Now that we’ve explained a bit about how Wunderground does all of the neat stuff that it does, the question in the forefront of your mind is probably “okay, but how do I use it to get the weather for my area?” Glad you asked! It’s actually quite easy, if Wunderground doesn’t do it for you itself! Just type in your city, a nearby airport, or your postal/ZIP code, and Wunderground will give you everything you need to know about the current weather in your area, plus a 10-day forecast!
How to get weather data for an area on Wunderground
- Type in www.wunderground.com in your web browser’s address bar.
- Wunderground will usually be able to use your Internet connection address to automatically find the general area you’re in and give you weather data for that area. However, let’s assume that you want to look for weather data for another area, perhaps somewhere you might be going on vacation soon.In that case, click in the box labelled “Where is Your Weather?” and type in the name of the city, state/province, country, or a nearby airport, or a postal/ZIP code.As you type, Wunderground may give you suggestions based on cities, states/provinces, countries, or airports that it knows. You can click the name of one of these suggestions to select it, if it’s what you’re looking for. Otherwise, finish typing in what you’re looking for, and then click Search.
- Wunderground will now show you weather information for the area you’ve selected. Let’s start with the window at the top of the screen, which shows you current weather conditions on the left. Click Change Station to get readings for a different location.
On the right side of the screen, you can click the three tabs on the map to get different meteorological views of your current area. Radar shows you the type and amount of precipitation, Satellite shows you temperature and clouds, and Webcams shows you live shots of current conditions. You can also click the “+” and “–” buttons to zoom in or out on the map, or the play button to see conditions over time. The buttons in the top-right corner give you even more map views; we’ll cover the WunderMap in another tutorial.
- Now, let’s scroll down and look at the information a little further down, which is a forecast of what the weather is going to be like for the next 10 days. The easiest way to view it is in Descriptive mode, so click that tab to bring up a screen like the one below.Here, you’ll see the weather for the next few days described the way a weather anchor might tell it to you on the news. Click on More Days at the bottom to see weather information for days further into the week.You can also click the Graph tab to bring up a by-the-day or by-the-hour visual representation of upcoming weather, or click the Table tab to bring up a by-the-hour matrix of information about the weather on an upcoming day of the week.
Other Things to Do on Wunderground
The menus across the top of the screen will take you to other areas of Wunderground. Click one, and then click an option in the drop-down menu that appears to go there.
Here’s a general idea of what you’ll find in each of these places:
Maps and Radar — See and track rain or snow in your area, check conditions for flying or boating, check air quality and ultraviolet indexes, and more.
Severe Weather –See and track extreme events such as thunderstorms, tornadoes, blizzards, and hurricanes in your area. See forecasts for inclement weather, know where things like earthquakes and wildfires are happening and how to avoid them, and learn how to prepare yourself in case you get caught in Mother Nature’s fury.
News and Blogs — Read commentary on current weather phenomena from Weather Underground founder Dr. Jeff Masters and other meteorological experts, weather-related news stories from all over the world, or easy-to-understand illustrations of how weather works.
Photos and Video — Check out beautiful and wondrous photographs of weather and nature from Wunderground’s users, or look at their webcams to see what the weather’s like where they are right now. You can also watch videos and animations on weather in action, how weather works, or what the latest trends in weather mean.
Activities — This is the place to go if you’re looking for weather information to take into consideration when you’re planning various outdoor activities, like skiing/snowboarding, sailing/boating, swimming, or flying in an airplane.
More — Take a look back at what the weather in your area was like over a certain period of time, read the latest scientific evidence and analysis for climate change, learn what a personal weather station is and how to buy/install/register it, or just get a general list of everywhere you can go on the website.
And that’s a quick tour of how to use Wunderground!
