#1006732 - 18/08/201115:05Weatherzone Updates for Spring
Todd Baker
Weatherzone Staff
Registered: 13/07/2009
Loc: Sydney
Hi All,
We are in the middle of doing some nifty updates for Weatherzone. We are getting pretty excited about these and I wanted to give you guys a taste of whats to come. I will post a new item every week or two in the lead up to the launch this spring.
Please feel free to discuss whats in the pics and video but I'm not going to elaborate any further... just yet
Firstly, we are doing a LOT of work on the radar's. We know its an important tool for watching weather events unfold and the first thing I want to share is our new 960px x 720px radar animator. Silver members will soon be able to "Supersize" their radar animators to see even more of the action.
I hope you enjoy this taste of whats to come this spring. Ill be back soon with some more teasers
Looks great Todd. With that animation you can see an interesting circulation through NE NSW - which explains the movement of the storms coming down from SE QLD and then hanging out across NE NSW.
Would be great if I could access my WZ silver account on my android phone - at the moment can't seem to stop it changing to the mobile WZ site...with phones getting more inteligent would very much like to be able to make a choice as to which site (full or mobile) I want to access - thus getting access to Silver features as well.
Looks really good so far and yes have to agree with Schummy, like the rain sites updating in real time.
I will second BNE's comments re Weatherzone on Android. The stock browser always reverts to the mobile site even if you choose "Go to full site". I have downloaded another web browser (Dolphin) which doesn't seem to revert to the Mobile site however would prefer it on the stock web browser for better zooming functionality.
Nice to see some new features for WZ silver members.
#1009240 - 31/08/201118:55Re: Weatherzone Updates for Spring
[Re: Scud]
Todd Baker
Weatherzone Staff
Registered: 13/07/2009
Loc: Sydney
Silver access is coming to both iPhone and Android.. sometime before xmas.. sorry I cant be more precise. Its not going to have all the silver features but we want to get lightning in there initially.
I will retest the "Go to full site" you guys have mentioned and try and fix that up. It does require cookies so make sure they are enabled.
Hey Todd. Any chance that a Weatherzone App will be available on WP7 anytime in the foreseeable future? There are some good weather Apps out there but a WZ one with the ability to veiw Models/meteograms etc. would be great. I realise you guys are flat out but just thought id throw the idea out there. Keep up the good work!
Great news Todd...... Looking forward to these features coming! Also I didn't know you guys had a YouTube channel. I'm now the first Subscriber!!!!! HD radar is great, will be good to see more detail when storms approach for sure. I hope the lightning strikes go down to this detail as well....
Also Todd, found a bug on the WZ android app. The large 4x1 widget which has the clock seems to have gone the wrong way on day light savings time. While my phone shows the correct time the widget insists on going an hour forward of daylight savings time, or two hours ahead of regular Australian Easter standard time. It was fine till last weekend.
#1030985 - 15/11/201121:50Re: Weatherzone Updates for Spring
[Re: SkyScaN]
supercellKid
Weather Freak
Registered: 6/12/2002
Loc: Finley, NSW, 22km north of Toc...
Just want to say how much I appreciate the modifications. Major changes like this should be happening all the time so we can view the weather like the guys in U.S. do. Thank you so very very much.
yeah im loving the new radar more and more now! only thing i would suggest is with the warning area, it is different to the BoM warning.
for example the current NSW STW, instead of just highlighting parts of the hunter/mid north coast etc the radar highlights the entire area even though there is no warning. otherwise top job guys!
#1031153 - 16/11/201110:16Re: Weatherzone Updates for Spring
[Re: Heat Trough]
Matthew Pearce
Weatherzone Addict
Registered: 26/01/2001
Loc: Kariong, NSW
An explanatory email outlining all the changes will be sent out either today or tomorrow. Glad to hear you are all liking the changes - a lot of work has gone into them over the last few months.
#1031303 - 16/11/201118:53Re: Weatherzone Updates for Spring
[Re: teckert]
Thunderstruck
Lightning man/moderator
Registered: 10/05/2001
Loc: Bayview, Darwin, NT land of th...
It looks good and all, love the big stormtracker but really would LOVE if you could click the smaller config windows on demand to view them larger rather than having them as smallm unclickable background windows. To get them large I'd have to re-manage/config my whole dash. A little annoying.
TS
_________________________ October Rainfall = 149.2mm, Thunderdays 7. Wet Season Total = 149.2mm
#1031306 - 16/11/201119:05Re: Weatherzone Updates for Spring
[Re: Thunderstruck]
Blizzard
Meteorological Motor Mouth
Registered: 31/03/2001
Loc: Blue Mountains - 1070 ASL
Yes, the large storm tracker is really good, especially on a 24" screen and larger. It does seem a bit clunky, having to select, load and then view that configuration each time. Shouldn't it remain on that selection until you change it? Maybe its just FireFox7 or something, not sure.
Registered: 27/05/2001
Loc: NE suburbs, Adelaide, South Au...
ahh yer I hadn't noticed that till now.... That's just downright annoying lol... Hope they fix that up asap. Surely once you preset a config, it should stay on there until you wish to change it or load up a different one....
Registered: 29/01/2007
Loc: Horsham in western Victoria
There's always somebody who wants more or something different so I plead guilty for this suggestion.
There are very large gaps in Australia's weather/ rainfall radar coverage across the continent but a source that usually provides continental wide rainfall coverage albeit usually with a few hours delay is the US Monterey Naval Met satellite based site which uses blended IR and microwave to provide rainfall coverage across all of Australia and across the world.
Very handy to see how much and where the rain areas are outside of the BOM's radar coverage and in what direction and how fast those rain areas are moving. Some discontinuities may seen at times due to the timing of the satellite passes.
Might be a site for consideration for WZ silver and as a supplement to the BOM's radar coverage.
If I use IE9, the dashboard pops up, then is greyed out, I can't use the radio buttons to set my preferences.
I tried accessing the webpage using firefox and google chrome and it works ok in both, just not IE9. I thought it might be a javascript issue, so I checked java was up to date and it is.
I'm using Win7 Home Premium - 64 bit and I have the 32 bit and 64 bit versions of IE9 and it doesn't work in either.
Hi just found the new storm dash board! and the new weather radar large view which you can overlay a ton of info on! awsome work guys i would be happy to pay more a month now just keeps better and better! what about a avation section?
#1031709 - 18/11/201110:02Re: Weatherzone Updates for Spring
[Re: seaeagle2323]
Andrew Miskelly
Weatherzone Webmaster
Registered: 15/11/2001
Loc: Goulburn/Sydney, NSW
Hi Mick,
This one's a bit hard to figure out. Various people in the office have been running it on IE9 without any issues.
I don't suppose you're up to emailing me a screen shot of what you're seeing? Ctrl+Print Screen with your browser open, paste from the clipboard into an email and send to the address in my profile.
#1031729 - 18/11/201111:09Re: Weatherzone Updates for Spring
[Re: Andrew Miskelly]
Scottie A
Weatherzone Addict
Registered: 23/09/2009
Loc: Spring Mountain, Brisbane
I just signed up for Weatherzone Pro Yesterday and I have to say I am rather impressed with the large weather radar viewer and all the overlays. There are a few things that are a bit of a let down including the wz radar viewer lags behind the BOM radar viewing in terms of updating but I assume this could not be overcome due to the BOM being a little slow to put the data on their FTP server.
The stormtracker is great but there is no way to change the layout which is a let down... for example the ability to put 2 full size radars or satellite next to each other would be a great feature for those with larger screens without having to use addons for firefox etc. All in all for $5 a month its a great service
I've been in contact with the weatherzone support and I've sent them an email with a screen capture of what I get when I go into the stormtracker with the dashboard popup, and haven't had any reply as yet, not even a confirmation they got the email, so I will send the same image to you and see what you can tell me...
#1033085 - 22/11/201108:14Re: Weatherzone Updates for Spring
[Re: Nullamanna WX]
Blizzard
Meteorological Motor Mouth
Registered: 31/03/2001
Loc: Blue Mountains - 1070 ASL
Mick, I've also made a note to look into it when I get some time. I've got Windows 7 here, XP and Linux with every browser under the sun for testing, so will try to have a look into soon.
I was making a change to my site recently and it worked under every browser except Safari, so it can be a challenge at times.
#1033121 - 22/11/201111:00Re: Weatherzone Updates for Spring
[Re: Blizzard]
Andrew Miskelly
Weatherzone Webmaster
Registered: 15/11/2001
Loc: Goulburn/Sydney, NSW
Thanks Mick. I've got someone here taking a look at it.
I dare say it's something to do with a setting or minor version of IE9 rather than operating systems or anything like that. We've been unable to replicate the problem in the office.
Lovin the new changes Andrew, i can't wait to test out storm tracker out on a chase. Nowcasting plays such a big part whilst on the road, so well down to the WZ team!
#1033267 - 22/11/201118:36Re: Weatherzone Updates for Spring
[Re: Nullamanna WX]
Andrew Miskelly
Weatherzone Webmaster
Registered: 15/11/2001
Loc: Goulburn/Sydney, NSW
Thanks Mick (and Greg). Good stuff.
Changes to remember the last viewed dashboard and load a dashboard into the control panel as soon as you select it from the list (without clicking the 'load' button) will be live within the next couple of days.
#1033285 - 22/11/201119:05Re: Weatherzone Updates for Spring
[Re: Andrew Miskelly]
Blizzard
Meteorological Motor Mouth
Registered: 31/03/2001
Loc: Blue Mountains - 1070 ASL
Great stuff Andrew.
Are we able to use a TWC static radar/tracker image of a reasonable size and link to, say, the radar full animation? A bit like this test page with the BoM image here:
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