My husband has a strange obsession with the weather. Not the actual outdoor weather but the weather online, he loves to check the weather on the computer – I think the Bureau of Meteorology is his firm favourite but it is certainly not his only source. He has also tuned our Foxtel Weather Channel (yes there is such a thing) to our suburb so that we get accurate weather report for the conditions just above our heads.
This obsession with weather watching has caused a fair few minor arguments for instance there was the time that he was going to sand the deck. In order to sand the deck you need pristine weather conditions. Every day I would look up at the very blue sky and suggest today might be a good day. Michael would retreat indoors check the weather online and say “sorry no can do today, there is rain forecast”
“But it is 32 degreees and there is not a single cloud in the sky” I would protest.
“NO, the Bureau of Meteorology says that it may rain”
And on this went for weeks until it did eventually rain because if you wait long enough it will always rain.
Our deck remained unsanded.
He has cancelled outings, rearranged holidays and planned parties according to conditions that he has read on some weather chart. I often laugh at him while pointing to the sky or the fact that we can go outside and actually FEEL the temperature.
And then a couple of weeks ago I woke up really early. I was getting ready to take the dog for a walk and as I reached for my jumper I thought I would check the weather on my phone. I am still unsure why I felt this urge. Really, it is not something I have ever done before in the morning and I always wake up early to take the dog for a walk. Maybe after 20 years of marriage my husband had rubbed off on me as I slept. I checked the weather and it said 27 degrees.
I was a bit sad that I could not wear the jumper I had planned on and I did think for a second how strange it was that winter was over so quickly and I hadn’t worn that jumper nearly enough.
I went for a walk and froze but reckoned that it was early and we would reach 27 later in the day.
When my son couldn’t locate his jumper I told him not to worry – surely he would not need his jumper on such a warm day.
At lunchtime when I left the office to get some food from across the road I commented on the fact that it was raining and freezing. I felt icy inside and out (the memory of me telling my son not to bother taking a jumper was making even my soul freeze) .
How could this online weather have got it SO wrong? Seriously it was freezing cold and teeming with rain. The phone had clearly said it would be clear and sunny. 27 degrees it had promised.
I checked again. Indeed it was 27 degrees in Los Angeles. In Sydney however it was 11 and raining both in real life and on my phone.
Pity I had forgotten to check that tiny detail called location.
Are you a weather checker?
Comments
82 Comments so far
BOM is da bomb! Enough said.
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Guilty as charged! Totally obsessed! Verging on storm chasing LOL!
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Good to be amongst fellow weather addicts.
There’s never a dull moment on the weather front when you live in Melbourne and I have to confess, I check my weather apps at least 3 times a day. My two go to apps are Oz Weather for the BoM radar and SunSmart http://www.sunsmart.com.au/resources/sunsmart-app to find out the UV level and when I need sun protection.
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the weather is the number one topic of conversation all around the world.
Now you know that, you’ll see, It’s true.
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I love checking the local weather but also the weather in other places for some reason! Like usually wherever we’re going for our next holiday. For example we’re going to Berlin next year so I always check the weather for Sydney and Berlin. It always makes me feel good, whether its “oh look its sunny and 26 in Berlin, how perfect! I can’t wait to go!” or “ew it’s freezing and raining in Berlin, thank god we’re going in summer!”
I also rely a lot on the weather because I have a very very long trip to get to uni, so the right outfit for the city in the morning is very wrong for penrith in the afternoon!
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Became obsessed only when we moved to toronto. Not sure why but despite the the fact that whether its -10 or -20 or -30 is still friggin freezing and im going to be wearing every coat ive ever owned at the same time… i still like to know how hard im toughing it!
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I have an uncle who’s a little whacko about the weather forecast. In his favour he does own a cattle station in central Australia and drought is the norm… However. He will have the weather channel on tv when he’s at home (at any time of the day or night), and will get up regularly from watching the weather on tv to check the forecast on the internet (it’s about the only thing he knows how to do on a computer). This will go on five or ten times a day, just in case the forecast has changed and rain is on its way.
I’m not sure what he’s going to do now they’ve sold and are moving to southern NSW to a ‘hobby’ farm to ‘retire’…
As for me, I never check the weather forecast. I just go with the flow and am usually prepared for four seasons in one day.
I should say though, if I’m in the office and it starts to snow, I’m outta there quick smart. I usually cycle to work, and getting caught in a snow storm isn’t the most fun you can have in an afternoon….
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So good to know that there are others out there that share the same obession as myself. I turn the computer on first thing in the morning to check the weather in fact I looked at the radar just before getting onto this site. My husbands business is at the mercy of the weather and getting washing on the line is paramount when you have a family.
Yes, I am a confessed weather junkie and proud of it!!!
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As a skier I am addicted to watching the weather!
But I check each day at the right times of year because i have figured out that if it is under 13 deg i need an overcoat.
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My hubby is obsessed with checking the weather. We have a weather station next to the bed and he’s forever checking it on line. He loves fishing and you’ve got to check for the weather warnings.
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Love the weather but I don’t have to check online as my hubby is a weatherman and I just ask him! He even explains the terms and concepts to me
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I could happily watch the BOM radar all day.
I also cop a fair bit of slack from my boyfriend for having a “favourite temperature”. Whenever the weather forecast is 23 degrees and mostly sunny, I get really, really excited.
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This spans generations. I gave my dad a weather station and he’ll tell me how much rain they get. I have pocket weather on my phone and iPad and I check the BOM at work whenever there are grey skies. Then, of course, I curse not having an umbrella.
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I’m addicted to the BOM radar! Love the excitement and anticipation when ‘red” rain is on it’s way..!
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How funny!! My hubby is a little obsessed with the weather too…especially using pocket weather on iphone or ipad. Always checks it, and finds it sooo interesting! And also loves to look at the radar to see the rain coming. Don’t really get it myself!
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We are harvesting our wheat at the moment and it is a minute-by-minute weather watching experience.
We had an extremely hot day yesterday (40 degrees) and today we ended up with showers. We don’t want ANY rain whatsoever until our harvest is complete. Very scary times as rain can mean downgrading and ruining a perfect crop. We had that happen the last two years running and it was terrible. The wrong weather at the wrong time can mean our income is gone and we won’t have enough money to plant next years crop.
I have the Elders Weather page open most of the day for the all important updates.
Yes, all we do is watch weather reports like a junkie looking for the next fix.
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Love the BOM here too. For me weather forecast and wardrobe choices go hand-in-hand.
One of my fav websites is http://michigirl.com/ who combines my love of weather and fashion so beautifully!
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Not only an I obsessed with the weather forecasts on line, i bought my husband a weather station, only the best, he rarely uses it. But we have a deal, since i feel both the heat and cold, that at certain temperatures of the weather station i can either turn on the heater, or the AC.
I swear at those weather men on the TV who have too many incorrect forecasts, even though I realize they are only checking the same on line places I go.
yep obsession would be a good word!!!
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We are an obsessed BOM radar family….. I have bonded with other Mums at school over this – it is only the select few that share this addiction…
Have passed it onto my 13 and 10 yo kids – they love watching how much “red” there is on the radar when storms or heavy rain are overhead….
I use it to decide whether to meet my son at the school gate with an umbrella or let him walk home…. Also, a great way to check if it’s worth doing a sheet/ doona wash day …..(Once a week, usually, a propos of this weeks laundry posts….. weather permitting – haha)
Also fab for my cyclist husband – whose mantra is “chance of precipitation means no chance of riding”…. he checks it on his phone at 4.30am when he wakes to go riding and goes back to sleep if the rain is on its way…..
So, yes, small addiction issues!
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I am a weather checker – but I wouldnt go so far as to cancel anything because of it …….. I just take it as a guide … and then look outside.
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Guilty… major weather checking in our office.. especially when a storm is brewing.. it gets very animated when we see it coming on BOM and then look out our highrise office building and yep, there it is!!
It also helps us escape the city early if it might stuff up the trains.. very handy..
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I used to check BOM on my computer several times a day.
I have recently found an app for my iPhone called WeatherZone that gets it’s information from BOM, it’s joy.
I also like the weather websites that show the forecast for the next 10 days
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Sitting here looking at BOM every few minutes …. like all wheat farmers harvesting in north west NSW at the moment. Talk about being obsessed with the weather… try when it can loose you millions of dollars!!
The weather is my lotto.
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Me too Nat, it is such a gamble.
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yep! but i think it’s a relic of having grown up on a farm – the ABC weather forecast is gospel in my parents’ house, and every night when we were eating dinner and the weather would come on, Dad would shoosh everyone cos “the weathers on!” and then go and sit really close to the tele, and turn the sound right up so no-one could talk during it, and cause him to miss any of it
me, i care about the weather for frisbee – as long as it doesn’t rain on tournament or league playing days, i don’t mind! playing in the rain sucks big time
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Sure am, I check for rain! pray it might happen even if they say it will it never does! I am positive they get so bored with the sun out everyday in QLD they just start to make it up! We had months of rain ( yes thats right it flooded there was so much of it) but my brain is Victorian, we moved to north QLD at the start of the year, summer is the ‘wet season’ but I just cant change….and I will still check!
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I became completely obsessed with the weather when I moved from sunny Sydney to cold Canberra.I check it online constantly and am always comparing the weather in Sydney to the weather in Canberra. I am often telling all my work collegues how many degrees warmer it is in Sydney on any particular day. I am sure they are all sick of me!
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Yep, my man is addicted. If his computer is on, he has his three favourite weather websites open. BOM, Seabreeze and something else. But I forgive him as he’s a pilot, a hang-glider and grew up with his Dad working for the bureau or department or whatever of meteorology. Poor man never stood a chance, so simply embraced his upbringing. At least he doesn’t tell me what to do in relation to the weather .. unless I ask.
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Love BOM, on hot days, have the current temp page up on the comp & when rain is about check to see where it is. Rain? on the iphone is the radar on your phone, love it
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Yes, I’m a weather-checker. All the time! I like to see how hot the forecast is & then check several times throughout the day whether the real temp beats the forecast. How sad! I also love checking BOM obsessively during the wet season & when there are cyclones around.
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We’ve got a few meteorology nuts in our office. Any time there’s a big storm (or ‘rain event’ as we like to call it) we jump on to the Bureau of Meteorology website (otherwise known as ‘The BOM’) and check out the radar, on the look out for the yellow, red and even prestigious dark brown areas where the rainfall is heaviest. Similarly on hot days, we constantly check what the temperature is ‘at home’ and feel a sense of achievement knowing that our own suburb is the hottest.
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My hubby is also obessed with the bureau of meterology site and also constantly checks our water storage levels on line!! Nearly everyday! whether it rains or not!
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My whole family is obsessed, not only with weather, but also barometric pressure, high and low pressure cells and humidity. We blame my father. He was a professional fisherman, so weather was all important in our house growing up. And important to be aware of forecasts, pressure etc, because the last place you want to be when a huge southerly blows up is out in the middle of the ocean. It was also pretty handy when you were the only person smart enough to take a jumper on the picnic after it turned cold.
So it was all pretty reasonable I thought, that we were all still obsessed checking things every day. Until my husband pointed out that a) my father is retired; b) he no longer even lives NEAR the water and c) I work indoors. In a city.
Maybe its time to attempt to break our obsession. Let me just go and check what the forecast is for now…
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Yes weather channel in our house is set to our postcode too.
The weather on my iphone has every city I have ever been to on it and each time I know someone travelling I add their destination too. Just because I want to know what its like where they are.
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Has he discovered the iPhone weather apps? They are good. Im a bit addicted to them actually!
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I like to check the weather quickly in the morning and evening news. I need to know what pyjamas to put on the kids, and whether I should pack the stroller cover!
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I can totally relate to your husband. Weather makes me a bit nutty and pedantic. I have an iPhone app that gives an hourly breakdown so I can get very specific and say things like: “at 3pm there’s a 70% chance of rain”.
Also, when I lived in London, every day I would also check Sydney’s weather (my hometown), Vancouver’s (because that’s where my brother lived) and even more randomly Miami (because I was watching Dexter and obsessed with sunshine). I had all four cities saved on my phone.
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I have the weather gadget on my computer desktop and it has become a wonderful parenting companion.
My son and I had daily fights on whether or not he needed to wear a singlet, jumper, long pants etc, until we came up with a weather rule … if it’s going to be over 18, he can wear shorts, if it’s going to be over 22, he go without a singlet and if 25 or over is predicted, he doesn’t have to take a jumper.
Hey presto – no more fights and better still, no more taking off his singlet as soon as he gets to school!
(As a disclaimer, I would just like to point out that in Canberra it’s often freezing in the morning, even in on hot days.)
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Oh and I just thought it was a farmer thing …
My whole family is weather obsessed – our family and friends trade weather site information and secretly pass on ‘never wrong’ internet sites from Norway or ‘guaranteed to get it accurate’ sites that register sea temperatures from antarctica… LOL
My husband’s mobile has the weather automatically fed to it wherever he is, so the screen shows what the weather is doing or going to (if its going to rain, it has raindrops on it and a windscreen wiper that comes across, or a blazing sun, or clouds skidding across it …) Personally, if you want to know what the weather is doing where you are – look up!!
What always perplexes me is this: most Australian weather information (elders weather site, the Weather Channel, the TV, the radio etc) ALL get their information from the Bureau of Meteorology … so how come they are so different?
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Liz – can’t say for sure, but I think it’s something to do with what weather stations they use. Some places might have their own weather stations, but if they are using feeds from the BOM, they might not be getting the data from every single town. Instead, if you type in a postcode in which there is no weather station, the weather website might use an algorithm to calculate local conditions. So some websites show real results for the NEAREST town, while others ‘make up’ results for EVERY town, if that makes sense. As you said, if you need to know the exact weather of where you are… look up!
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Yes, but only since January 2011. Queenslander.
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I became a weather junkie when we moved to Melbourne… originally from QLD where you don’t bother so much. Having said that, I usually pack/take/carry a jumper/jacket wherever we go as you just never know down here. Been here 4 years – you think I would be used to it by now! LOL
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I can’t disclose the full extent of my weather obsession because I’m scared of giving too much away. I know my way around the BOM site, though.
I can’t believe people think this is a man thing!!
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Total. Weather. Freak. I adore the weather, watching it, anticipating it, and get ridiculously excited if a storm is imminent. I’d love to stand outside during storms to get closer to them (wisely I resist the urge). My deceased Mum was the same, my sister and I love the fact we’re carrying on the tradition. I had a moments satisfaction last week, the sky was that purpley-storm-coming kind of sky. From the back seat of my car, my 11 year old said, “think there’s a storm coming Mum”. That’s my boy!
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Our business is in a agriculture and largely influenced by the weather. My husband looks at the radar so often he will often say to me, you better get the washing in it is going to rain in 25 minutes. He is often wrong though it is usually it is 23 minutes
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i always check the weather! numerous times a day actually. Before i leave the house, before my lunch break, before i leave work!
But despite checking it over and over again, it’s still wrong so often.
“oh 28 and sunny” eventually becomes 19 and raining, and there i am at the train station freezing in a tshirt, skirt and sandals.
I’m now a pro so i always have a pair of footless tights and a jumper just in case, even if its going to be 34!
http://www.xxxmissvxxx.wordpress.com
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In Singapore being a weather junkie is redundant. Overnight minimum will be 25 or 26, daytime maximum will be 32. Every. Single. Day.
The humidity varies slightly, and it’s at it’s yearly low at the moment, so it’s what the locals call “winter”. I am wearing a singlet top and shorts. In winter. It is a bit less sweaty, but not quite chilly enough for the gloves, beanies, woollen jumpers, boots and scarves that the stores on Orchard Road are stocking at the moment. And, no, i’m not joking. I even saw a faux fur jacket in H&M!
So there’s little point checking the weather forecast when it’s going to be hot and humid, or hotter and humider!
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I made that discovery when i was in Singapore! Seriously, do any of the locals actually buy that stuff!?
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Yes, the locals feel the difference in a couple of degrees and will break out jackets if it drops below 30!
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This is funny I can totally relate, maybe this is a man thing. My husband does this all the time. He surfs the weather daily and is also very fond of surf cams, job sites and Tasmanian real estate.
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What’s the only job that you can get wrong 95% of the time and still get paid?
Weather forecaster.
I take forecasts with a grain of salt – it’s a vague guide that could change without warning. It’s nature!
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I live in Melbourne.
Checking the weather is part of our religion.
I check our specific location (the closest suburb that the bom measures) because Melbourne is a big city, and has higher rainfall bands (suburbs that get more rain).
I don’t just want to know it might rain, but at what time of day.
I usually have washing on the line, and clothing decisions to make.
I know from experience that “scattered showers” usually means a pretty low chance of rain where I live, but I check the radar if I need to. Only the BOM will do, for that kind of detail.
My hubby is from the country, so we also like to have guesses at HOW MUCH rain has fallen, and we often look it up, out of interest. I do occasionally look at the levels of the water storage the supply Melbourne too. You can call me an enviro-nerd.
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From the country too originally.
I now live in the ‘burbs with my husband. We have a rain guage on our 600sqm block. Hehe! My parents always want to compare what we had!
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I become a weather junkie whenever there’s a possiblity of a thunderstorm! I love them and always become dissappointed if they fizzle out before reaching my location.
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Me too Nora! I feel let down when the promise of a thunderstorm is met with only a shower of rain.
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I am completely obsessed with the weather. BUT only for my laundry! I
am obsessed with making sure that it is washed and dries completely on the weekend. If I know it is going to rain on the weekend (because weatherzone tells me), I wash stuff during the week, while it is sunny, like a mad woman!
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I am like this as well. If I know the weather is going to be nice and sunny and warm on a day when we all have to be out of the house quickly, I will make sure we are up a bit earlier so the bed can be stripped, the washing load finished and hung out before we leave the house!
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