Weather Watcher Support

Notification examples

Each location’s alerts are determined independently but the notifications will be combined if appropriate.

There are two formats for notification text: a plain text summary, and a longer formatted text summary. The notification shows the change that caused an alert based on the high, low, or precip settings. In parenthesis, it shows the previous value, if any.

Examples showing how to interpret the notification:

  • LOCATION: High: Wed: 65 (was: Tue: 63)
    • The latest forecast has the next high temp alert on Wednesday, at 65 degrees. The previous forecast high that caused an alert was Tuesday at 63 degrees.
    • The alert threshold for high temps was set to 60 degrees, so any forecast 60 degrees or higher would qualify for an alert.
  • LOCATION: Precip: No alert (was: Fri: 40%)
    • The latest forecast has no alerts for precipitation. The previous forecast had a 40% probability of precipitation for Friday.

App Help

Overview

Weather Watcher checks the forecast and creates a notification if it’s going to be too cold, too hot, or if it looks like rain. Set up locations, choose what to watch, and how often to check the forecast. Tapping on the notification will show the 7-day forecast highlighted based on the alert settings. It will also show any National Weather Service active hazardous weather statements for the location. Note: Weather Watcher does not use location services.

Support & Feedback

Please send questions to: lightbulbz1991@gmail.com.

Set up and Use

Tap Locations in the menu and tap to add a location to watch.

Please note: Temperatures are in degrees Fahrenheit

  • Name: a short name for the location.
  • Track: check the box to include the location in forecast results.
  • Address: location to watch (USA only). Enter a street address, zip code or pick a location on a map using the button.
  • High: alert if forecast temperature will be at or above this number.
  • Low: alert if forecast temperature will be at or below this number.
  • Precip: alert if forecast probability of precipitation will be at or above this number.

In the Locations list, swipe left on a location to delete it.

Tap Settings in the menu to adjust settings.

  • Enable refresh: enable/disable periodic refresh.
  • Refresh interval: how often to check the weather (every 1 or more hours).
  • Update Schedule: change periodic refresh to use the updated interval.

Check forecast

After entering the settings, return to the main window to see the latest 7-day forecast, along with alerts and location information. Tap the tabs to see forecasts for each location. Tap to see short or long text forecast descriptions. Swipe down in the forecast results to refresh the forecast for the current location. Tap to refresh the forecast for all locations. If an NWS hazardous statement is shown, tap it to go to the website and read the details.

Forecast annotations

  • Precip column: The probability of precipitation value is shown if available. If no value is available, “~~” is shown if the detailed forecast mentions a “chance” of rain, snow or showers. “**” is shown if the detailed forecast mentions rain, snow or showers without qualification.
  • Forecast Updated: The National Weather Service (https://www.weather.gov) updates the forecast at irregular intervals. The note shows the number of hours since it was last changed, typically at least twice a day.
  • If a periodic refresh is set up, a refresh icon and the interval are shown like “ 1″. Otherwise, the refresh disabled icon () is displayed.

Please note that the forecast comes from the National Weather Service, so accuracy and availability are dependent on that service.

Notifications

The forecast will be checked on the schedule that was set up, unless the device’s battery is too low. A notification will be posted if the forecast changes so that the high, low or precipitation meet the criteria that were set up. Notifications show the next time period when the alert threshold is met, if any. A change to the next alert(s) will cause a new notification. The notification will be cleared when the app is opened.

NWS Mobile Site

Tap to open the NWS mobile site in a browser for the full forecast, current weather conditions and additional data for the location.

Tips

  • The timer will wake the device if it’s asleep, so Weather Watcher can check the forecast.
  • Restarting the device will cause the refresh timer to restart.

Error and warning messages

It’s possible to enter an address that can’t be found, so messages like these might be seen. Check the address. Only locations in the USA, covered by the National Weather Service, are valid.

  • Could not find the address. Please check it and try again.
  • Lookup failed, please check the address and try again.
  • Location not found. Using default location.
  • Location lookup failed, please try again.

Data input or internal database issues:

  • Error setting refresh schedule. Check settings and try again if incorrect.
  • Menu error: …
  • Something went horribly wrong when long pressing a tab

If there are communication issues when looking up a location or getting the latest forecast, messages like these mey be seen. They are usually transitory. Be sure the device can connect to the internet using cellular or wi-fi.

  • Error parsing date_string …
  • Alert request failed for …
  • Alert request failed with message:
  • Could not process returned data: …
  • Forecast refresh failed: …
  • Problem refreshing …
  • Forecast request for location_name failed: …
  • nwsAlerts request for location_name failed: …
  • Forecast request failed with message: …
  • Could not process returned XML data: …
  • Problem refreshing location_name: …
  • No results returned
  • Lookup failed with message: …
  • Get address geocoding failed: …
  • OOPS! Something bad happened: …
  • Error: …
  • Error: Unable to get NWS Alerts. Using cached information.
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