The allure of a weather app is something that I never thought I'd be writing about, but the iOS app Dark Sky appeals to me. The main appeal is the promise of localized forecasts that predict precipitation. Currently the app attempts to do just one thing, predict precipitation within the next hour. As someone who gets to decide (based on the current weather conditions) if our students are going outside for lunch time recess, I find the promise of this app appealing.
The rain we get is mostly of the shower variety. Meaning that there are periods of rain that come and go. Because of this the call on inside or outside recess usually is made at the last minute. I usually check the Weather Underground map, and for the most part I get good information and can base my decision on interpreting their radar imagery. But there were quite a few times this past year that we decided to go out because the rain had stopped, only to have to call the children back in 5 minutes later because the rain had started again. I'm hoping that this iOS app can help me improve my rainy day recess decision making.
More about how it works can be found on the Dark Sky blog. I have a screen shot below. Since it is now summer in Oregon, (summer is beautiful out here…) I don't believe I'll be getting much use out of the app in the near future, but come the rains in the fall, I am looking forward to taking advantage of it.
