Favorite weather site?

[nancylebov]

This is a minor issue, but I'm been using Wunderground, and what I really appreciated was that the put the 5 day forecast AT THE TOP OF THE PAGE. The hourly forecast that I could get by clicking on a day was hard to parse, but I could live with that. I'm not sure what would improve the hourly forecast, though a less intrusive wind direction would help.

Fortunately, they do offer a classic version link. It's still not as good as just getting what I want on the first bounce.

In any case, in a fit of god knows what, they redesigned the page so that the extended forecast is less handy. Being able to choose an icon style doesn't make up for this. And I don't care about the size of the radar map.

What's more bizarre is that there's plenty of space wasted in the top of the page where they could have put the 5 day forecast.

And there are 400+ comments on the "we love our design, don't you?" page (the majority of which are NOT PLEASED), and after I set up an account (with an optional tell-our-advertisers-about-yourself quiz offered twice that needed to be clicked past), I couldn't find the comment page again. And wasn't inclined to try very hard, so I've sent them an email.

Anyway, if you have a favorite weather site, and especially if they if they put the extended forecast at the top, please let me know. For that matter, if there's something else that's a big deal for you about weather sites, tell me that too.

Comments

[chomiji]

I just use weather.gov. It's not fancy, but it doesn't plop random advertising crud onto my system, either.

Have a link to the forecast for your area.

[nancylebov.livejournal.com]

Thanks. At least the extended forecast is at the top, even if the visuals are too fussy for my tastes.

I'm beginning to think that the wunderground classic page happened to hit a sweet spot for how I input weather information.

[janetmk.livejournal.com]

I also use the National Weather Service Web site. The format is clear and simple and the forecast is updated throughout the day.

If there's a Big Weather Event I'll probably check what the Washington Post's weather bloggers have to say. It's often quite entertaining and informative but of course mainly of interest to those of us who live in this region.

[captain-button.livejournal.com]

I also use that site, figuring that they are where it all comes from anyway and aren't advertising driven.

Only possible complaint is that the site can get very slow when there is bad weather in my area, but of course that's when they will be getting the most hits.

I read somewhere years ago that someone tried to get the Weather Service barred from giving information directly to the public, but they failed.

[metahacker.livejournal.com]

As a stop-gap, you could try using one of their trimmed-down sites, e.g.:

http://wund.com/

The five-day is *near* the top, at least, and it loads fast.

[nancylebov.livejournal.com]

That's pretty good. Thanks very much.

[redrose3125.livejournal.com]

I am giggling because 2 other people above me have recommended my recommendation - the NWS site.

[wouldyoueva.livejournal.com]

I work as a contractor to the National Weather Service. I'm pleased by all the comments.

There was a survey recently on bad government Web sites, and weather.gov came in second, after time.gov. The criticism of weather.gov is that there's SO much information, it's hard to access simple information. But teams are working on fixing that, and I can post links to two of the redesigned pages, if you want.

[nancylebov.livejournal.com]

I'd like the links, and thanks for offering.

I took a look at weather.gov, and their idea of icons doesn't match my idea of quickly accessible visual information-- much too cluttered.

[chomiji]

Completely frivolous addition to your weather sites collection:

Star Wars Weather Forecast for Your City

DC is currently Hoth.

(Ganked from marthawells.)