TODAY'S TOURBUS TOPIC: WEATHER STUFF

We experienced record high temperatures in the northeastern US today, prompting me to install the air conditioner about two months ahead of schedule. No fair, I'm not supposed to be sweating in April! Your fearless busdriver will be taking you to an array of weather-related websites, so read on...

The Weather Channel

In addition to local weather maps and forecasts for thousands of cities around the world, The Weather Channel website offers many other useful features:

Download the free Desktop Weather software for Windows. The current temperature for the

city of your choice will show in your system tray. Click the icon, and Desktop Weather will display the latest weather conditions and forecasts. (Mac users: check out WeatherCenter or iWeather at http://www.smashin.com)

Sign up for Inbox Weather and they'll e-mail you the forecast daily.

Health-related weather info such as Pollen Reports, Air Quality Forecast,

Aches and Pains, and Skin Protection.

If you're planning a trip across the USA, look for the Interstate Forecast

planner before you go. You'll find color-coded maps showing weather conditions for cities along your way, and printable 10-day forecasts along 59 major U.S. interstate highways.

http://www.weather.com

BBC Weather Centre

Weather forecasts for the UK and cities around the world. It's not too late to check out the World Skiing Guide. There's also the Weather Quiz, Fact Of The Day, and (for serious weather nerds) Weather Chatrooms.

http://www.bbc.co.uk/weather

Weather Picture of the Day

Worth visiting just for the photo of the World Trade Center being struck by a massive lightning bolt. You can also get the Weather Picture Of The Day delivered to your email inbox each day, free of charge.

http://www.weatherpictureoftheday.com

National Severe Storms Laboratory

The National Severe Storms Laboratory is an internationally known research laboratory, leading the way in investigations of all aspects of severe weather. NSSL's Weather Room provides information for kids and adults. Learn the what, where, whys, and hows on tornadoes, hurricanes, lightning, and thunderstorms. There are also resources for teachers to print and use for weather education in the classroom.

http://www.nssl.noaa.gov

Add Weather to Your Website

Got a boring website? You can add free weather info from a variety of weather sites by pasting in a snippet of HTML code. Try these to see which one works best for your site:

* Weather Underground offers many options, colors, shapes, transparent backgrounds, sun & moon info.

http://www.wunderground.com/about/faq/weathersticker.asp

* Weather Channel offers the Weather Magnet plugin.

http://oap2.weather.com/oap

* Anything Weather has an attractive weather banner.

http://anythingweather.com/flashcard.asp?station=co-wpark

That's all for now, see you next time! -- Bob Rankin