Forget state capital reports, when the mercury soars these handy web sites and desktop apps give you local temperatures, and can even tell you how far away rain is.

Down Melbourne way, it was 100 in the shade at 10 o'clock this morning - that's 37C for those who don't remember the old money. Right now it's sitting on 42C, with 14 percent humidity and 37 km/h NNW winds gusting up to 57. I'm expecting it to hit 44C before the day is out.

How do I know all this when I've locked myself away from the world, with the aircon on overdrive and blankets covering the windows? As always, the internet is your friend (it's just crept up to 42.7C).

Bureau of Meteorology

If you love your tech and, like me, you're slightly obsessive, the Bureau of Meteorology website is a nerd's paradise when the temperature soars. Forget daily forecasts for your state capital, you can check the current conditions at your nearest observation point (it's just hit 43.4C at the airport down the road).

For the Mac Dashboard: BOMradarAU

Thanks to Web 2.0, you don't need to keep hitting refresh to keep an eye on the weather. On my MacBook's Dashboard I've got the Weather Australia widget giving me a seven day forecast, BOMradarAU showing the current rain radar and Degrees Down Under telling me the current conditions at the airport.

They're all scraping data from the BoM, which is the only source I trust for accurate weather stats.

With the Dashboard only a finger flick away, it's easy to become obsessed as the temperature soars (it's just dropped back to a pleasant 42.4C).

I had to abandon my habit of calling out each change in temperature after the Lady of the House threatened to stick my MacBook where the sun don't shine if I didn't shut up. It seems when the summer sizzles, not everybody shares my passion for statistics.

For the iPhone: Pkt Weather

Of course my MacBook isn't the only culprit. The excellent Pkt Weather app on my iPhone gives me current details, a seven day forecast and even access to the rain radar.

For the digital alarm clock: Australian Weather Radar

The Australian Weather Radar widget for my Chumby means I can check the forecast without even getting out of bed (it's back up to 42.5C).

As the Australian summer hots up and the tempers fray, I know my weather widgets will always love me. I just hope the Genius Bar is skilled at extracting lost MacBooks.

Other Blog Entries written by Adam Turner:

• Welcome to digital radio, it's finally here
• How to setup a pro digital home office
• Podcasts come to TiVo, but can't leave your lounge room
• Is it time to get Naked?
• NineHD lets the breakaway programming Jeannie out of the bottle

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