Qwik Weather FAQs

Q: What weather data source does Qwik Weather use?

Qwik Weather uses the free version of the OpenWeather API.

Q: Qwik Weather tells me the Postal Code for my city is invalid. Why?

While Postal Codes are pretty standard internationally, there are several countries like Jamaica, parts of the Middle East, and parts of Ireland that do not support them or support them consistently, which means Qwik Weather won't work for them.

I will consider (operative word) adding support for longitude and latitude coordinates, which should allow virtually any location (except for extremely remote areas) to be supported.

Q: I noticed that Qwik Weather doesn’t show the right name for my town. Why?

The OpenWeather API provides a couple of methods to get the name of a geographical location: you can specify a city name (eg. Gainesville, Florida) or a Postal Code (eg. 32603); both return identical weather data. I opted to use the Postal Code approach because it was easier for me to implement at the expense of generating slightly less accurate city or town names. The fact that Postal Codes are virtually ubiquitous internationally was also a factor.

For example, using Postal Code for the location, the OpenWeather API reports the 10471 Zip Code as Yonkers, NY when in fact that the 10471 Zip Code is actually in New York City though physically it is only about a ½ mile from Yonkers. I estimate the accuracy of the OpenWeather API to be between .5 and 4 miles with greater accuracy for larger cities.

NOTE: This accuracy issue seems to be tied to the OpenWeather API as I have experimented with different Geo IP services to see if it was an issue with the underlying latitude and longitudes coordinates passed to the API, which its not. You may even see the names of some locations periodically change from time to time if your Internet provide changes their own IP addresses. For the most part, this won't be very noticeable or will it affect Qwik Weather's operation.

HINT: If you want a potentially more accurate location name, simply use the GeoIP lookup function when adding a location in the Manage Weather Location window. This will probably generate a much more precise town or city name.

Q: Sometimes the Qwik Weather doesn’t seem to update the weather information even after refreshing it. Why is that?

The OpenWeather service updates its weather information every 10 minutes. It’s also possible Qwik Weather attempted to refresh its data right before OpenWeather updated their information or because the actual weather did not change since the last refresh. Because the OpenWeather API is widely used, it probably caches API requests to reduce the load on their servers, which may also affect the freshness of the data returned to Qwik Weather.

Q: Is Quick Weather better than macOS Ventura's built-in Weather app?

Ultimately, it comes down to a matter of personal taste. macOS Ventura’s built-in weather app is a desktop port of the weather app available on iPhones and iPads. It has some very nice features. Quick Weather does not have fancy animations or graphics but it’s fast, lightweight, and most importantly runs in the menu bar, so it’s always available.

Q: How do you get the two-digit country codes that Qwik Weather requires?

They can be found in the link below or through a host of other resources by doing a web search on the ISO 3166 standard. Look at the Alpha 2 column: https://www.nationsonline.org/oneworld/country_code_list.htm

Q: I like looking at the weather in different places. What are some locations to try with Qwik Weather?

Here are some examples you can try:


		
			Stockholm, Sweden: 118 91,SE
			Yellow Knife, Canada: X0E 0Y0,CA
			Oxford, England: OX3,GB
			Linz, Austria: 4040,AT
			Alice Springs, Australia: 0872,AU
			Venice, Italy: 30121,IT
			Honolulu, Hawaii: 96860,US
			Philadelphia, Pennsylvania: 19103,US
			Tokyo, Japan: 104-0044,JP
			Phoenix, Arizona: 85004,US
			Gainesville, Florida: 32604,US
			Serilingampalle, India: 500008,IN
			Beverly Hills, California: 90210,US
			Paris, France: 75016,FR

Q: Why does Qwik Weather sometimes show errors in the weather description?

Qwik Weather parses the information returned in the Open Weather API correctly. However, sometimes the API sends additional information by mistake, so I've had to deal with these conditions and they not are not always successful.

Q: Do you plan to add weather maps and forecasts to Qwik Weather?

No. Qwik Weather fills a minimalist niche because it’s simple, fast, and free.

Q: Why is Qwik Weather limited to only a few weather updates?

This is because the new Open Weather API (version 3.0) that Qwik Weather now uses greatly reduced the number of API calls that free users like me can make per a day. They reduced the limit from 6,000 calls to 1,000. I had to update to the new API because the old one is being retired in June 2024. Therefore, you are strongly encouraged to secure your own Open Weather API key, to ensure you can use it without these restrictions

Q: Will older versions of Qwik Weather work after June 2024?

Maybe. Older versions of Qwik Weather use the Open Weather 2.5 API, which is supposed be turned down in June 2024. It's possible they may continue to work for a time, but you will never know when it will suddenly stop working.

Q: How do you uninstall Qwik Weather?

Just drag the Qwik Weather application into the Trash. That will uninstall it.

Q: Why did you write this program?

Writing programs like this are a creative outlet and hobby for me. I come up with a simple idea (or borrow one), design it, code it, debug it, write the documentation, and ship it. My apps aren’t always the most elegant or bug free but I own the full product lifecycle, which can be quite satisfying.