Seeing the entire world from the comfort of your own home might seem impossible, but only if you haven’t heard of Google Earth. Not only is it perfect for having a peek around the globe, but it makes sense for weather radar updates as well.
Look, you’re not going to replace your current weather app with Google Earth because that’s not an efficient way to view the weather on a regular basis. But if you are using the tool for other purposes, then it would be nice to have the ability to check if it’s going to rain.
View Live Weather Forecast on Google Earth
We should point out that Google removed weather forecasts from Earth a few years ago, so as it stands, the service can only provide access to weather radar.
Where to find the weather layer?
Before we begin, we must first locate the weather layer. Now, this feature is built right into Google Earth, therefore, there is no need to make any broad changes or install third-party software right now. Just be sure to have Google Earth Pro installed on your computer. Open it, then navigate to the sidebar on the left.
From the sidebar, there is a tab called Layers, and under it, you should see the weather layer. From here, users can select the Cloud section to know where clouds are calculated around the world. As for the Information section, it will deliver data about the weather and how it was gathered.
For those who might want to, they can download weather animations as well, but make sure your computer is of relatively good power. Additionally, the option is there to have 24-hour cloud animations, which is not bad if you ask us.
Bear in mind that cloud data are not real-time, but close.
Google Earth for the Web
Folks can choose to use Google Earth from their web browser instead of downloading the desktop Pro version. From what we can tell, it too doesn’t have the weather forecast feature, but when it comes down to looking at clouds, this is a possibility, thankfully.
To look at clouds, launch Google Earth for the Web in the Chrome web browser. After doing so, click on the menu icon, then select Map Style. Seek out the button named Turn on Animated Clouds and turn it on. You won’t get live weather this way, but it is better than nothing.
What are your options?
You see, we can use KMZ or KML files from third-parties to provide forecasts.
Go to radar.weather.gov, and be sure to enter your location in the forecast search box. Once you’ve selected your location, you should now be switched over to the forecast page. From here, click on KML button to download the file.
After downloading the file to your desktop, Google Earth will load it and provide weather forecasts. Because weather services keep the KML files updated, you will always be on the right track where the latest forecast is concerned.
It should be noted that KML files do not only show the weather, but also other climate-related information that may or may not fancy your interest.
Other options apart from Google Earth’s weather layer
For the casual user, it might not be a good idea to dig deep into adding KML files, therefore, it would make more sense to use alternative services that also have weather radar options.
- Accuweather
- Windy
- Weather Underground
These are quality options to choose from, so if you little reasons to use Google Earth, then at least one of the above alternatives should help.
