[lbhnact]

weather.gov/5digitzip will take you straight to what you want and is just about as easy as an app for most folks.

Using well-designed government services feels like a good habit these days.

Try it on your desktop or mobile browser, easy as pie: http://weather.gov/10018

[saalweachter]

Checking the same zip code with weather.gov and weather.com yielded 122KB / 1.6s (weather.gov) and 1.1MB / 18s (weather.com).

[ivm]

So we entered the era where government sites are lightweight and responsive while commercial sites are bloated and slow.

[whipoodle]

In my experience government sites aren't usually slow or bloated, they just look shitty.

[ivm]

I wouldn't call "shitty" something with a nice layout and readability. "Not trendy" – yes.

[mulmen]

I wouldn't call the stereotypical government site a "nice layout". It seems like more often than not my experience with government sites is that I have no idea how to find the data I need.

Try finding a campground in Washington in the early spring. Is it open? Do they take reservations? Are they required? Good luck.

Agreed that trendy and usable are unrelated.

[brudgers]

I've used https://www.recreation.gov/

[whipoodle]

> I wouldn't call "shitty" something with a nice layout and readability.

Yeah, me neither.

[irickt]

Even better, get a custom two-day chart as a 26KB PNG:

http://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick.php?lat=33&lon=-84&Fcst...

[lanius]

Any way to narrow down the location further than the zip code? My zip code covers a large area touching the ocean, there's a dramatic weather difference between the coast and 5 miles inland.

[jlgaddis]

From a command-line, try:

  $ curl http://wttr.in/5digitzip

(NB: SSL/TLS is enabled, w/ a self-signed certificate, so you can also use `curl -k https://`)

[brudgers]

The REST API, https://graphical.weather.gov/xml/rest.php

[pessimizer]

I'm a huge fan of the "Hourly Weather Forecast" linked from that page; I just bookmark it. Everything I need.

http://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick.php?lat=40.7198&lon=-73...

[jlgaddis]

I use the same page -- well, the same graphs -- a few times a day (usually when trying to decide whether to ride the Harley or drive the truck). I can find out everything I want to know in just a few seconds.