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Weather Service Becoming More Tech Friendly

Posted by ryuzaki0 on from the i-hope-your-servers-are-weatherproofed dept.

awgy writes "The National Weather Service recently began offering XML/RSS feeds of their alerts, observations, and forecasts. Now the Tulsa, OK Forecast Office is experimenting with offering forecast files for Google Earth. It looks like the National Weather Service is quickly becoming one of the most geek-friendly government agencies."

3 of 182 comments (clear)

  1. Get your forecast on your cell phone by HMA2000 · · Score: 5, Informative

    It even gives you a radar image. Works well in bars and cars especially.

    http://mobile.srh.weather.gov/

  2. Poster reveals his youth? by JabberWokky · · Score: 5, Informative
    They always have been - they just hadn't upgraded in awhile. Back in the 80s, you could pull forecasts and weather alerts off their ftp server and as gopher and the web were invented, they gave access to those new technologies. I think they even had a finger service.

    This was long before XML, so they invented their own format called METAR, no more difficult than, say, email. It was standard, and they have made it public for decades.

    "Becoming one of the most geek-friendly government agencies"? They always have been!

    --
    Evan

    --
    "$30 for the One True Ring. $10 each additional ring!" -- JRR "Bob" Tolkien
    1. Re:Poster reveals his youth? by kabz · · Score: 5, Informative
      Aaaarrrrggghhhh!! METAR, the bane of student pilots everywhere, but it *is* ok once you get used to it.
      KIAH 190953Z 00000KT 10SM CLR 24/23 A2997 RMK AO2 SLP148 T02440233 $

      It's not really surprising that the weather service is kinda geeky. Most of it probably rubbed off from pilots who are probably in the top 3 geeky professions.
      --
      -- "It's not stalking if you're married!" My Wife.