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Overall Rating

Dont need radio, TV, Web, or Newspaper now!
I got this because I have a complete inability to check the weather (especially in the morning) due to two small children and a full time job, and other morning hassles. Trying to get the forecast from the radio, TV, newspaper, and Web was too much hassle and too time consuming.

So I looked at a lot of weather stations that said they had a forecast, but really those other machines dont have a forecast like from TV or radio - they just use a “predictive” forecast based on current conditions/barometric trends, etc. And they dont forecast the next day (or day after). I wanted a true weather forecast that would be what I would get from the weatherman on TV or the radio.

So I got the WeatherNow II and I want to kiss it every morning. It’s been a HUGE lifesaver. It sits next to my alarm clock (although it also is an alarm clock itself but I have not used that feature), and when I get out of bed in the morning I check the forecast and I know how to dress myself and the kids (husband is on his own!). I can do in 1 second now what used to give me 10-20 or more minutes of hassle trying to get the information.

I love the blue backlight that you can turn on just by pressing the top (I dont have it turned on all the time because it’s not necessary all the time). And it gives you so much information! For the current day you get the icon for sunny, cloudy, or whatever. And you get high and low and chance of rain. I also frequently check what tomorrow’s forecast is going to be (you get high, low, chance of rain, and a picture icon). It has two more days beyond tomorrow, but I dont put much stock in that. It’s too far out to be very accurate regardless of who is giving the forecast.

Then you also get current indoor temperature (I love this because it gives me a double check against what the thermostat says), current outdoor (which I think is from the closest airport because you dont put out any external sensors with this machine), and UV index, and “feels like” termperature. I’m addicted to checking all these numbers now when I pass through my bedroom!

Then it has the time and date. You can also toggle through the time for sunrise and sunset which I think is cool BUT I’m confused on this information. After sunrise for the current day, does it switch to giving you sunrise time for tomorrow? Or does it just remain showing you what time the sun rose that current day? I havent figured that out yet.

The forecast updates every two minutes according to the instruction manual, so I’m confident in the information, although I think the “high” it usually gives tends to be on the “low” side of what it actually turns out to be (like it might say 71 but it really got to be 76 that day). For the current indoor/outdoor temperate and humidity, you also get a “trend” arrow showing you if it’s rising, dropping, or steady.

ALSO, one thing I learned when researching this machine! Oregon Scientific’s contract with the MSN Direct service runs through 2011. They have no idea at this time whether it will be renewed. I asked them what will happen if the contract is not renewed and the guy said the service would convert to a paid service that each user would pay for individually. I cant forsee how that would work with the WeatherNow II. You just plug it in and it works - I dont know how you would “register” it as an individual to pay for the service after 2011.

So I am concerned about what will happen in 2011, but it’s 3 years away so I’m not obsessing about it. I love this machine and will get my money’s worth from it. I highly recommend this item. Just be sure to check if you’re in a MSN Direct coverage zone before you buy, and also note that the machine may not work everywhere in your house. Try to get it close to a window.

I cant wait to see how it does in Winter with showing whether it will snow or not! I also think it’s a nice, compact size, and very stylish with the sleek, shiny black frame (with silver lettering), the LCD screen, and the blue glowing backlight. My husband and I both have come to rely on it every morning.