Dial-A-Forecast from NOAA's National Weather Service
It's always amusing to me how far we've come, and how far we have yet to go. They can put a zillion transistors in a chip smaller than a postage stamp; we can communicate instantly with somebody on the other side of the planet; yet when we go outside, we still have to decide whether we need to bring along an umbrella—a piece of fabric on the end of a stick—to keep us from getting wet.
Weather information is all around us. You can see forecasts on TV, you can visit sites on the Web, you can read them in the paper. Did you know you can also get them on the phone? The National Weather Service has numbers in many communities that will give you the latest official weather information from the folks that the weather gal on TV turns to for her information.
There is a huge list of numbers available on the Dial-A-Forecast site. Whether you're interested in New York City (631-924-0517) or Elko, Nevada (775-738-3018), or any place in between, there's probably a local number that's going to give you the updated weather info that you need. Forecasts for coastal communities include information about marine conditions as well.
Need to kick yourself because you didn't bring your raincoat along today? A quick call is all it takes to see whether you're going to need a towel by the time you get home.