Five of the Best Weather Websites
Whether you’re going around town or planning a long trip, you’ll probably want to know what the weather will be like when you get to where you’re going or later in the day. A good and reliable weather website or service can provide you with useful and accurate information, and this week we are reviewing five of the best based on your nominations.
Earlier this week, we asked you to let us know which weather websites you think are the best . You have a ton of suggestions, many of which are specific to your region, and others with detailed global and international forecasts. However, we only have room for the top five, and here they are, in no particular order:
National Meteorological Service / NOAA
Many of you have pointed out that when you were looking for a good and reliable weather service, you turned to the professionals – the National Meteorological Service, an affiliate of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA). Some of you said that since many other weather sites get their data from the NWS, why not go straight to the source? Why not get information from people who themselves get it from weather stations around the world, satellites in orbit, and other commercial and public resources? After all, these are the same people who are in charge of weather warnings and warnings , and you should keep a close eye on them.
However, the NWS is more than just a data clearinghouse – it’s also a great place to get weather information for every county in the United States. Enter your city and state, or just your zip code, and you will receive a detailed forecast of where you are, or alternatively where you are going. Current conditions, forecasts for the future, long-term forecasts, all-time highs and lows, probability of precipitation, radar and satellite maps and more – all right here, just a click away.
Those of you who nominated the NWS and NOAA pointed out that NOAA has hired more than half of its alumni with a Meteorology degree, so there is a lot to be said for reaching out to the source. Also, many of you have pointed out that one of the best things about the NWS site is that it is free, ad-free, compact and fast loading, and of course, accurate. Many of you have even pointed to the NWS in-depth analysis of weather conditions, climates and more around the world as excellent reference material and additional reading for interested people. Read more in the nomination thread here .
Weather underground
The Weather Underground has a semi-turbulent history, but it has always been a favorite with weather lovers, meteorologists, storm hunters, and the general public who just want a reliable source of weather information. (Not related to the other Weather Underground conservation in name alone, as both projects have their own roots and the weather database started with the University of Michigan weather database.) The service was independent for years before being bought by The Weather Channel in 2012. The site continues to operate independently, with forecasts and weather data collected from over 100,000 personal weather stations located in homes, schools and other locations across the country. Weather enthusiasts continue to blog regularly about local, regional, and global issues related to weather and climate, largely thanks to their own community of enthusiasts.
The site itself has been revamped several times, but it still gives you a lot of information about the weather right in front of you, with events, interesting blog posts, and other member posts down the page. The Weather Underground is also still home to the much-loved (and highly rated in the contest thread) Wundermap , which is a highly customizable, deeply informative full-screen weather map. Toggle layers on and off along with additional local detail – and when we say local we mean very local – to see what’s happening in your community, or what the conditions and forecast are across the country.
Those of you who nominated Weather Underground praised the maps, full-screen weather maps (like Wundermap) and the fact that members (for a small fee) get access to tons of raw data and other information that goes far beyond just getting local or regional forecast for the next few days. Whether you want to make your own models, are a meteorologist yourself, or just love to understand the weather, this is definitely the service for you. Many of you have emphasized that it is also one of the most accurate and reliable services, since its data does not just depend on models and forecasts, it is actually collected in real time, actively updating weather data from stations across the map. Read more in the thread of his nominations here .
Forecast.io
Forecast.io is a relative newcomer to the weather game, launched in 2013 with a minimalistic animated weather forecast for your location with important details at the center of attention. Temperature, location, current conditions and forecast for the next hour, 24 hours and 7 days in short form right where you can see them – at the top of the page. Scroll down for more information on these forecasts, including long-term data, forecast lines (so you can see general trends), and additional usefulness such as high-resolution radar data and weather maps. Forecast.io is not exactly for weather lovers – it is not rife with detailed information that might be of interest to meteorologists, pilots and other storm hunters, but it is exclusively for people looking for a serious forecast with enough data to be useful without all confused.
Those of you who have nominated Forecast.io commented that their predictions are – especially for the next 48 hours, and that the design is minimal and focused on information that really matters to you. Many of you praised its open API, others noted that it streams amazingly to mobile devices and looks just as great on smartphones and tablets as it does on your browser. Some of you have mentioned that part of this is so accurate because their predictions are actually the computed aggregate of the other prediction data available. Read more in the nomination thread here .
Fucking weather
Fucking Weather, as the name suggests, tells you what the weather is like now. That’s all. Whether it’s hot, cold, or whatever – there are no maps, no models, no radar, no detailed forecasts, nothing like that – just what the fucking weather is right now, hot or cold, current conditions and that’s it. Scroll down a bit and you actually get a “fucking forecast” that shows you high and low temperatures for the next four days (amusingly provided by the Weather Underground). Just enter your location, check the weather and really the only options on the site were “I want fucking Celsius” and “Remember my fucking weather”, which tell the site your location so that next time you come back you will get the same , accurate, no-nonsense weather report. Make no mistake, it’s fun, but it’s also useful, especially if, well, all you want to know is what the fuck is the weather, and this is one of our favorite sites that tell you what the hell to do .
Those of you who nominated for The Fucking Weather – and yes, you were more than enough to get the site into the top 5 – praised it for its simplicity, concreteness, and while it’s not a site for people who love the weather or climate or love exploring maps and data, this is definitely a site for those who just want to know if they should take an umbrella with them today to go home, or if they should put on this extra layer. Read more in the thread of his nominations here .
WeatherSpark
Weatherspark prides itself on its graphs, charts and other detailed weather data available in a single window. Wind speed, precipitation, average and average temperatures, temperature graphs throughout the day – or days, or weeks, or even annual trends, etc. – all make it a great site for weather and climate lovers who need as much data as possible. … at their fingertips. It’s also insanely accurate for those people who want to know exactly what the temperature will be when they leave work tomorrow, and what the chances are that there will be rainfall at that time, or what the weather at their destination will look like when they get out. their plane, for example. Just enter your location and you have a beautiful, data-driven dashboard accurate to the hour with percentile precision so you know how confident you can be with what you see. From there, you can view more detailed hourly, daily or weekly forecasts, or simply scroll through the map or graphs to see how conditions change, change, or change.
Those of you who have nominated WeatherSpark have noted that this is one of the most striking presentations of a huge amount of weather data. In short, behind these graphs and charts is a huge amount of information presented in a convenient and easy-to-view form. Some of you noted that there were some changes in their weather data sources, but others stated that you stayed on the site, preferring its handling of the available weather data over others – and that you like the way it is all packaged. Read more in the thread of his nominations here .
Now that you’ve seen the top 5, it’s time to put them to a general vote to determine the community favorite:
Honorable mentions
An honorable mention this week goes to Intellicast , which many of you have praised for its live maps, great forecasts and predictions, and storm tracking and direction tools that are especially useful for people living in areas prone to tornadoes or hurricanes. It pulls data from the Weather Underground if you want to dig in and get dirty with specific weather information, and has tons of real-time updated maps and graphs for you to view. Read more in the thread of his nominations here .
We should also mention, like you guys, that a lot of you just look to Google for weather, mainly because it’s so readily available. For most people, it’s on the home screen of their phone, or simply by tapping the Google search bar on their device, and on the internet, a full forecast for your hometown is as easy as typing “weather” into a Google search. Of course, Google’s weather forecasts are provided by Weather.com, which hasn’t received enough support to make it into the top five on its own. You can read his nominations thread here .
Do you have anything to say about one of the applicants? Want to substantiate your personal favorite even if it wasn’t on the list? Remember, the Top 5 is based on your most popular nominations from the Call for Applicants thread earlier this week . Don’t just complain about the top 5, let us know which option you like best and justify it in the discussions below.