The Internet had justifiably become an excellent source of information on any conceivable topic, and weather is no exception. When I uploaded my Golden Triangle Weather Page in March 1994, there was very little local weather information available online, so I compiled what little was available in one place. Now, there is an enormous amount of local weather information available, as well as general information relevant to our region.
One of the primary public sources of public weather information is the National Weather Service, online at www.weather.gov. On this page is a continuously updated interactive national map showing weather features, and interactive links to local weather service offices. Our local office is in Lake Charles, and can be found online at www.srh.noaa.gov/lch. The Lake Charles page also has a detailed and continuously updated interactive map showing the area covered by the Lake Charles station, consisting of southeast Texas and most of southern Louisiana. “Mousing” over the map, and clicking on a county, parish, or city will open up an attractive localized weather page, featuring the latest detailed seven day forecast, near real-time local conditions, radar and satellite images, and links to additional information. Weather watches and warnings, tides, marine forecasts, tropical weather, river information, and fire conditions are also linked from the local pages.
Comprehensive and localized tropical weather information can be found on the Lake Charles NWS page at www.srh.noaa.gov/lch/tropical/tropic.htm. This site contains links to official information, tropical outlooks and discussions, current tropical statements and warnings (when necessary), local evacuation maps, a tracking chart, and other important information.
The National Hurricane Center (NHC) has its information available online at www.nhc.noaa.gov. If tropical depressions, storms, or hurricanes are active, this site becomes one of the premier sites with substantial information on both Atlantic and Pacific storms. If no storm is present, this page is predominately text, with links to information resources. If a storm exists, then this page becomes a valuable resource, with detailed color maps and information giving current and predicted tracks and strength up to five days in advance. Excellent detailed hurricane tracking charts are also available from the NHC for download in Adobe PDF format.
A sister site of the NHC, hurricanes.noaa.gov, is available offering “user friendly” information and links. Also available on this page, via pull-down menu, are a variety of other “friendly” pages covering a host of weather related topics, including aviation weather (www.noaa.gov/aviation.html), air quality information (www.noaa.gov/airquality.html), fire weather showing fire risks (w3.noaa.gov/fireweather), flood information (w3.noaa.gov/floods.html), lightning (w3.noaa.gov/lightning.html), space weather (w3.noaa.gov/solar.html), and several other topics.
If spectacular sunrise and sunset images, or images of oceans or the sky are desired for any type of graphic use, including computer wallpaper or desktops, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) has a stunning series of images available at www.photolib.noaa.gov. According to the index on the site, www.photolib.noaa.gov/collections.html, over 20,000 images are available.
There are also many commercial weather websites, some of which simply compile and reproduce public domain information from the National Weather Service, and others that employ their own staffs of meteorologists. One of the most popular commercial weather sites is affiliated with the Weather Channel and its sister network the Discovery Channel, and is available at www.weather.com. Weather.com is a comprehensive site including weather news, maps, information, and statistics. This site also has weather related links on more personal topics such as health (pollen, colds and flu, air quality, etc.), travel (driving conditions and weather at popular destinations), weather at major events around the country, recreation weather (golf, boating, beaches), garden weather covering lawn and garden care, and snow ski information (snow reports, snow quality). In addition to the personal topics, information on weather anywhere in the world, local, and educational links are included.
Many computer users like the availability of continuous weather on their desktops. Weather.com has a free utility “Desktop Weather” which can be downloaded and installed on most computers connected to the Internet. Desktop Weather provides current local temperatures and weather conditions, and provides alerts if sever weather threatens. A major competitor is Weatherbug, available for free download from www.weatherbug.com. Weatherbug is available in two versions, a free version with advertisements, and a “Pro” version ($20) without ads. What has made Weatherbug one of the most popular weather utilities is that it retrieves information from over 6000 local sites, including many local schools. In much of the area, Weatherbug can give neighborhood information, rather then the regional information available elsewhere.
A compilation of local and national information from both public and commercial services is available on my non-commercial weather page at www.beaumontweather.com. This website, hosted by Eonet, was one of the first local websites on the Internet. It is graphic intensive, and contains near real-time weather radar from Lake Charles and Galveston, current weather information, local warnings and watches, and tropical statements. When a tropical storm or hurricane is threatening, the latest predictions and tracking charts from the NHC, U.S. Navy, and the University of Hawaii are also posted.
As has been said here before, information is power, and since we are very subject to severe weather, this information may also be a lifesaver.
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