cities and regions including:

• Atlanta
• Boston
• Charlotte
• Chicago
• Dallas/Fort Worth
• Detroit
• Houston
• Minneapolis
• New York City
• Philadelphia
• Portland
• San Antonio
• San Francisco
• Toronto
• Washington, D.C.
• Republica Dominicana

Those who want to learn more can subscribe to the newsletter which will be sent via Revue, a platform Twitter acquired earlier this year. People can become members for $10 a month. The website says a discount will be applied for 50% off the first 7 months, but it isn’t clear if $10 is the 50% off price or if subscribers will only pay $5 for the first 7 months.

Paid members will receive the following:

• Ability to ask Tomorrow’s team of meteorologists unlimited weather and climate questions with guaranteed responses
• A members-only weekly newsletter with uncut interviews
• Early access to podcast episodes and original longform journalism
• Discounts on Tomorrow merch and other members-only perks
• 1% of all member revenue will used to support Environmental Justice organizations. The more members they have, the bigger the impact.

Insider Take

We’ve been hearing rumors about Twitter Blue being in beta testing and about it being quietly uploaded to the App Store. We were expecting that to be Twitter’s first foray into subscriptions, but it looks like the weather news subscription service got there first. Twitter is taking the best of several models and melding them together into a subscription service that is likely to be popular. They are using a well-known expert with his own audience of 492.7K followers, combining it with paid newsletters, and sprinkling in some merchandise, podcasts, and personal communication with meteorologists.

Those are all great in a single package, but what we like even better is the vibe and attitude that Holthaus and Tomorrow bring. It may be obvious, but they are absolutely right that weather is one thing that does bring us together. It is beyond our control. It is something we all experience and want to know more about (e.g., the forecast, what to expect, how to prepare for storms, etc.). This is a great launching point for Twitter’s first subscription. We can’t wait to sign up!