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New Redesigned NWS page


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I really like this version. In the last version of the preview site they had bled the blue background gradient into the main content area and it just killed the appearance. This latest version is cleaner and flow of the content is better, IMO.

The only criticism I have is the forecast icons (rain/clouds/etc icons)... they are re-sized larger from their original versions and look blurry. New icons (or at least fixing up the current ones to account for the re-sizing) would keep the images crisp and up-to-date with the more modern design of the page.

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The only criticism I have is the forecast icons (rain/clouds/etc icons)... they are re-sized larger from their original versions and look blurry. New icons (or at least fixing up the current ones to account for the re-sizing) would keep the images crisp and up-to-date with the more modern design of the page.

That's a sharp observation. Here's to hoping they update with new icons.

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Love the design, the icons are bad. That alone almost makes the page look bad.

+1

I submitted my opinion, would like to see the local F-6, daily climate report more prominent, rather than clicking on the US to obtain it. Also hope local pages like BTV which are chock full of great links keep their links.

+1

Also, not completely related, but all WFOs keep track of all kinds of great info for record keeping, but only have it available internally. For example, in Miami, the only way you can see the daily rainfall record is by reading the daily climate report. If I knew heavy rain was coming tomorrow and I wanted to know the record, I would have to wait until the day of to actually see it (unless I wanted to dig through the archive to find last year's daily climate report, or look on NCDC). Also, we have no list of top 10 driest/wettest/warmest/coldest months/seasons/years, on the website, only the #1 wettest or #1 warmest.

If everyone did it like Albany, that would be perfect:

http://www.erh.noaa.gov/aly/Climate/Albany/SpecialData.htm

http://www.erh.noaa.gov/aly/Climate/Albany/NormalsExtremes.htm

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I did not notice that at first. Interesting sizing there!

I believe that sizing is a common theme across the redesigned NOAA sites. For example, on NCDC's redesigned pages, there's a full sized NOAA icon (since NCDC lacks its own) where the NWS one is, and in place of the little NOAA icon is a small Department of Commerce seal.

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I believe that sizing is a common theme across the redesigned NOAA sites. For example, on NCDC's redesigned pages, there's a full sized NOAA icon (since NCDC lacks its own) where the NWS one is, and in place of the little NOAA icon is a small Department of Commerce seal.

Yeah the NOS did that too. NOAA just has to butt in everywhere. lol. Funny the NWS shunted them to barely identifiable tho.

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I checked it out. Is it slick, no. It is different though. I can not believe all the crying about icons though. Especially on this of all sites. The icons are for little old sheltered ladies that call in and complain to the NWS when it rains on their wedding day. I figured that everyone here would read AFD's and the more in-depth stuff, not depend on little icons. Guess I was wrong.

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I checked it out. Is it slick, no. It is different though. I can not believe all the crying about icons though. Especially on this of all sites. The icons are for little old sheltered ladies that call in and complain to the NWS when it rains on their wedding day. I figured that everyone here would read AFD's and the more in-depth stuff, not depend on little icons. Guess I was wrong.

FWIW, I never use the icons, but if you're going to revamp the whole site you might as well revamp everything to fit with whatever you're going for. The icons are blurred and don't fit with the new style.

Anyone who cares about the AFD and the more in-depth stuff can find it easily enough on their own. IMO, since this is a public service, the public is what comes first... not the weather enthusiast who's looking for more than the local forecast and a quick update on severe/snow/etc.

I can see what you're getting at, but in the end the site is (or at least should be) designed for the primary purpose of protecting life and property. AFDs and the like are important, but that level of discussion isn't the front line of how the NWS reaches the masses. On top of that, while not prominent, it is fairly easily locatable at the bottom of the 7-day forecast (if you know what you're looking for, that is).

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My comment to them was that it's a BIG mistake to remove the "Quick glimpse at the weather" clickable map. I like being able to see the watches and warnings for my whole tri-state area, follow warnings progressively as they're issued when something severe is approaching, simply by a a glance at the map, and to be able to look at forecasts for a number of locations I'm interested in simply by clicking on the map. I don't want to have to enter a location by city or zipcode on my keyboard when all I have to do now is put the cursor over that location and click. Other than that, it's as good as what they have now...

On edit: Or am I still going to get that first when I go to my local NWS page, and the new product is what I'll see only after clicking on a location on the map?

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Please don't take the point and click google map away from me. :cry:

Yes, the Google map needs to stay (and I have submitted several comments to that effect).

The picture icons are too large and blurry. Yes, they're silly, but I use them like an executive summary before reading the AFD and the hourly graph. Still, they don't need to be that prominent.

If only the AFDs were in plain English instead of all-caps and abbreviated...

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  • 4 weeks later...

Is this site available in a mobile version? Curious.

This is very important - by 2015, the majority of site access will be by mobile device. Many organizations are coming around to this. Hopefully the NWS will, if they haven't already. At a web content/design conference, this keeps coming up. In fact, some are designing their mobile site first then the regular site. It actually makes the site more user friendly.

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