My computer can help in cold weather? How? (1/23/08)

You mean I can just look out my window?
There are so many ways your computer can get weather information using the internet, you may forget that you can just look out your window! Here are some that I've used:

http://www.wunderground.com: The Weather Underground
http://www.weather.com: The Weather Channel
Comcast, Verizon, Yahoo, AOL, MSN, and many others have weather reports on their web sites as well.

Just enter your ZIP code or city and state and you'll get the current local weather report and 1- to 5-day forecasts. You can also use this technique before you travel, just enter your destination city and you'll learn what to expect when you get there.

Weather alerts
Every winter I'm concerned about preventing my water pipes from freezing, especially the ones that pass through the unheated part of my basement. Also, since I drive a lot for my business, big snowstorms can affect my workday. I can try to keep an eye on weather forecasts, but it would be much easier if I could simply be notified when the forecast turns bad. After doing a google search for "temperature email" I discovered that The Weather Channel's web site offers free weather alerts via email or cell phone text messages:

Go to http://www.weather.com
Near the top center of the page, click the blue underlined word "Alerts," then follow the prompts to sign up.
You'll create a "profile" using your email address and a new password you'll choose. (Don't forget to add this information to your Password Chart, see http://www.kadansky.com/files/newsletters/2007_10_19.html for my advice on this.)
Choose between email or text messages.
Then pick the types of alerts you want (Severe Weather, Extreme Cold, Icy Precipitation, Snow, Rain, Heat, Pollen, etc.), the time of day to be notified, other options (e.g., the temperature or severity that will trigger the alert), and save your settings before leaving.

You should also know that:

weather.com's Extreme Cold alerts include the effect of "wind chill" (how cold it feels), not just the temperature reading. So, if you've set this alert for 32 degrees Fahrenheit, you wouldn't expect to be alerted if it's 37 degrees outside, but if the wind will make it "feel like" 20 degrees, you will. This is good if you're concerned about how cold you'll feel that day, but it's confusing if you're concerned about your pipes freezing or frost accumulating on the plants in your garden.
While they send these "Weather Channel Alerts" for free, choosing to receive them as text messages on your cell phone may cost something, depending on your calling plan.
If you want "Voice alerts by phone" you can get their premium "Notify!" service (also called "Notify Plus") for a 7-day free trial, followed by a monthly or annual fee.
Each "profile" monitors the weather for one geographic location, so if you want alerts for another location, you have to register again with another email address.
If you have a specific future date whose forecast you're concerned about, use the "My Wedding Weather" page at http://www.weather.com/activities/events/weddings (or click on "Home & Family," then "Wedding Planner") to monitor that date's forecast and also see that date's typical weather. You can also use this even if your event isn't a wedding.

School closing alerts
Similarly, rather than monitoring television or radio reports listing school closings or calling your local School Department, you can get free school-closing alerts sent to you via email or cell phone text messages.

If you live in the Boston area, a good source of school-closing information is Channel 5's web site:

Go to http://www.thebostonchannel.com/closings/index.html
On the right under "School Closings E-mail and Cell Phone Sign-up" follow the prompts to sign up and pick the school(s) you're interested in.
Enter your email address, which they use as a kind of "account name," even if you only want cell phone alerts.
You can monitor as many schools as you want.
Again, don't choose to have text messages sent to your cell phone until you know what they might cost you to receive.

If you live outside the Boston area, check your local television station's web site, or do a google search for "school closings email TOWN"--substitute your town or region for "TOWN."

Finding individuals or services to help
If you're looking for someone to help with snow shoveling or removal, here are some ideas to get you started:

Go to craigslist (http://www.craigslist.org) and look under "services" for people offering help, or post your own "seeking help with..." notice; read the "help" section to learn more. Be careful, always check references.
Find a local Yahoo Group by going to http://groups.yahoo.com, searching for your city or town, joining a local group, then posting a "seeking a recommendation for..." message. You'll have to sign up first to get a free Yahoo ID. For example, on my local "Belmont_MA" Yahoo Group I learned that any senior citizen having trouble with snow removal can call the Belmont Council on Aging to find local high school students who will shovel elderly residents' walks, fulfilling the high school community service requirement.

Where to go from here

Before choosing to have alerts sent to your cell phone, make sure you know what receiving text messages will cost on your calling plan.
Remember that email delivery isn't totally reliable. For example, email alerts can end up getting incorrectly "caught" by spam filters, preventing you from seeing them until you "whitelist" the address they're sent from.

And if I find a free weather alert service whose temperature alerts don't always include wind chill, I'll let you know. In the meantime, I'll keep an eye on my basement water pipes.

If you know someone else who might find this helpful, please feel free to forward it to them.
If you have any comments about this article, send me a reply!
If you have a topic that you'd like me to write about, I'd love to hear about it!