Google, who are keen to pretty much own the internet, have launched yet another new addition to the Google family – this time in the form of weather forecasting via Google Maps.
“Whether you’re organizing a trip overseas or a picnic at a local park, knowing the weather forecast is a crucial part of the planning process. Today, we’re adding a weather layer on Google Maps that displays current temps and conditions around the globe, and will hopefully make travel and activity planning easier”
This is the claim that Google are making with its new weather service, which is assured to be very accurate, as the service is running off the forecasts from weather.com to combine with the Google Maps platform.
The service is available from now and can be accessed by going to Google Maps and selecting your desired weather area by highlighting the Satellite/Earth map type in the top right corner and then selecting the Weather feature.
The map will now display an overview of the weather on the left hand side and a simple zoom out will show the surrounding areas with a full four day forecast complete with temperatures, wind speeds and humidities.
The service acts as a layer, so additionally you can add on Traffic, Photos, Terrain and more to the maps. What’s more, by zooming out of your desired map with the weather feature set to on, you can also see cloud coverage in real time (the data for this is provided by the U.S. Naval Research Lab)!
Changing the units of wind speed (Mph/KMph/Mps) and temperature (F/C) and enabling or disabling the clouds (when you’re zoomed out) can also be done from the left-hand panel.
What with the inclusion of Google Tube and Public transport for London a few weeks ago it really does show that Google Maps is becoming a one stop place for all your travel and outside updates!