As tourist or transporter, being able to forecast weather and plan based on available information is important, especially in places with unknown terrain. A study result reported how much Switzerland transport sector saved by using methodological data 2012, it was a whopping 60 million dollars!

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Going back to 1985, weather forecast helped Qatar Airways to determine how much fuel each plane should carry, this saved them 19-30 million dollars per annum.

being equipped with adequate information about weather and making the right plan means more money in a country's economy and quality of life.

More than ever before, an individual is now better equipped with more information about local weather, thanks to mobile technology and open source mobile applications like Forcastie. Until now, the weather report on National television stations has always been about 3-5 cities in most countries. The BBC (British Broadcasting Corporation) only give weather forecast in one or two cities in top countries in each continent of the world. At the moment, an average Joe is no longer excluded as far as weather reporting is concerned.

Personally

I live in the top City my state. Also, as a small scale farmer, having real-time information about temperature and humidity has helped me in improvising chicken eggs hatchery. When there are not enough resources to set up modern incubating facilities, we use oven, lantern and Forecastie app for setup. The right temperature and humidity condition for incubating is 38.5 degrees Celsius and 80% respectively.

We had a choice between three states, but a state with low temperature and humidity will not work, it will cost us more money to fill the lantern with kerosene to increase these metrics. Forecastie helped in this decision making.

What About This App?

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It is a lightweight app that allows users to have access to open weather map without ramming phone RAM (Random Access Memory) space and exhausting internet bundle. Users enjoy weather information that is important to them, such as local temperature, pressure, humidity, wind speed, sunrise and sunset time. Also, it displays information about the intensity of UV (ultraviolet) which could be rated as low, medium or extreme.

What's More?

With Forecastie, I already have access to the weather forecast for five days ahead, Tomorrow and Later (next 4 days). On the home screen, there are six icons; Refresh, Search and More icon at the top-right corner of the screen. Then we have Today, Tomorrow and Later in the middle of it.

Refresh

This app is designed in such a way that it update weather information without delay, but in a situation where there is no Internet speed or change of location, it may not update fast enough. This is never as a result of a bug, it is practically out of developers control. I really do not mind to tap the refresh button, it is there for a reason.

Search

Beyond information about the weather in my city, I can have an idea of current weather in other cities around the world, by typing the name of the city in app search box. For instance, I would love to know how hot or cold Johannesburg is by clicking on the search button, then type 'Johannesburg' to get the information instantly.

Today

It displays weather information at 3 hours interval, breaking it down gives me the idea of what I should expect in the next few hours. Additionally, I have an overall knowledge of how the weather will behave for the rest of the day. If I have to go out, I know exactly how to plan my movement to avoid sunburn. That is the power of information.

Tomorrow

Similar to Today, it gives me all information about whether through the app. I know when the environment humidity is at 80%, on these days, I don't bother to put water in the incubator to raise humidity.

Later

By clicking on it, I always have a glance at the weather forecast for the next 5 days, this information is essential to me as a farmer. There are crops that are better cultivated in cool weather, under moderate rainfall.

More Icon

This is where I can make use of the map to check for weather information in nearby cities. Also, there is a Graph, Settings, Detect Location and About icon in it. The graph gives a pictorial view of each weather components like temperature, rain, pressure, and wind for the next 5 days. Instead of scrolling through information provided under Today, Tomorrow and Later, I can use graphs to get insights.

Detect Location

People who do not like to turn on their phone location will have a problem with this feature, but there is a way out. You can search for weather report of your location without turning it on, only that the information will not be relevant enough.

weather report is almost as good as viable seeds to farmers. So it depends on your priority.

Settings

Here is where I set all parameters that you see on my screen, I can tweak temperature, length, speed and pressure units to Imperial or standard units- depending on my choice. Users can change the date and wind direction format. The theme and app refresh interval can be determined through settings.
Through settings, I switched on the update location in the background in other to have access to real-time information.

To Wrap it Up

This app is an indispensable tool for farmers, transporters and anyone who care about weather metrics. It consumes fewer data and the user interface is friendly, anyone can interact with it without fear of complexity. Its name says it all. However, the weather report is not 100% efficient, but as a long time user, I know when I should add +/- 1°C to temperature report and when I should not. It is a matter of adaptation and instinct.

Suggestion for Developer

• Enable share button without having to screenshot my screen, this will be useful if I want to share weather forecast of my location on social media.
• Include intro page, this will go a long way in helping users who are not tech savvy and allow them to set their foot on Forecastie.
• As part of graphs, you can include information about sunrise and sunset of the next 5-days as well.

Version

This app is new and developers contribute to its development regularly

Links

Source Codes
https://github.com/martykan/forecastie

Download Link
https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=com.casticalabs.forecastie

My Github Profile
https://github.com/autofreak

Series: Nil