weather

Years ago we purchased a rare early version of one of those personal weather stations that are everywhere these days, and it failed miserably. Or, more accurately, we failed miserably; we could never get it to work properly and, even when it did, we couldn't figure out how to read it. So even though their more recent design efforts are much appreciated, we still fear that they'll be too complicated for our woefully limited technical comprehension.

Enter La Crosse Technology and its $15 LCD Window Thermometer. Not only does it claim to be simple to use, according to … Read more

Anyone who's minimally familiar with personal weather stations knows that Oregon Scientific is obsessed with these devices--which strikes us as somewhat odd, because the weather in Oregon seems fairly predictable compared with other states (rain followed by more rain). Whatever the reason, its crusade has paid off at least where design is concerned.

No longer do home forecasting gadgets look like hospital equipment thanks to the company's efforts to add an aesthetic dimension to its products. As Technabob points out, its latest offering looks more like a retro sci-fi movie prop than something used to guess whether you … Read more

The entire technology world is preparing to descend on Las Vegas for the Consumer Electronics Show, but many of those in the San Francisco Bay Area are finding it slow going.

The entire Beyond Binary staff (yes, that is just me), is among those who have been hanging out at San Francisco International Airport amid weather-related flight delays. My flight is now running three hours late, but, like all good CES-goers. I have plenty of gadgets to keep me occupied.

My laptop and Sprint EV-DO card are letting me blog, while a video iPod has a season of Weeds and … Read more

SAN FRANCISCO--Scientists are trying to peer a bit further into the future than the typical five-day weather forecasts available today.

Forecasting weather is a notoriously tough challenge that combines physics modeling, data collection, and computer processing--and unlike many scientific problems, pretty much everyone on the planet cares how well it's done. But forecasts today peter out after a few days, leaving a cloud of uncertainty (forgive me) that only lifts when it comes to predicting seasonal weather phenomena such as El Nino.

Scientists are now getting a handle on intermediate-term forecasts by computer models of a particular type of … Read more

As of today, Google Earth can finally tell you what the weather is like while you zoom around the 3D representation of our planet. The app has a new layer that lets you toggle cloud cover, Doppler radar, and conditions and forecasts, which will show you what's on tap in each region using information aggregated from Weather.com. There's also an "information" link that has more background about each of the services and links to download the 6- and 24-hour cloud animations, which can be controlled using playback buttons in the top right of your screen. It looks just like you've seen on any TV weather report, except you have complete control on the playback slider, and can drag is backward and forward ad nauseum to bend the clouds to your will (it's great fun).

I couldn't manage to get the "conditions and forecasts" sublayer to activate with the latest build for Windows, but maybe that's just me. Everything else works marvelously, including the Doppler radar that Google claims is "near real-time," which is a reasonable considering it's updated every 15 minutes--about what you'd find at most weather sites. The data for Doppler comes from Weather.com and is limited to the contiguous United States, with plans to roll it out to Alaska, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and Europe "shortly." All other regions of the globe are limited to cloud cover and forecasts, which Google pins at somewhere around 50,000 cities worldwide.… Read more

Google Maps has worked hard to place just about every capability you'd want when you stare at a map into its Web app. That includes the ability for third-party developers to ornament Google's maps with their own KML, or keyhole markup language, mapplets.

AccuWeather.com announced today its Forecast Snapshot for Google Maps. The add-on slips into the MyMaps tab of a user account and offers multiple ways to fetch the weather forecast while fixating on a particular locale.

Click the map, or enter the ZIP code or city into the AccuWeather.com search bar to grab meteorological data in Celsius or Fahrenheit. AccuWeather.com displays a three-day forecast in the sidebar and on the map face, but the widgetlike qualities stop there. Clicking for compressed or extended forecasts, animated radar, or anything else opens new tabs on AccuWeather.com.… Read more

WeatherBug knows how to get around. The detailed weather reporting application for most combinations of desktop and mobile downloads, plus a WAP site, has let iPhone into the club. Now iPhone users can check out seven-day forecasts, animated radar maps, and real-time images from street-level weather cameras.

Incidentally, I learned an interesting factoid about WeatherBug. It began as educational curriculum and still has a strong program for schools and organizations subscribing to its weather warning alert system (e.g., "chance of lightning, soccer canceled.") That explains why the view of Sunnyvale, Calif., is taken from what looks like … Read more

As noted too many times in this space, we can barely turn around without encountering another personal weather station, as there seems to be one created for every room in the house. But the one place we foolishly thought we'd be able to escape them--the shower--now has one of its own as well.

It may call itself the "Only Weather Station Shower Mirror" but, at this rate, we doubt that distinction will last through the end of the week. We're not exactly sure why anyone would need to monitor the barometric pressure outside while shaving, but … Read more

WeatherBug has added the Apple iPhone and iPod Touch to the list of devices that can use its mobile weather service.

The weather data service provides users with information on temperature, wind speed and direction, forecasts, live weather views and even a video on the weekly outlook.

iPhone/Touch owners can download the application from this WeatherBug iPhone Web site.

Keep in mind, iPhone owners are not the only ones who can use WeatherBug for mobile. WeatherBug is available for a large list of carriers and smartphones.