Currently in D.C. — November 15, 2023: The clouds came back

The weather, currently.

After a few sunny days, the clouds came back on Wednesday. All day long D.C.’s skies will be cloudy, and the more the afternoon progresses, the more cloudy it will get. The highest temperature will be 58°F and most of the day we’ll feel a wind chill sensation in the 50s. Also, there's a minuscule chance of getting a few drops of rain, some even of snow. But nothing to worry or get excited about, no one is building a snowman or snow woman any time soon.

The writer Walter Scott once said: “We build statues out of snow, and weep to see them melt.” Well, Mr. Scott, I’m weeping right now because I’m cold but I don’t have the snow to build them in the first place.

— Myriam Vidal Valero

What you need to know, currently.

The results are in: From your responses to this week’s survey, we’ve collected baseline data we’ll use to shape our new weather service and make sure it’s something people love to use.

First off, Currently readers are true weather nerds! A whopping 86% of you check the weather at least once a day.

That makes sense because, next to checking social media, checking email, and reading the news — checking the weather is one of the primary activities people use the internet for.

It’s amazing to me how far humanity has come in terms of weather forecasting accuracy — especially in just the last 20 years, since the invention of the smartphone.

The main problem I see — and Currently readers agree with me — isn’t a lack of forecast accuracy, it’s a lack of forecast understandability and relevance to our daily lives.

More than half of you agree that putting the weather forecast in context of the current climate emergency — and making the forecast more relevant to you personally — are the most needed features of any new weather service.

And that’s where Currently’s new weather service comes in.

Most weather apps and weather websites just throw a bunch of numbers and complicated maps at you and call it a day.

At Currently, our goal is to translate the forecast into a plain language description of how you will personally experience the day’s weather. And since our mission is to bring both joy and safety to the climate emergency, it of course makes sense that we’ll be sending you prompts to get outside on nice days (and particularly, nice days as defined by you).

The launch version of the weather service dropping later this week is just the beginning. We want to continually improve this service in direct response to what people actually need and how people are using it.

Invites will be going out to people tomorrow!

— Eric Holthaus

What you can do, currently.

Currently Sponsorships are short messages we co-write with you to plug your org, event, or climate-friendly business with Currently subscribers. It’s a chance to boost your visibility with Currently — one of the world’s largest daily climate newsletters — and support independent climate journalism, all at the same time. Starting at just $105.