Because of the nature of my job, I spend a lot of time online. As a result, I come across some pretty cool websites, and I’d like to share these treasured finds with you.
In this new blog series, Favorite Websites, I’ll post my favorite sites with you, and will give you tips on how you can use these websites. I hope you enjoy!
Favorite Website: Wunderground
What do you think of the weather we’re having, eh? (A typical Minnesota conversation starter 😉 )
Maybe I’m a bit of a weather fanatic, or maybe it’s just because I live in Minnesota – where we can have four seasons of weather, all in one day. Whatever the reason, my number-one source of getting weather information has been Wunderground – Weather Underground. I’ve used this website (daily) for many years, and I find it really IS the best source of the most accurate weather information.
Wunderground – https://www.wunderground.com/
This website includes all the weather information you need. The data comes from personal weather stations around the world, so you know you’re getting accurate, up-to-the-minute data when using a weather station near you.
You don’t have to register to use the website, but I do recommend you create a free account and then log in (and stay logged in). When you are logged in, your area forecast and weather information will be the first you see when you access this website.
Use This Website:
To use this website, enter the location for the weather you’re interested in, and then explore all the data for that location.
- Go to https://www.wunderground.com/
The website will look similar to the image below.
- Click in the Search Locations text box in the upper-right corner, type the location you’re interested in, and press [ENTER]
A window similar to the one below will appear, showing the data for the current date. Notice that the weather station used is also shown under the city name. You can change this to a different local weather station if you want.
- Scroll down through all the data presented for the current day – for example, the Precipitation, Pollen, Air Quality, UV Index, Additional Conditions, Weather Station History, Astronomy, and News – there is a LOT of great information on this page!
Make sure to click on the blue greater-than sign within each of the boxes shown – this will open that box and give you even more details. For example, click on the blue greater-than sign (arrow) under UV Index and you’ll see detailed information regarding the UV Index for the day.
Additional Tips and Notes:
- You can save locations that you’re most interested in. For example, I’ve marked our home location as “Home”, and our lake home as a “Starred” favorite. Once you have your Home location displayed, click the Home icon to save that location. To mark a location as a saved favorite, click the Star icon next to the location name, as shown in the image below. Once you have your locations saved, they will appear at the very top of the Wunderground window (see the very first image on this page) and you can switch between these saved locations quickly.
- At the very top of the screen, you can display the weather information for Today, Hourly information, a 10-Day forecast, the Calendar, the History for the day, and a Wundermap. I especially use the Hourly and 10-Day tabs a lot!
- Some weather stations also have Webcams. You can click on the Webcams checkbox at the bottom of the Radar map on the Today tab (see image above) to see any webcams for that area. This is a cool way to see what’s going on in various locations around the world.
- I recommend you subscribe to the Daily Forecasts and Weather Alerts by email. I like getting that email every morning that gives me a quick glimpse of the forecast for the day, and the weather alerts are especially helpful for my family since we live in a rural area with no tornado sirens around.
- I also recommend you use the mobile app for Wunderground. The app is available for iOS and Android. You can get the app from the More menu at the very top of the Wunderground window.
I hope you find this website helpful and interesting, and a great source for your weather information. Enjoy!
Have a question? Leave a comment below and I’ll get back to you.
