Weather Archives - Geek for Hire

Travel Tips for the Holidays!

Posted on November 25, 2019November 25, 2019 by Gail Eddy in Smartphone Apps, Tips, Travel, Weather

It’s Holiday Season and time for many people to take big road trips. Our family does this every year. Most of our family is on the East Coast, others are near Los Angeles, and we’re here in snowy Colorado! So someone is driving or flying every year – this year it’s our turn so I want to share some of my favorite Holiday Travel Tips and Weather sites.

Travel Tips:

The first site I visit is Google Maps. It’s easy to enter all the addresses you will visit. For example, I’ll enter my sister’s address as the endpoint, and then I can enter the address for my friend in Des Moines and my other friend outside of Toledo. The other thing I like about Google Maps is that I can alter the route if I know that I have a preference. For example, I know that I’ll choose the northern route even though it is 10 minutes longer. If I were to go into the city, I would likely hit more traffic. The northern route is all cows and farms with very little traffic.

I also like that Google gives me the option to click and drag the route around an obstacle or construction that they might not know about.

Weather Travel Tips:

When it gets closer to our departure date, I’ll take a look at a few different weather sites to see if we need to leave a day earlier or later. My go-to website used to be The Weather Channel. I could enter where I was traveling from and to and it would tell me what kind of weather I’d see on my way. Unfortunately, they’ve discontinued that feature. Now, my favorite site is WeatherUnderground. (FYI WeatherUnderground is better as an app. There seem to be fewer ads when I view it on my iPhone.) I like that it tells me approximately how much snow I’ll see and when there will be sunshine.

I also like the NOAA website, especially during hurricane season! Here’s their map for Thanksgiving week:

I’ve published a list of my favorite sites two years ago. Here is where you’ll find that list.

Conclusion:

Whether you’re driving or flying, you’ll want to take a peek at the forecast before you leave.

Do you have favorite travel websites I didn’t include here? Write a comment below!

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Chris Eddy of Geek For Hire, Inc. has been providing computer service to families and small businesses with Mac’s and PCs for the past eighteen years. Angie’s List and the BBB rate Geek For Hire very highly. You can find more on our website, or give us a call 303-618-0154. Geek For Hire, Inc. provides onsite service (Tier 3 support) to the Denver / Boulder / Front Range area as well as remote service throughout North America.

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Weather Websites and Apps for Traveling

Posted on November 14, 2017November 25, 2019 by Gail Eddy in Smartphone Apps, SmartPhones, Weather

The winter holidays are coming up and lots of folks will be on the road. I thought this would be a good time to revisit my list of favorite weather websites and smartphone applications.

NOAA – When you enter your city and state into the “Local Forecast” box, you can see just what is in store for your area. In addition, if there is a big storm coming, you’ll see a “Hazardous Weather Conditions” box across the top. I like the NOAA forecast because it is generally right on target. NOAA also has radar and satellite maps. By the way, NOAA stands for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and is located right here in Boulder, Colorado!

Weather Underground – My favorite of all the weather websites is Weather Underground. I like it because I have several different weather stations to choose from in my town. In addition to the forecast, WU tells me what’s happening right now. When you click on the information from a particular station, you can also see if they have a webcam set up. Then you can see the snow and wind for yourself! Those webcams are especially helpful if you’d like to see the weather in a place where you are traveling to. You can also save favorite locations, so it’s easy to see what’s going on at Grandma’s house before you get there!

The Weather Channel – The Weather Channel has all the same information the other websites have. Because they consider themselves a news site, they’ve also got, what I can only call Weather Entertainment. Big Floods! Amazing Ancient Ruins! 20 Places Overrun by Animals! And More!! My favorite feature on the Weather Channel is their travel map found here. When you enter your starting place and destination, and the date you will be departing, the map calculates your route AND the expected weather.

NEXRAD – “Nexrad (Next-Generation Radar) is a network of 158 high-resolution Doppler weather radars operated by the National Weather Service” This website shows the radar for the whole US, or just your state.

WeatherTalk – is a Facebook page. Colorado Weather Analyst Greg Berman gained recognition when he accurately forecasted the extent of the rains and subsequent Front Range floods in September 2013. If you’re on Facebook, I’d highly recommend this page to “Like” and bookmark. His forecasts include most of the Colorado Springs and other Front Range areas.

Aurora Alerts – And if you’re looking to see if there may be an Aurora in your neighborhood, check out the NOAA sun activity page.

What is your favorite of all the Weather Websites? Share in the comments below!

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4 Top Sports Smartphone App’s

Posted on November 7, 2017January 6, 2018 by Gail Eddy in Smartphone Apps, SmartPhones, Weather

For those of you who know me well, you know that if there is one sport I follow, it’s baseball. I like hockey too, but don’t follow the games and teams as closely as baseball. I really L O V E baseball! I love attending the Rockies games at Coors Field, with the smells, sounds, and excitement. And when it’s time for the World Series, well, I’ll be glued to a TV, or, one of the Sports Smartphone App’s on my iPhone to keep track of the scores! After baseball season was over this year, I started wondering how people who follow other sports get their info. As per usual, any question I have involving technology, however peripherally, gets explored here!

There are a bunch of Sports Smartphone app’s recommended by folks in-the-know. I’ve checked them out and found these four to be easy to use and very easy to customize so that your favorite teams are listed right up front.

Bleacher Report for Android or iPhone – iMore really likes the Bleacher Report. Here’s what they have to say: “If you prefer something with a bit more of a modern interface, then check out the Bleacher Report. Rather than providing its own coverage, the Bleacher Report curates all the best sources on the web so that you get all the news you can about your favorite teams and players. You can open a stream to get scores, stories, videos, and photos from local and national newspapers, blogs, Twitter, and more.”
ESPN for Android or iPhone – Tom’s Guide says: “The ESPN app brings users the latest and greatest sporting news and information worldwide. Whether you’re looking for updated scoring information, breaking news for various teams and leagues, or professional analysis, the ESPN app has got your back.”
theScore for iPhone – iMore rates theScore as their #1 choice. Here’s what they have to say: “theScore is the sports app. It’s simply the best. You can follow tons of professional leagues (even including NASCAR) and receive updates on scores and news from any and all teams you’d like to follow. You can even follow individual players, and you can customize alerts so that you only get pinged for what you want to know. theScore has a great-looking interface and setup is simple — just pick your leagues, pick your teams, and away you go.”
Yahoo!Sports for Android and iPhone – AppOlicious says: “Plenty of sports apps will give you the latest scores. Only a few will keep you up-to-date on every single play of the game. And even fewer will do all of that plus let you pick games, chat with other sports fans and set alerts for numerous game scenarios. Yahoo Sports continued to operate in a special stratosphere in 2017, making it a continued must-download for the sports fan who wants everything under one app.”

Which is your favorite sports smartphone app to track your favorite teams? Share in the comments below!

Chris Eddy of Geek For Hire, Inc. has been providing computer service to families and small businesses with Mac’s and PC’s for the past fourteen years. His company is highly rated by both the BBB (Better Business Bureau) and by Angie’s List. You can find more at http://www.GeekForHireInc.com Geek For Hire, Inc. provides onsite service (Tier 3) to the Denver / Boulder / Front Range area and remote service throughout North America.

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My 7 Favorite Weather Websites and Apps

Posted on November 29, 2016November 25, 2019 by Gail Eddy in Smartphone Apps, SmartPhones, Weather

With all the snow in the forecast, I thought it was time to revisit my list of favorite weather websites and smartphone applications.

Weather Underground – I like Weather Underground because I have several different weather stations to choose from in my town. In addition to the forecast, WU tells me what’s happening right now. When you click on the information from a particular station, you can also see if they have a webcam set up. Then you can see the snow and wind for yourself! Those webcams are especially helpful if you’d like to see the weather in a place where you are traveling to.

WeatherTalk – is a Facebook page I’ve recently found. Colorado Weather Analyst Greg Berman gained recognition when he accurately forecasted the extent of the rains and subsequent Front Range floods in September 2013. If you’re on Facebook, I’d highly recommend this page to “Like” and bookmark. His forecasts include most of the Ft. Collins / Denver / Colorado Springs / Front Range area.

Storm Shield Weather Radio will send severe weather alerts to your smartphone.

Aurora Alerts – And if you’re looking to see if there may be an Aurora in your neighborhood, check out the NOAA sun activity page.

Do you have a favorite website for weather forecasts? Share in the comments below!

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My 5 Favorite Weather Websites and Apps

Posted on November 24, 2015November 25, 2019 by Gail Eddy in Technology Tips, Weather

It’s that time of year when people start looking at the weather maps to see how their holiday travels will be. I’ve got a few favorites and will share them with you here.

NOAA – When you enter your city and state into the “Local Forecast” box, you can see just what is in store for your area. In addition, if there is a big storm coming, you’ll see a “Hazardous Weather Conditions” box across the top. I like the NOAA forecast because it is generally right on target. (Although they blew it with the last storm, predicting 10-14″ when we only got about 5″!) NOAA also has radar and satellite maps. By the way, NOAA stands for the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration and is located right here in Boulder, Colorado!

Weather Underground – I just started using Weather Underground about a year ago. I like that I have several different weather stations to choose from in my town. In addition to the forecast, WU tells me what’s happening right now. When you click on the information from a particular station, you can also see if they have a webcam set up. Then you can see the snow and wind for yourself!

WeatherTalk – is a Facebook page I’ve recently found. Lyons Weather Analyst Greg Berman gained recognition when he accurately forecasted the extent of the rains and subsequent floods in September 2013. Just recently, he bucked the NOAA trend and called for zero to just a few inches of snow last week in Boulder County and said most of the snow would land south of Denver. He was right on both counts. If you’re on Facebook, I’d highly recommend this page to “Like” and bookmark. His forecasts include most of the Ft. Collins/Boulder/Denver Front Range area.

Some other apps I found while researching this post include Storm Shield Weather Radio and RadarScope.

Do you have a favorite website for weather forecasts? Share in the comments below!