Climate Central has launched WXshift, a weather website that combines weather forecasts with local climate trends. At the heart of WXshift is the first digital, real-time pairing of local weather and climate data, providing custom graphics on local climate trends alongside each day’s forecast. From there, users can see more detailed weather information, or dive deeper into decades of city, state, or regional climate data in just a few clicks. The site also features the latest weather and climate news from the sites journalists and short videos from our meteorologists connecting the weather to the larger climate picture.
This is the weather and climate for Westlake, Ohio.
“WXshift gives you something you can’t get anywhere else — relevant, localized trends in rainfall, snowfall, temperatures, drought — with a beautiful, informative delivery,” says Richard Wiles, Climate Central’s senior vice president. “For the first time, WXshift lets viewers see the local weather forecast with local climate trends, so people can see at a glance how their climate has changed.”
Behind the scenes, WXshift is a big-data powerhouse, linking together more than 100 years of temperature, rainfall, snowfall, and drought data from more than 2,000 weather stations to provide instantaneous, customized local climate trend graphics, linked to local weather. The site is ad-free and mobile-responsive, and Climate Central’s developers are planning to roll out a second iteration in early 2016 that will include a WXshift app.
“WXshift is not just for weather geeks and meteorologists but for everyone — because it breaks down climate change in easy-to-digest visuals,” says Bernadette Woods Placky, chief meteorologist of Climate Central. “It’s our best opportunity to make the link between weather and our changing climate in a way that fits in with everyday life.”
Filed Under: News, Software
