The Weather Forecast on Your Computer
By David Leonhardt

I use the Internet to find just about every type of information. Even the weather.

Sure, I could just stick my head out the window and call out, "Hello. What"s the weather forecast today?" But if the response is "hurricanes, hail and meteor storms", I don"t want my head to be on the wrong side of the window when the answer comes down.

Plus, that won"t help me fine-tune my last minute travel plans.

So I turn to the Internet. There are three really easy ways to get a good weather forecast over the Internet:

Weather forecast websites:

There are some good weather forecast websites. The one I use most often, because I am in Canada, is The Weather Network http://www.theweathernetwork.com ), and I also like CNN ( http://www.cnn.com/WEATHER/ ).

CNN gives current conditions and a five day forecast. The Weather Network provides more detail, with a short term forecast ( this evening, tonight, tomorrow morning, etc.) and a longer term forecast over the next six days. The Weather Network provides the most detail of all the options, but it takes longer to download than the progress of climate change (so don"t do it on a 26K modem!) Both offer forecasts for cities worldwide.

Weather forecast software:

A second way, which does not even require going to a website, is to get current conditions right on your desktop. There are free weather forecast software downloads, such as http://www.weather4you.info that display key data right on your desktop, and even provide a text summary one click away.

Weather forecasts on the desktop are probably the fastest way to get local weather information, and the data is updated every five minutes. The display can be set up for local weather, but a couple clicks allows for a quick check of conditions form almost every weather monitoring station in the world – ideal for making last minute travel plans

Weather forecasts by Google:

A third way to access the weather forecast is through Google. Yes, the find-everything search engine has added weather to its repertoire. For instance, search Google for "weather Orlando", without the quotation marks, and see what you get.

At the time of writing, this service is available only to cities in the USA (I presume Americans get more weather than other people.). However, it will hopefully be available everywhere by the time you read this article.

Google"s is the least precise weather forecast of the options, but fairly quick and simple to reach if you are looking for information on a city in the USA.

All three options are worthwhile, whether preparing for the daily commute or making travel and vacation plans. So pull in your head, close that window and log on. Why stick your neck out when there is weather on your computer.