Topic: VWS and WU Warnings

[Curly]

Just curious if anybody uses the weather warnings from WU that VWS produces...

The warnings, watches and advisories are all crammed in one paragraph and its hard to find the different descriptions and summaries when multiple warnings are occurring.
I came up with a php "enhancement" to make it easier to read and it only requires the 1.txt file to be ftp'd.
See what I mean here   http://weather.ricksturf.com/warnings/warningdisplay.php

If anybody has a use for it, I'll post it.

Curly

* link modified

[Anthony]

I have never seen all the watcher/warmings cramed into paragraph. Although it is rare for our area to be under more that one watch, warning or advisory at the same time. Can you post an example?

[blackjack52]

I found it easier to use the xml/rss feeds from nws, vice having to use a multiple txt scroller and the many text files generated by vws.
Here. we'll have warnings for Huntsville, but not Madison.
Since I don't have php cap, I use a javascript feeder.
http://www.aktuell3000-foren.de/rss_konfigurator.php?act=send

[Curly]

Right now we have several advisories going on and the example listed in the first post shows what the original VWS tag produces. The second table shows the same file from the VWS tag but with the 23 liner php script.

This is just something to work with if you have VWS and want something different.


MadAlwx - The feeds are a bit faster and I have nothing against NWS. I still use them them. They are a great service to all!
VWS produces one small text file for each county, almost like the NWS. You don't need a text-scroller if you do the VWS thing.

Curly

[blackjack52]

I haven't seen vws produce it by county; only via zip, or city (if zip isn't used).
35801 (Huntsville) and 35758 (Madison) are in the same co (next to each other), but do not produce the same warnings/advisories.  That's why a multi text file scroller or feed will show all.

[Curly]

I haven't noticed that the advisories were per city. I thought the zipper just designated the county. 

[blackjack52]

That's why I have both Madison and Huntsville designated in vws; so I don't miss one.  Which is why I later switched to feed.

[blackjack52]

Which brings up a better solution.  Have vws ingest the feeds.

[Curly]

This script was not intended for any other purpose than displaying the VWS warnings differently for anybody interested.

Yes there are other ways to get advisories, but that's a completely different topic.

[anchorageweather]

This script was not intended for any other purpose than displaying the VWS warnings differently for anybody interested.

Yes there are other ways to get advisories, but that's a completely different topic.

Curly:

At the risk of completely changing the topic, I wanted to say I really like the "CURRENT CONDITIONS   HIGHS/LOWS" section on your site.  I'm assuming its using ajax to update; however, it seems much smoother than most of the sites that use ajax to update.  I also like the fact that there is no "x seconds since last update" or color changes when updating.  Using the animated wind display is nice also.  The whole section looks very professional and smooth.  I do not use live updating ( I only have weatherlink), but if/when I upgrade, I want to do something like what you have in your current conditions section.

P.S.  Thanks for posting the script too 

[Curly]

Curly:

At the risk of completely changing the topic, I wanted to say I really like the "CURRENT CONDITIONS   HIGHS/LOWS" section on your site.  I'm assuming its using ajax to update; however, it seems much smoother than most of the sites that use ajax to update.  I also like the fact that there is no "x seconds since last update" or color changes when updating.  Using the animated wind display is nice also.  The whole section looks very professional and smooth.  I do not use live updating ( I only have weatherlink), but if/when I upgrade, I want to do something like what you have in your current conditions section.

P.S.  Thanks for posting the script too 

Thanks for the kind words.
It's the little things that gets noticed and stand out in a web site. For instance this VWS/WU script here. I've implemented it on my index page and it just looks different than most others. Some people will like it and some won't.
To tell you the truth, I was a little reluctant on putting the animated arrows on the page. It kind of breaks one of the rules that I go by. It's  #9 of the Top 10 Weather Website Mistakes that Carter Lake.org put together. I don't think its distracting, but functionally noticeable and different.
If you do upgrade, you won't regret buying another piece of software. The resources and building blocks can be found in this forum along with plenty of help. Then it just takes a lot of time, patience, a little creativity and more patience.

Curly