weather

Hurricane-tracking apps for iOS

With Hurricane Irene making landfall in North Carolina, you're going to want up-to-the-minute information on the storm, especially if you live in the area or have relatives and friends who might be affected. Fortunately you can get an app for your iOS device that will give you all the latest information.

Note: Android users can find hurricane-tracking apps here.

There are several apps for iOS that let you track hurricanes around the globe. But the best hurricane-tracking apps give you up-to-the minute storm information, include radar and satellite images, and offer detailed push alerts for warnings and storm intensity changes. We found some very feature-rich apps for both iPhone and iPad and narrowed it down to one great app for each device.… Read more

At NASA, first steps toward space weather prediction

NASA scientists for the first time can track the effects of a solar storm on Earth, offering new advancements in our ability to predict space weather and how it will impact our satellites, emergency systems, power grid, air traffic control equipment, and more.

New observations from NASA's Solar Terrestrial Relations Observatory, or STEREO, spacecraft have allowed researchers to observe the sun throwing off immense clouds of material, see how the material interacts with solar wind, and monitor the result as it hurtles toward Earth's magnetosphere.

The result: a first-ever view, end-to-end and in three dimensions, of the impact … Read more

Weather layer added to Google Maps

Weather geeks (we know you're out there) and lifehackers alike now have a new tool to feed their obsessions. Google has added a weather layer to Google Maps that displays current conditions from around the world, from London right down to the tiniest town in northern New Mexico, where the weather's always likely to be better than in London.

In Google Maps, hover over other the widget in the upper-right corner and you can chose the weather layer from the drop-down to make it visible. To actually see cloud cover and current weather conditions, you'll need to … Read more

Handy weather apps for iOS

Across the United States, people are experiencing some of the hottest weather of the year. Many cities are topping out in the hundreds, and some are even getting close to 110. Even a quick glance at the current weather map tells the story: It is hot just about everywhere and if you don't have air conditioning or a body of water nearby, you're probably not feeling too happy about the sunny weather.

This week's collection of apps are all about checking the weather to see when you can get some relief. The first gives the most weather information on one screen so you can know everything at a glance. The second is a fairly simple weather app, but offers one very useful feature. The third is the most complex, with both viewable weather data and national radio updates for weather in your area. Hopefully, with these apps in hand, you'll be able to see some light at the end of a very hot tunnel.… Read more

EarthRisk crunches data to predict extreme weather

EarthRisk Technologies is mining years of weather data for profit.

The San Diego-based start-up today launched HeatRisk, a Web-based application designed to predict extreme heat events 30 to 40 days out. The target audience is meteorologists who work for energy companies or other organizations which need a long-range forecast to hedge their risk from extreme temperatures.

Over time, EarthRisk Technologies intends to design a product aimed at less technical users and investigate whether its research method can be applied to predicting extreme storms, according to President and Chief Science Officer Stephen Bennett. Its first product, released last year, is for … Read more

Storm chaser

If you're a weather nerd, and in particular if you're fascinated by hurricanes, you likely love looking at storm photos. If that's the case, you should check out The Weather Channel Screensaver. This program will adorn your desktop with a multitude of hurricane-related images as well as your local weather conditions.

The program attempts to install a toolbar and a couple of spammy-looking browser add-ons when you install it, so be careful during the installation process if those are things you don't want. Once the screensaver is installed, there are quite a few options for customizing … Read more

WT360 Pro for iOS predicts next year's weather

I'm really looking forward to the light rain showers that are predicted to fall on Albuquerque, N.M., on Wednesday, May 2, 2012. Coupled with a high of 88 degrees, it should be a lovely day. I'm marking it on my calendar to play hooky from work.

I'm privy to this knowledge thanks to WT360 Pro, a 99-cent app for the iPhone, iPod Touch, and iPad that gives weather forecasts up to 360 days into the future. It's as close to a weather crystal ball as you can get.

WT360 Pro isn't just guessing blindly. It's tied in with the Weather Trends International site, a place to go for weather forecasts and long-range future predictions. The company uses a super-secret formula that takes into account weather history and statistics.

There are plenty of practical applications for an app like this. You could figure out if that lavish outdoor wedding you're planning for next spring is likely to happen amid a monsoon. You could choose your fall vacation destination based on which beach town will have the nicest weather.… Read more

How to view the hourly weather forecast on iOS 5

Apple has released iOS 5 to developers to begin testing apps with the upcoming release. One of the new features is the addition of widgets in the new Notification Center, which you can turn on or off. This video shows you how to use the widget, as well as a new feature in the native Weather app that allows you to view the hourly forecast for any given city, or your current location.

Highlights of the video:

Swipe left or right on the Weather widget to view the weekly forecast. Tap or swipe in the Weather app on the forecast … Read more

The weather at your fingertips

The Weather Channel app lets you access all the latest global weather information right from your Android mobile device. More than just a source for current weather readings, the app gives you hourly, 36-hour, and 10-day forecasts as well. And for those who travel frequently (or who like to keep tabs on the weather elsewhere) you can save multiple locations to a single page. Tap the Locations icon to get a quick glance of all of your saved locations, and tap any location to get more details. There's also a nifty Maps Screen, which overlays details like Temperature and … Read more

Weather add-on for Firefox

There's no shortage of weather-related add-ons for Firefox. Cleeki's AniWeather stands out by combining a high degree of customizability with animated displays and real-time weather data for thousands of locations worldwide. You can quickly switch between different locations and access the conditions, forecast, radar information, and other data for each. You can place AniWeather's unobtrusive icons where you like in Firefox and mouse over to expand animated views with more details, or click them to keep the expanded view open. It's free, too.

AniWeather uses a Web-based configuration process that is otherwise like any other program'… Read more