Google has stepped up their game in the weather department by adding some new features for weather that show in the Google search results.
First, Google is now showing weather information via Google autosuggest when people search for “weather ” in Google Search.
The autosuggest shows the current weather information for the location searched for. And when you click through to the autosuggest, there is an interactive knowledge box at the top of the search results.
The interactive knowledge box has been around for a short while, but it does have some interesting features. Searchers can slide the marker across the different times to see what the weather report should be for the time in question. Searchers can also select future days to see the weather for various times in the coming week as well.
It doesn’t go into a very detailed weather report like you would see on other weather-specific sites, although Google has shown some of the more serious weather alerts. But it is a great way to get a quick snapshot of what the upcoming weather is.
Google announced another new weather related change – this one will show important weather alerts that give further details when it is an alert relative to your current location.
Here is an example of a hurricane heading towards a searcher’s location. It shows the alert, including the important storm track information, to users in the area.
From Google’s announcement, users may see:
- A map showing your location in relation to the oncoming storm
- Visualizations of its forecasted track, wind severity and arrival time, courtesy of NOAA
- Concise instructions for preparing and staying safe, customized for the estimated intensity of the storm and its arrival time relative to your location, from FEMA and ready.gov
Google will also tailor the results to detail certain preparation steps people should be taking, based on how close the storm is, such as preparing an emergency kit if the storm is days away or charging cell phones if it is closer.
Currently, these will be triggered when a user searches when the storm is nearby. The alerts are set for the US hurricane season, although it wouldn’t be surprising to see this expand to other areas as well.
Jennifer Slegg
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