Skip to main content

Digital Trends may earn a commission when you buy through links on our site. Why trust us?

Hyperlocal weather app Dark Sky brings its forecast maps to the web

dark sky weather web
Image used with permission by copyright holder
Dark Sky has made a name for itself over the past four years by creating beautiful weather maps and hyperlocal weather predictions, seemingly more accurate than your local weatherman. But it was only offered as a $3-per-year subscription on Android, and $4 on iOS, with no way to view it on your desktop. That changed as the developer now has brought its weather service to the web.

This isn’t Dark Sky’s first time on the web, as it also is behind Forecast.io, created as a side project to experiment with delivering a full forecast beyond its trademark precipitation forecast. The new Dark Sky website will eventually replace the Forecast.io service, and offer a no-frills, full-service weather site with nothing but the weather.

Recommended Videos

The site is free thanks to the success of its apps, and you get the same service that the app has always provided, including those down-to-the-minute forecast changes in the weather and when and for how long it might rain or snow. But the web version is even better, allowing you to explore the service’s visualizations in finer detail, including a new “microclimate” feature.

Please enable Javascript to view this content

In plain English, microclimate refers to the changes in weather conditions over a short distance. For example, the temperature at the bottom of a mountain is typically higher than temperatures at the summit — a detail Dark Sky’s new web site is able to handle.

Dark Sky now also allows visitors to embed its maps into their own sites, along with an API that will allow third parties to take Dark Sky’s weather data and possibly do even cooler things with it. But certainly it’s a big deal that you won’t have to pay for it, considering what other weather sites do.

That means no ads, and no hype, and no strange articles about topics that have nothing to do with weather, unlike a certain big-name weather website who’s domain name sometimes doesn’t reflect the content. That’s a plus.

Download for iOS Download for Android

Ed Oswald
For fifteen years, Ed has written about the latest and greatest in gadgets and technology trends. At Digital Trends, he's…
Hyundai Ioniq 5 sets world record for greatest altitude change
hyundai ioniq 5 world record altitude change mk02 detail kv

When the Guinness World Records (GWR) book was launched in 1955, the idea was to compile facts and figures that could finally settle often endless arguments in the U.K.’s many pubs.

It quickly evolved into a yearly compilation of world records, big and small, including last year's largest grilled cheese sandwich in the world.

Read more
Global EV sales expected to rise 30% in 2025, S&P Global says
ev sales up 30 percent 2025 byd sealion 7 1stbanner l

While trade wars, tariffs, and wavering subsidies are very much in the cards for the auto industry in 2025, global sales of electric vehicles (EVs) are still expected to rise substantially next year, according to S&P Global Mobility.

"2025 is shaping up to be ultra-challenging for the auto industry, as key regional demand factors limit demand potential and the new U.S. administration adds fresh uncertainty from day one," says Colin Couchman, executive director of global light vehicle forecasting for S&P Global Mobility.

Read more
Faraday Future could unveil lowest-priced EV yet at CES 2025
Faraday Future FF 91

Given existing tariffs and what’s in store from the Trump administration, you’d be forgiven for thinking the global race toward lower electric vehicle (EV) prices will not reach U.S. shores in 2025.

After all, Chinese manufacturers, who sell the least expensive EVs globally, have shelved plans to enter the U.S. market after 100% tariffs were imposed on China-made EVs in September.

Read more