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You don't need weather software to know which way the wind blows, but if you want access to weather minutiae, the updated Weatherbug 5 can put that information at your fingertips.

Weatherbug 5 provides real-time weather data, whether you need to know meteorological specifics for just outside the window, across town, or some obscure corner of the country.

Choose Free or Fee

The newly enhanced Weatherbug is available in two versions, both downloadable from Weatherbug.com. Developer AWS Convergence Technologies offers a free (ad-supported) version and a $20-per-year Pro version. Both provide temperature, barometer readings, wind speed, and automatic weather alerts, keyed to a specific zip code. The arrangement is most useful at home, where you can use the weather data to decide, for instance, whether to climb onto the roof to spread anti-moss crystals. But you can also call up the travel module to determine the conditions in a location you are planning to visit.

Weatherbug will continue to enhance its content with at least two new program upgrades each year, says Chris McCown, Weatherbug product director. The service adds 30,000 to 40,000 new users daily, and has a current user base of around 17 million, he adds. Approximately 60,000 of users are paid subscribers.

New Features

Weatherbug receives automatic updates while your computer is connected to the Internet. The program displays a current temperature reading on the Windows toolbar, to the left of the clock. Clicking on the readout with either mouse button displays the full Weatherbug control panel.

Entering another zip code will call up information about that locale; from there you can "go live" and have the program reflect granular weather data for that location. Drawing from the database will give you historical information about the region's weather, something missing from the average weather report.

The Pro version adds both substantial and cosmetic advantages, extra weather-oriented content, and the ability to change skins. The ad-supported version, however, may not seem as annoying as other programs that use the same model. You're asked to select a preferred sponsor, which becomes the prime source of the ads sent to your computer. This setup can be a better deal for both sides; you get some choice about what you see, while advertisers are assured that recipients have at least a marginal interest in their products.

The Weatherbug service draws information from about 6000 data points across the country, McCown says. When you log on, chances are good that the data will originate from a familiar-sounding local middle school or community center. Several hundred live weather cams also support the network, allowing you to call up time-lapse sequences that reflect changes in conditions or (when run slowly) even changes of seasons.

Forecasts Are Tricky

The application often draws seasonal interest. The Weatherbug site experienced record downloads during East Coast snowstorms late last year.

While Weatherbug has a plethora of helpful information, it can't be relied upon completely. During the evaluation period, we put off our moss-removal experiment because of a Weatherbug rain forecast for that afternoon. The conditions instead stayed clear, and the blue skies were reflected in a later forecast.

"The information we use is from the National Weather Service, which is the same as what the local weather forecaster receives," McCown says. "Like any forecast, sometimes it's a little off."

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