AccessiWeather User Manual

1. Introduction

AccessiWeather is an accessible desktop weather application for Windows, macOS, and Linux. It is designed to work well with screen readers, keyboard navigation, desktop notifications, and clear text layouts.

Instead of mixing everything into one long report, AccessiWeather separates weather into practical sections:

Location selector
Current Conditions
Hourly Forecast / near-term
Daily Forecast
Weather Alerts
Event Center

The app can also provide Forecaster Notes, air quality details, UV details, aviation weather, NOAA Weather Radio access, AI weather explanations, Weather Assistant chat, and optional notification sounds.

This manual explains how to install the app, add locations, read the weather, choose weather sources, manage alerts and notifications, and adjust settings.

2. Installing and starting AccessiWeather

Downloading a build

Prebuilt downloads are available from the AccessiWeather page and the GitHub releases page.

Typical download options are:

Windows: setup installer or portable ZIP
macOS: ZIP
Linux: tar.gz portable tarball

3. First-time setup

When you start AccessiWeather for the first time, it shows a short onboarding wizard.

The wizard walks you through these steps:

Add your first location, or skip it for now.
Choose your units: match each location (Fahrenheit in the US, Celsius elsewhere), metric, imperial, or both.
Enter an OpenRouter API key if you want AI features.
Enter a Pirate Weather API key if you want that provider.

At the end, AccessiWeather shows a readiness summary.

On a first run, AccessiWeather also follows your computer's region for the 12-hour or 24-hour clock. You can change units and the clock later in Settings, Display tab.

You can safely skip any optional key step. The app works without paid services, and you can add keys later in Settings. When a provider needs a key, AccessiWeather includes a button that takes you to the place to get one.

Recommended first setup

For the smoothest first experience, do the following:

Add at least one location.
Leave the weather source set to Automatic unless you have a reason to force one provider.
Refresh weather if the app has not already done so.
Open Settings only after you have seen the basic forecast once.

4. Everyday tasks

Add your first location

To add a location:

Open Location > Add Location, or press Ctrl+L.
Enter a friendly name in Location Name.
Check Country to search in. It starts on your computer's region; choose Any country to search worldwide.
Search by city or town name, postal code, coordinates such as 1.35, 103.82, or US street address.
Select one result from the results list. Each result shows its state or region and country.
Save the location.

Important things to know:

The name must be unique in your saved list.
You cannot save the location until you choose a search result.
Double-clicking a search result also saves it.
If nothing matches in the chosen country, AccessiWeather searches every country and says so.
AccessiWeather remembers the country you last searched in.
Place names come back in your computer's language when the search service supports it.
Coordinates can be decimal degrees (use a minus sign for south and west) or carry N, S, E and W letters. They ignore the country filter.
US street addresses use a precise address lookup first, then fall back to the normal place search if there is no address match.

Edit a location

To edit the current location:

choose Location > Edit Location
or use the Edit Location button

Use Edit Location when you want to rename a saved place, toggle Marine Mode, review its saved NWS zone details, or update the coordinates from a US street address.

The address lookup in Edit Location is useful when a saved city or ZIP result is close but not quite where you want it. Search for the street address, choose a matched address, review the coordinate comparison, and save.

Switch locations

Use the location selector near the top of the main window to switch between saved places.

When you switch locations, AccessiWeather may show cached weather first and then refresh in the background.

Reorder saved locations

With at least two saved locations, you can choose a custom order:

Open Location > Reorder Locations…. On Windows, press Alt+L to open the Location menu, use the arrow keys to select Reorder Locations…, and press Enter.
In the Saved locations order list, use Up Arrow or Down Arrow to select the city you want to move. These keys select a city; they do not change its position.
Press Tab or Shift+Tab to reach Move Up or Move Down, then press Space to move the city one position. A screen reader may announce these buttons as “Move selected saved location up” and “Move selected saved location down.”
Focus returns to the list with the moved city still selected. Repeat step 3 to move it again, or use the arrow keys to select another city. Move Up is unavailable for the first city, and Move Down is unavailable for the last.
Tab to OK and press Space to save, or choose Cancel to discard the changes.

Saving automatically sets Settings > Display > Saved location order to Manual (custom); you do not need to select Manual first. The custom order is kept when you restart AccessiWeather. Selecting Manual alone uses the stored order; use the reorder dialog to change it.

Refresh weather now

To refresh the selected location immediately:

press F5
press Ctrl+R
choose View > Refresh
use the Refresh button in the main window

Remove a location

To remove the current location:

choose Location > Remove Location
or press Ctrl+D
or use the Remove button

AccessiWeather will not let you remove your last remaining location.

Open Forecaster Notes

To open Forecaster Notes:

use the Forecaster Notes button
or choose View > Forecaster Notes

For normal US locations, this opens a tabbed NWS text-product window for the selected location. It starts with local products such as:

Area Forecast Discussion, often called the AFD
Hazardous Weather Outlook, often called the HWO
Special Weather Statement, often called the SPS

AccessiWeather may also add active SPC and WPC tabs when IEM-backed products apply to the selected point, such as mesoscale discussions, watches, excessive rainfall outlooks, or mesoscale precipitation discussions. Confirmed-empty supplemental tabs are hidden instead of leaving blank placeholders.

An AFD is a text product written by National Weather Service forecasters. It explains what they think will happen, why they think it, and how confident they are. This is different from the regular forecast, which mainly tells you the expected result.

Use this when:

you want to know why the forecast might change later
storm timing looks uncertain and you want the forecaster's reasoning
snow, sleet, freezing rain, or rain could change over from one to another
severe weather may develop and you want more detail than a short alert headline gives
you trust hearing a local forecaster explain the setup in plain text

This is helpful if the regular forecast feels too short. The AFD often explains whether rain is likely to arrive before or after your commute, why temperatures may be tricky near freezing, whether thunderstorm coverage is uncertain, and how confident forecasters are in the next update.

Use National Products inside Forecaster Notes for broader national NWS text products from sources such as SPC, WPC, NHC, and CPC.

Use Advanced Lookup when you want to search text products directly. It provides product groups, product choices, office selection, date presets, result limits, sort order, source selection, aviation AFD filtering, center, WMO, and text-match filters. The date presets are meant to save you from guessing valid archive ranges.

Leave this alone if you only want a quick answer such as the current temperature, today's high, or whether an alert is active. The regular forecast sections are faster for that.

Forecaster Notes are US-only. If the selected location is outside US NWS coverage, the button is disabled and AccessiWeather shows a nearby explanation.

View alert details

To read the full text of an alert:

Move to the Weather Alerts section.
Select the alert you want.
Choose View Alert Details, or press Enter or Space on the selected alert.

Open Settings

To open Settings:

press Ctrl+S
choose File > Settings
use the Settings button

5. Understanding the main window

The main window is designed for quick keyboard and screen-reader use.

Quick-action buttons

The button row provides common actions without requiring the menu bar:

Add Location
Edit Location
Remove Location
Refresh Weather
Explain Weather
Forecaster Notes
Settings

Top-level navigation

AccessiWeather supports two top-level navigation patterns in the main window:

F6 cycles through the visible top-level sections in order
Ctrl+1 through Ctrl+5 jump directly to the main forecast sections

The current top-level order is:

Location selector
Current Conditions
Hourly Forecast / near-term
Daily Forecast
Weather Alerts
Event Center

The direct-jump shortcuts map like this:

Ctrl+1: Current Conditions
Ctrl+2: Hourly Forecast / near-term
Ctrl+3: Daily Forecast
Ctrl+4: Weather Alerts
Ctrl+5: Event Center

If the Event Center is hidden from the View menu, F6 skips it and Ctrl+5 does nothing until you show it again.

Location selector

The location selector chooses which saved place is currently shown.

Current Conditions

This section shows what the weather is doing right now, or as close to right now as the source can provide.

This matters separately from the forecast because the forecast tells you what is expected, while Current Conditions tells you what is already happening. That difference matters when you need to make an immediate decision.

Use this when:

you are deciding what to wear before leaving the house right now
you want to know whether the wind is already strong enough to affect walking, transit, or mobility aids
you need to know whether visibility is poor before going out
you are checking whether the temperature already dropped below freezing even if the forecast only said it might happen later
you want to know whether rain has started yet instead of whether it is expected later today

This section can help answer practical questions such as:

Do I need a heavier coat right now?
Is it already windy enough that I should expect a harder walk or wait for a ride?
Is the air quality poor enough that I should limit time outside?
Is the UV level high enough that I should prepare before going out?
temperature
feels-like temperature
wind
humidity
dew point
visibility
UV index
pressure trend
air quality
pollen or impact summaries when available

If Pirate Weather minutely precipitation data is available, this section can also mention near-term precipitation start or stop timing.

This is helpful if you need a quick answer before stepping outside and do not want to read several forecast periods first.

Leave this alone if you are planning for tomorrow or the weekend. In that case, the forecast sections are usually more useful.

Hourly Forecast / near-term

This section shows the short-range hourly forecast. You can choose how many hours appear in Settings > Display.

When AccessiWeather has enough useful near-term data, this section can begin with a one-sentence mobility briefing for roughly the next 90 minutes. The mobility briefing does not replace the hourly outlook summary. It appears above the hourly outlook when available.

Use this when:

you need timing, not just a general day summary
you are deciding when to leave, when to return home, or when to fit in a trip outside
you want to know whether the coldest, windiest, wettest, or iciest part of the day lines up with your plans

Hourly Forecast is usually the better choice for questions like "Will the rain start before my bus trip?" "Will the temperature still be above freezing at 7 PM?" or "Does the wind ease later tonight?"

This is helpful if one part of the day is much different from another. It gives the timing that Daily Forecast intentionally smooths out.

Leave this alone if you only need the big picture for the next several days. In that case, Daily Forecast is faster to read.

Daily Forecast

This section shows the multi-day forecast. The number of days depends on your Display settings and on what the source can provide.

Use this when:

you are planning the next few days instead of the next few hours
you want to compare one day with another before scheduling errands, travel, work, or outdoor time
you care more about the overall shape of the week than exact hour-by-hour timing

Daily Forecast is usually the better choice for questions like "Which day looks driest?" "Will the weekend be colder than today?" or "Is there a better day for a medical appointment, grocery trip, or outdoor event?"

This is helpful if you do not want to read 24 or more hourly entries. It summarizes the larger pattern.

Leave this alone if the exact timing matters, such as whether rain begins before 3 PM or whether winds ease after sunset. For those questions, use Hourly Forecast / near-term.

Event Center

The Event Center is a reviewable text history of user-facing weather events and summaries.

On the current release, it is intended for:

spoken or surfaced briefings
reviewable notification/event text

Entries are appended as plain timestamped lines. Examples include:

brief mobility summaries
discussion-update summaries
other user-facing event text that AccessiWeather surfaces for review

The Event Center is part of the main window, not a separate dialog. It is visible by default and can be shown or hidden from View > Event Center.

When it is visible:

F6 includes it in top-level cycling
Ctrl+5 jumps to it

When it is hidden:

F6 skips it
Ctrl+5 does nothing
re-enable it from View > Event Center when you want it back

Weather Alerts

This section lists active alerts for the selected location.

Think of this section as your current hazard list. It tells you what warnings, watches, advisories, or similar urgent products are active right now for that place.

Use this when:

you want to confirm whether an alert is active right now, even if you dismissed the earlier notification
you need the full alert title and can open the details for instructions, timing, and affected areas
you are checking whether a situation became more serious, was extended, or was cancelled

This section is different from notifications. Notifications are the popups or sounds AccessiWeather sends when something changes. The Weather Alerts section is the place where you can review the alerts themselves after the popup is gone.

This is helpful if you want to double-check what kind of hazard is active before heading out or telling someone else about it.

When alerts change between refreshes, you may hear or read labels such as:

New
Updated
Escalated
Extended

Cancelled alerts may still trigger notifications even after they leave the active list.

Leave this alone if there are no active alerts and you only want routine forecast information. The forecast sections remain the main place for everyday planning.

6. Weather sources and Automatic mode

AccessiWeather can use multiple weather providers. You can force a single provider, but most users will get the best results from Automatic mode.

Weather providers at a glance

National Weather Service (NWS)

Best for:

US forecasts
US alerts
US Forecaster Notes and NWS text products
NOAA Weather Radio features

Important limits:

US only
not available for international locations

Open-Meteo

Best for:

global forecast coverage
no-key setup
strong baseline forecast coverage

Important limits:

no weather alerts in AccessiWeather
no Forecaster Notes support

Pirate Weather

Best for:

global forecast coverage with an API key
worldwide alert coverage in many regions
minutely precipitation guidance
Dark Sky-style summary text

Important limits:

requires an API key
alerts may be broader than local US NWS targeting
minutely precipitation is only available where Pirate Weather provides it

What Automatic mode means now

Automatic mode is the default weather-source choice.

Its default behavior is fusion-first using the Max coverage budget. In plain language, that means AccessiWeather tries every enabled source it can use for your region, then merges the results so one provider can fill gaps left by another.

Automatic mode is not limited to one built-in fetch order. It follows the source order you save in the Automatic mode configuration.

Automatic mode also keeps separate source lists for:

US locations
international locations

This lets you choose a different preferred order for domestic and international use.

Automatic mode budgets

AccessiWeather provides three Automatic mode API budget choices.

Max coverage

This is the default.

Use this when:

you want the richest merged result
you want Automatic mode to behave in its full fusion-first form
you want the best chance of filling forecast gaps from multiple sources

What it does:

fans out to every enabled source that is available for the current location
merges current conditions, daily forecast, and hourly forecast from those results
uses your saved source order when deciding how to merge overlapping data

Economy

This is an opt-in reduced-call mode.

Use this when:

you want to minimize API usage
you are trying to stay within optional-provider quotas
you prefer a simpler, lower-call Automatic mode

What it does:

starts with your first enabled source for the region
only adds limited fallback behavior when needed
keeps call volume lower than Max coverage

Balanced

This is also an opt-in reduced-call mode.

Use this when:

you want fewer API calls than Max coverage
but you still want one useful fallback in more situations than Economy

What it does:

starts with your first enabled source for the region
allows one additional fallback source when Automatic mode needs it
offers a middle ground between Economy and Max coverage

Separate US and international source lists

Automatic mode uses separate saved source lists for US and international locations.

Default order:

US: NWS, Open-Meteo, Pirate Weather
International: Open-Meteo, Pirate Weather

You can change these lists in Settings > Data Sources > Configure automatic mode budget and sources.

The staged fetch order follows the source order you save.

Alerts in Automatic mode

Automatic mode does not treat every alert source equally.

US locations

For US locations, NWS alerts are authoritative when NWS is available.

That means:

AccessiWeather uses NWS alerts as the official alert feed in Automatic mode
Pirate Weather alerts are not used as an equal co-authority for US alerts
the Alert Area setting applies to NWS-style US alert targeting

International locations

For international locations:

NWS alerts do not apply
Pirate Weather alerts are preferred when available

Forecaster Notes behavior in Automatic mode

Forecaster Notes in AccessiWeather come from NWS and IEM-backed NWS text products.

That means:

US users can open local AFD, HWO, and SPS products when the selected location has NWS office metadata
active SPC and WPC tabs are added only when matching products apply to the selected point
National Products opens broader national NWS products in a separate dialog
Open-Meteo and Pirate Weather do not provide Forecaster Notes in AccessiWeather

Use this when you want the forecaster's reasoning rather than only the final forecast numbers. This is especially useful when thunderstorm timing is uncertain, when a snow or ice changeover is possible, or when you want to know how confident the local office is.

Leave this alone if you mainly want a quick yes-or-no answer such as whether rain is in today's forecast. The regular forecast sections are faster.

Minutely precipitation

Minutely precipitation guidance depends on Pirate Weather.

When Pirate Weather minutely data is available, AccessiWeather can:

include near-term precipitation timing in current conditions
notify you when precipitation is expected to start soon
notify you when precipitation is expected to stop soon

Use this when the next 5 to 60 minutes matters more than the rest of the day, such as deciding whether to leave now, wait a few minutes, or finish a short trip before rain starts.

This is helpful if you do not need a long forecast and only want to know whether precipitation is about to begin or end.

If Pirate Weather is not configured, or if minutely data is unavailable for the location, those features will not appear.

7. Alerts and notifications

Alerts and notifications are related, but they are not the same thing.

Alerts are the weather hazards AccessiWeather receives from a source.
Notifications are the desktop popups and optional sounds AccessiWeather sends when something changes.

Standard alert monitoring

This is the basic alert system. You can choose whether AccessiWeather should:

monitor alerts at all
send alert notifications
open alert details immediately while the app is running

Use this when you want AccessiWeather to act as an ongoing safety tool instead of only a forecast reader.

This is helpful if you may not be checking the app constantly. Notifications let the app bring urgent changes to you.

Leave this alone if the defaults already give you the right level of interruption. Most users do not need to change all three options.

Alert area

For NWS-based US alerts, the Alert Area setting controls how broad the targeting should be.

Choices are:

County: recommended for most users
Point: exact coordinate, but may miss nearby alerts
Zone: somewhat broader than county
State: broadest and noisiest

Use smaller areas when you want fewer notifications. Use broader areas when you do not want to miss alerts that affect a wider region.

Use County if you want a practical balance and do not want to fine-tune anything. That is the best starting point for most users.

Use Point when you live near a county line and prefer highly local alerts, but understand that you may miss something that affects nearby travel.

Use Zone or State when your plans regularly take you across a larger area, or when you would rather hear some extra alerts than risk missing one that matters.

Leave this alone if you are not sure. County is usually the safest default choice.

Severity filters

You can choose which alert severities are allowed to notify you:

Extreme
Severe
Moderate
Minor
Uncategorized

A severity being turned off means the alert can still exist in the weather data, but AccessiWeather will not notify you for that level.

Use this when you want to hear about the most serious hazards but not every lower-level headline.

This is helpful if your area gets frequent advisories that are useful to read when you open the app, but not important enough to interrupt you with a popup or sound.

Leave this alone if you are new to the app and want the broadest awareness first. You can narrow it later after you learn how noisy your local alerts are.

Extra weather event notifications

In addition to standard alerts, AccessiWeather can notify you about:

Area Forecast Discussion updates for NWS US locations
Hazardous Weather Outlook updates
informational Special Weather Statements
minutely precipitation start soon from Pirate Weather
minutely precipitation stop soon from Pirate Weather

These are separate from standard alert notifications so you can decide how much forecaster text and short-term precipitation guidance should interrupt you.

Use discussion update notifications when you follow developing weather closely and want to know when local forecaster reasoning changes.

Use Hazardous Weather Outlook and Special Weather Statement notifications when you want early or informational NWS text-product changes, even when they are not formal warnings.

Use minutely precipitation notifications when short outdoor trips matter and a few minutes of notice would help.

Leave these alone if you want the app to notify you only for formal alerts. That simpler setup is usually enough for everyday use.

Air quality notifications

AccessiWeather can tell you when air quality gets bad enough that you'd want to know. Turn on "Notify when air quality reaches my alert level" in Settings, Alerts tab, then pick a level for each index:

US AQI alert level: Moderate, Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups (the default), Unhealthy, Very Unhealthy or Hazardous
European AQI alert level: Fair, Moderate, Poor (the default), Very poor or Extremely poor

There are two levels because the Automatic index setting can use the European AQI for some saved locations and the US AQI for others. Each location is checked against the level for the index it uses.

You get one notification when a location's air quality reaches your level or goes past it, such as "European AQI 65 (Poor) in Paris, at or above your alert level of Poor. Modelled by Open-Meteo." You won't hear about that location again while it stays at or above the level. Once it drops below and later rises back, you get a new notification. The notification also goes into the Event Center.

The selected location is checked after every refresh. Your other saved locations are checked too when "Send alert notifications for all saved locations" is on.

Air quality notifications count toward the same hourly limit and cooldown as weather alert notifications, and they follow the Send alert notifications switch. If the limit holds one back, AccessiWeather tries again on the next check.

Cooldowns and notification limits

Cooldown settings help prevent repeated notifications from becoming overwhelming.

In user terms:

global cooldown is the minimum time between any alert notifications
per-alert cooldown is how long AccessiWeather waits before repeating the same alert
freshness window limits notifications to recently issued alerts
maximum notifications per hour puts an upper cap on how noisy the app can be

Use these controls when you want fewer repeat notifications without turning alerts off completely.

This is helpful if you rely on screen reader speech or audio cues and do not want several related notifications interrupting other work.

Leave this alone if the default notification pace already feels reasonable.

8. Settings reference

The Settings dialog is organized in this order:

General
Display
Alerts
Audio
Data Sources
AI
Updates
Advanced

Start with the defaults if you are new to AccessiWeather. The default setup is designed to work without any API keys:

Automatic weather source is usually the best starting point
Open-Meteo gives no-key global forecast coverage
NWS adds US alerts, discussions, and NOAA features when you are in the US
you only need optional keys if you want extra provider features or AI tools

The most useful way to think about Settings is this:

change something only when you have a reason
leave it alone when the app is already giving you the information you need
add optional services gradually instead of all at once

The usual progression is:

Start with the no-key default experience.
Add Pirate Weather if you want worldwide alerts in many regions or minutely precipitation timing.
Add OpenRouter if you want AI explanations and Weather Assistant.
Add an AVWX key only if you use Aviation Weather and want better international aviation decoding.

General

Use the General tab for everyday app behavior.

Most users will visit this tab first. It controls how often the app refreshes and a few convenience features. The defaults are usually fine if you simply want AccessiWeather to stay up to date in the background.

Refresh weather every (minutes)

Controls how often AccessiWeather refreshes weather automatically.

Use a shorter interval when you want faster background updates. This is helpful if you follow changing conditions during the day.

Use a longer interval when you prefer less network activity or when you mostly refresh by hand.

Leave this alone if the app already feels current enough. Many users never need to adjust it.

Tray icon text options

The General tab also includes tray text controls:

Show weather text on the tray icon
Update tray text as conditions change
Current tray text format
Edit tray text format

Use these options when you want the notification-area icon to show a short live weather summary instead of a plain app name.

This is helpful if you keep AccessiWeather running all day and want a quick status check without opening the full window.

Leave this alone if you do not use the tray area or if extra text there would be distracting.

Display

Use the Display tab to control units, detail level, and forecast layout.

This tab matters most if the weather is readable but not yet comfortable for you. It is where you decide how much detail AccessiWeather speaks or shows at once.

Temperature units

Choices are:

Auto based on location (the default for new installs)
Imperial (Fahrenheit)
Metric (Celsius)
Both

You can also choose to show values as whole numbers when possible.

Use Auto if you want the app to follow the location's usual unit system.

Use Both if you move between unit systems often, compare forecasts from different regions, or simply want extra certainty.

Use whole numbers if decimal values feel noisy and do not help your decisions.

Leave this alone if the temperature already makes sense to you quickly.

Forecast range

The Display tab lets you choose:

Daily forecast range: 3, 5, 7, 10, 14, or 15 days
Hourly forecast range: 1 to 168 hours

Use a shorter range if you want faster, lighter reading with less clutter.

Use a longer range if you routinely plan travel, work shifts, or appointments several days ahead.

Leave this alone if the current amount of forecast detail already fits how you use the app.

Extra weather details

You can turn these details on or off:

dew point
visibility
UV index
pressure trend
impact summaries for outdoor, driving, and allergy conditions
local official readings (View > Local Readings), on by default

Use these options when a detail changes real decisions for you.

Examples:

keep visibility on if fog, smoke, or heavy rain affects travel confidence
keep UV on if sun exposure matters to your routine
keep pressure trend on if you follow fast-changing weather closely
keep impact summaries on if you want a more practical readout instead of raw numbers alone

Leave details off if they add noise and you rarely act on them.

Time display

Time controls include:

whether forecast times follow the location timezone or your own local timezone
whether times are shown as local only, UTC only, or both
12-hour time format
timezone abbreviations

Use location timezone when you care about the weather where the place actually is, such as for travel or family in another region.

Use your own local timezone when you want all times translated into the way you think about your day.

Leave this alone if you mainly check nearby locations in the same timezone.

Reading priority

You can choose:

Minimal verbosity
Standard verbosity
Detailed verbosity
Automatically prioritize severe weather details

Use these controls to make the forecast shorter or more detailed.

Minimal verbosity is helpful if you want the fastest possible readout.

Detailed verbosity is helpful if you do not want to open extra windows just to get a fuller picture.

Automatically prioritize severe weather details is helpful if you want hazardous conditions moved closer to the front when they matter.

Leave this alone if Standard verbosity already feels balanced.

Air quality

The Air quality index choice sets which scale air quality numbers use:

Automatic (European AQI in Europe, US AQI elsewhere), the default
US AQI (EPA), on a 0 to 500 scale: Good, Moderate, Unhealthy for Sensitive Groups, Unhealthy, Very Unhealthy, Hazardous
European AQI (EEA), where 0 to 20 is Good, then Fair, Moderate, Poor, Very poor, and above 100 Extremely poor

Automatic uses the European AQI for locations in the European Union, the wider European Economic Area, the United Kingdom, Switzerland and other European countries, going by the location's country. When the country is not known, it keeps the US AQI.

The index name is always shown next to the number, such as US AQI 52 (Moderate) or European AQI 35 (Fair), so you never have to guess which scale you're hearing.

AirNow only reports the US AQI, so choosing European AQI for a US location uses the forecast model's European AQI instead of AirNow.

Alerts

Use the Alerts tab to control alert handling, event notifications, and rate limiting.

This tab matters most for users who want AccessiWeather to actively interrupt them when conditions change. If you mostly open the app manually and check alerts yourself, the defaults are often enough.

Alert delivery

Controls include:

Monitor weather alerts
Send alert notifications
Open alert details immediately while AccessiWeather is running

Change these if you want more or less interruption.

Opening alert details immediately can be helpful if you want the full instructions as soon as something urgent appears.

Leave this alone if simple popup notifications already work well for you.

Coverage and severity

Controls include:

Alert Area
Extreme severity alerts
Severe severity alerts
Moderate severity alerts
Minor severity alerts
Uncategorized alerts

Change these if your area is too noisy or too quiet.

Most users should start with the defaults, live with them for a few days, and only then decide whether to narrow or widen coverage.

Extra weather event notifications

Controls include:

discussion update notifications
severe risk change notifications
minutely precipitation start notifications
minutely precipitation stop notifications

Change these if formal alerts are not enough for your needs.

Leave them off if you want a simpler alert experience.

Air quality notifications

Controls include:

Notify when air quality reaches my alert level (off by default)
US AQI alert level
European AQI alert level

The two level choices are only available while the checkbox is ticked. See "Air quality notifications" in section 7 for how the checks work.

Rate limiting and advanced timing

Controls include:

Maximum notifications per hour
Advanced timing dialog for global cooldown, per-alert cooldown, and freshness window

Use these controls when you want to keep notifications useful without letting them repeat too often.

This is especially helpful if you use speech output and repeated interruptions are frustrating.

Leave this alone unless you have already noticed too many repeat notifications.

Audio

Use the Audio tab to control sounds.

Use this tab if audio cues help you notice weather changes without reading the screen. If you prefer silence and rely on screen-reader speech or visual notifications, the defaults may already be right.

Playback

Controls include:

Play notification sounds
Sound pack
Play sample sound
Manage sound packs

Turn sounds on if you want an audible cue for important weather events.

Manage sound packs if the default sounds are hard to distinguish or simply not comfortable for you.

Leave sounds off if you work in a quiet setting or already get enough feedback from speech and popups.

When sounds play

Audio also includes event-sound controls so you can decide which event types are allowed to make noise.

Use this when:

you want sounds for major alerts but not for routine updates
you want to keep audio on without making every event noisy

Leave this alone if the default event sounds already match how urgent you want the app to feel.

Data Sources

Use the Data Sources tab to choose the weather provider and configure Automatic mode.

For most users, this tab is best approached in stages. First, leave the source on Automatic and use the app with no keys. Only come back here when you know what is missing for you.

Weather source

Choices are:

Automatic
National Weather Service
Open-Meteo
Pirate Weather

Choose Automatic when you want merged results and source fallbacks. This is the best default for most people.

Choose a single source when you want predictable provider-specific behavior, such as testing one provider or preferring one provider's style.

Leave this alone if the app is already giving you reliable weather. Automatic is usually the right answer.

Automatic mode summary and configuration

The Data Sources tab shows a plain-language summary of your current Automatic mode settings, including:

Automatic mode budget
US automatic sources
International automatic sources
NWS station strategy

Use Configure automatic mode budget and sources to change:

Max coverage, Economy, or Balanced
separate US automatic source order
separate international automatic source order
the station strategy used when NWS chooses a current-conditions station

Change Automatic mode only if you have a clear reason, such as reducing API use, preferring one provider's data first, or keeping different priorities for US and international travel.

Leave this alone if you do not have optional API keys yet. The default configuration is designed to work well without them.

NWS station strategy

The available strategies are:

Hybrid default
Nearest station
Major airport preferred
Freshest observation

Use this when you want to influence which NWS observation station is preferred for current conditions.

This is helpful if the default station does not match the kind of location you care about. For example, an airport may read differently from a hilltop, coastal area, or smaller local station.

Leave this alone if current conditions already sound reasonable for your area.

Provider API keys

Start here with no keys unless you already know you need more. AccessiWeather works without provider keys.

The Data Sources tab includes API key fields for:

AirNow
OpenAQ
Pirate Weather

Each provider includes:

an API key field
a button to get a key
a button to validate the key

AirNow is optional and supplies official current US Air Quality Index observations. Create your own public AirNow API account, enter its key here, and AccessiWeather will use AirNow for current US AQI while retaining its existing hourly air-quality forecast and fallback source. AirNow is only used when the location's air quality index is the US AQI.

OpenAQ is optional and adds official station readings worldwide. Create a free account with the Get OpenAQ key button, paste the key into OpenAQ API key, and use Validate OpenAQ key to check it. AccessiWeather then looks for the nearest official monitoring station within 25 km that has reported in the last three hours, and shows its latest pollutant concentrations in the Air Quality window. If no official monitor is in range, it uses the nearest low-cost community sensor instead, and says so. OpenAQ gives concentrations but no index, so the headline air quality index still comes from AirNow or the forecast model. If OpenAQ has no station nearby or can't be reached, AccessiWeather uses AirNow in the US and the forecast model elsewhere.

Pirate Weather is the optional weather-provider key worth adding. Use it when you want worldwide alert coverage in many regions, minutely precipitation timing, moon phase, or Dark Sky-style summary text. This can be worth it if short-term rain timing matters to you or if you need alerts outside the US.

Leave the field blank if the default no-key setup already covers your needs. Many users never need a provider key.

Stored keys remain in secure storage unless you explicitly export them.

AI

Use the AI tab if you want Explain Weather or Weather Assistant.

This tab is completely optional. If you do not want AI features, you can ignore it and still use the rest of AccessiWeather normally.

OpenRouter access

Controls include:

OpenRouter API key
a button to get a key
Validate OpenRouter key

OpenRouter is worth adding only if you want AI help with understanding the weather.

Use it when you want a plain-language explanation, practical advice, or the ability to ask follow-up questions about the current conditions and forecast.

Leave it blank if the built-in forecast text already gives you what you need.

Model and explanation style

Controls include:

model preference
Browse OpenRouter models
explanation style: brief, standard, or detailed

Use brief if you want fast summaries.

Use detailed if you want more explanation, more context, and more reasoning.

Leave the model choice alone unless you notice quality, speed, or availability issues.

Custom prompts

Optional fields include:

custom system prompt
custom instructions
Reset prompt to default

Leave these blank unless you want to change the AI's tone or focus.

Most users should never need to edit prompts.

Updates

Use the Updates tab to control release checks.

Most users should stay on Stable and leave automatic checking on.

Controls include:

Check for updates automatically
Release channel: Stable or Development
Check every (hours)
Check for updates now

Use Stable for everyday use. Use Development only if you want newer changes sooner and are comfortable with more risk.

Leave this alone if you simply want the app to keep itself reasonably current.

Advanced

Use the Advanced tab for startup behavior, backup tools, file locations, and reset actions.

This tab is mainly for users who want tighter control, are moving to another machine, or are troubleshooting. If the app is working well, you may rarely need it.

Startup and window behavior

Controls include:

Minimize to the notification area when closing
Start minimized to the notification area
Launch automatically at startup
Enable weather history comparisons

Change these if you want AccessiWeather to behave more like a background utility and less like a window you open manually.

Leave these alone if you prefer starting the app only when you need it.

Backup and transfer

Tools include:

Export settings
Import settings
Export API keys (encrypted)
Import API keys (encrypted)

This is the place to move settings between machines and to transfer API keys securely.

Use this when setting up a second computer or when you want to move your settings securely.

Folders and files

Tools include:

Open current config folder
Open sound packs folder

Use these tools when you need to inspect or back up AccessiWeather files.

Leave this alone unless you are troubleshooting or intentionally managing files yourself.

Reset and maintenance

Tools include:

Reset settings to defaults
Reset all app data (settings, locations, caches)

Reset settings to defaults is useful when you want to keep your saved locations but undo a lot of option changes.

Reset all app data is a major cleanup action. Use it only when normal troubleshooting has not solved the problem.

If you use Aviation Weather often, the optional AVWX key is only worth adding if you want better decoded international aviation weather. AccessiWeather includes a button that takes you to the place to get that key.

9. Keyboard shortcuts

These shortcuts are available in the current app:

F5 or Ctrl+R: Refresh weather
Ctrl+L: Add location
F2: Edit the selected location
Ctrl+D: Remove location
Ctrl+S: Open Settings
Ctrl+H: Open Weather History
Ctrl+E: Explain Weather
Ctrl+T: Open Weather Assistant
Ctrl+N: Open NOAA Weather Radio
Ctrl+Q: Quit

System-wide hotkeys

These shortcuts work even when AccessiWeather does not have focus, including
while it is minimized to the system tray:

Ctrl+Alt+Shift+R: Play or stop NOAA Weather Radio
Ctrl+Alt+Shift+W: Show the hidden window
Ctrl+Alt+Shift+M: Hide the window to the tray
Ctrl+Alt+Shift+I: Read the current tray information

None of them use plain Ctrl+Shift, so they stay out of the way of your
browser, your screen reader and Windows' own keyboard-layout switch. Change
the window and tray hotkeys on the Advanced tab in Settings; the radio hotkey
lives on the General tab.

Playing resumes the last station you listened to, or the station the alert
auto-tune last started. If you have never played one, favorite a station or
play it once from the NOAA Weather Radio dialog first.

Every press announces its result as a desktop notification, so you know what
happened without looking at the window.

To change or turn off this hotkey, open Settings, go to the General tab, and
edit "NOAA Weather Radio play/stop hotkey". Combine Ctrl, Alt, Shift, and Win
with a letter, digit, or function key -- for example Ctrl+Alt+Shift+F9. Leave the
field blank to turn the hotkey off. If another program already owns the
combination you choose, AccessiWeather tells you so you can pick a different
one.

These hotkeys are Windows-only.

10. Troubleshooting

Problem: No weather data appears

What it usually means:

the selected source failed
your network connection is unavailable
the location has not refreshed yet
an API-key-based source is selected without a working key

What to try:

Press F5 to refresh.
Switch the weather source to Automatic.
Confirm the location is valid and still selected.
If using Pirate Weather directly, validate the API key in Settings > Data Sources.
Try another saved location to see whether the issue is location-specific.

Problem: Alerts are missing or seem different between sources

What it usually means:

different providers do not offer the same alert coverage
US alerts and international alerts follow different authority rules
your Alert Area or severity filters are too narrow

What to try:

Check whether the location is in the US or outside it.
For US locations, remember that NWS is the authoritative alert source in Automatic mode.
For international locations, add a Pirate Weather key if you want broader alert coverage.
Review Alert Area and severity settings in Settings > Alerts.
Make sure alert monitoring and alert notifications are enabled.

Problem: Forecaster Notes are unavailable

What it usually means:

the current location is outside US NWS coverage
the selected location does not have saved NWS office metadata yet
a local text product is not currently published
an optional SPC or WPC tab has no active product for the selected point

What to try:

Switch to a US location.
Refresh once so AccessiWeather can update saved NWS metadata.
Open Forecaster Notes again.
Use National Products or Advanced Lookup if you need a broader product.
Try again later if the product is temporarily unavailable.

Problem: AI features are unavailable

What it usually means:

no OpenRouter key is configured
the key is invalid
the selected model is unavailable or rate limited

What to try:

Open Settings > AI.
Enter or validate your OpenRouter API key.
Try a free model first.
If responses are empty, switch models and try again.

Problem: API key validation fails

What it usually means:

the key was entered incorrectly
the provider account is not active yet
the provider site is temporarily unavailable

What to try:

Paste the key again carefully.
Make sure there are no extra spaces before or after it.
Confirm you copied the correct provider's key.
Wait a few minutes and validate again if the key was just created.

Problem: Update checks are not happening when expected

What it usually means:

automatic update checks are disabled
the check interval is longer than you expected
you are on a different update channel than you intended

What to try:

Open Settings > Updates.
Confirm automatic checking is enabled.
Review the release channel.
Use Check for updates now to test immediately.

Problem: Automatic mode did not use the source I expected

What it usually means:

your saved US or international source order is different from what you remember
the provider you expected is not currently available
you selected Economy or Balanced instead of Max coverage

What to try:

Open Settings > Data Sources.
Review the Automatic mode summary.
Open Configure automatic mode budget and sources.
Check whether you are looking at the US list or the international list.
If you want full fusion-first behavior, choose Max coverage.
Confirm any required API key is present and valid.

11. Additional features

Weather History

Use View > Weather History to compare current conditions with recent history when that data is available.

This feature can be turned on or off in Settings > Advanced.

Air Quality and UV details

Use the View menu to open dedicated air quality and UV windows.

These windows can show current values, categories, forecasts, and guidance when the underlying weather data includes them.

For US locations, current AQI comes from EPA AirNow when an AirNow API key is configured in Settings > Data Sources. AirNow observations are preliminary. If no key is configured or AirNow is temporarily unavailable, AccessiWeather continues using its existing air-quality source.

Air quality uses the index set in Settings > Display > Air quality index. By default, European locations show the European AQI and its categories (Good, Fair, Moderate, Poor, Very poor, Extremely poor), and everywhere else shows the US AQI. The current reading, its health guidance and each line of the hourly forecast name the index they use.

Under Current Pollutant Levels, the Air Quality window has a Pollutant readings list with one row per pollutant: PM2.5, PM10, ozone, nitrogen dioxide, sulphur dioxide and carbon monoxide, when the source reports them. Use the Up and Down arrow keys to move between rows. Each row has these columns:

Pollutant: the pollutant's name.
Concentration: the amount in the air, such as 12.3 μg/m³, and the period it is averaged over, such as a 1-hour average. AirNow reports only index values, so the Concentration column says Not measured for its rows, and Not available for a modelled pollutant that has an index but no amount.
Index: the pollutant's own value and category on the AQI in use, and the averaging period that index uses, for example a 24-hour average for particles, an 8-hour average for ozone on the US AQI, or NowCast for AirNow. Not rated means the source gives no index for that pollutant.
Type: Observed when a monitoring station measured it, Modelled when it comes from a forecast model.
Source: who supplied it. Observed readings name the provider and the station or reporting area. Modelled readings from Open-Meteo name the CAMS model and its approximate resolution: the European model, about 11 km, across Europe, and the global model, about 45 km, everywhere else. A modelled value is an estimate for the surrounding area, not a measurement at your street.
Time: when it was observed, or the forecast hour a modelled value is for.

With an OpenAQ key, readings from the nearest OpenAQ station come first. Their Source column names the station, whether it's a reference monitor or a low-cost sensor, and how far away it is, for example "OpenAQ, reference monitor at Del Norte, Albuquerque, 1.8 km away". OpenAQ doesn't say what period its latest values cover, so their Concentration column reads "latest reading" rather than naming an average. In the US, AirNow adds its index to the pollutants OpenAQ reported and fills in the ones it didn't.

Observed readings come first, and the model fills in any pollutant no station reported, so each pollutant appears once. The Reading source field under the list sums up which pollutants came from which source; press Tab from the list to read it. Times in the window follow your 12-hour or 24-hour clock setting. The current air quality summary also has a Reading line saying whether the headline index was observed or modelled, by whom, and for what time.

Local Readings

Use View > Local Readings to see official readings from the weather stations and forecast areas nearest the current location. Forecasts for a whole country or a grid point can miss what's happening down the road; these readings tell you what a real station near you measured, and exactly where.

Each line is complete on its own, so you can arrow through them with a screen reader. A line gives:

the value, such as 0.4 mm of rain or a PM2.5 level, and its averaging period, such as a 5-minute total, a 1-hour average or a 24-hour average
what it covers: a named station and how far away it is, a forecast area, or a region
when it was observed, and how long ago, or the time a forecast is valid for
the source

Coverage today:

Everywhere: the nearest airport weather report (METAR), with temperature, dew point, wind, visibility, pressure and conditions. Airport reports come from each country's weather or aviation service and are fetched from the NOAA Aviation Weather Center.
Singapore: the National Environment Agency (NEA), with 5-minute rainfall from the nearest rain gauge, air temperature, the 2-hour forecast for your area (including thundery showers), and PM2.5 and PSI haze readings for your region.
Germany: Deutscher Wetterdienst (DWD) station observations through Bright Sky, with temperature, humidity, past-hour precipitation, wind, pressure and visibility. Each reading names the DWD station it came from.

A country source is used only for locations in that country, decided by the location's country, or by its coordinates when no country is saved. If a source can't be reached, the window says so and shows the readings it did get.

Readings are fetched when you open the window and when you press Refresh Readings. To turn the feature off, clear Show local official readings from nearby weather stations in Settings > Display, under Extra weather details.

Aviation Weather

Use View > Aviation Weather to fetch decoded aviation weather by four-letter ICAO airport code, such as KJFK.

This is useful when you want raw and decoded TAF information and related advisories.

Use this when:

you fly, dispatch, spot aircraft, or monitor airport conditions
someone you care about is traveling and you want to understand airport weather more clearly
you need a more aviation-focused view than the normal city forecast provides

This is helpful if you want screen-reader-friendly decoded aviation text instead of trying to interpret compact raw aviation codes on your own.

An optional AVWX key can improve international aviation support. Leave it alone if you only check US aviation weather occasionally. It is mainly worth adding if international airport weather is important to you, and AccessiWeather includes a button that takes you to the place to get that key.

NOAA Weather Radio

Use View > NOAA Weather Radio to open the radio player for the current location.

This feature is most useful in NOAA coverage areas and depends on online station streams being available.

Scheduled Readings

Use Tools > Scheduled Readings to have AccessiWeather read the weather aloud on a schedule, the way the old WeatherAloud program did. You can set up to five readings, each for one of your saved locations.

For each reading, choose:

the location to read
how often: every 15 or 30 minutes, every hour, or every 2, 3, 6 or 12 hours
what to read: current conditions, the forecast for the next two periods (such as Today and Tonight), and active alerts
whether the reading is turned on, so you can pause one without deleting it

Readings land on the clock: every 30 minutes means on the hour and the half hour, and every 2 hours means midnight, 2:00, 4:00 and so on. A new or changed schedule waits for its next time rather than speaking right away. Use Read Now to hear a reading immediately.

Readings use your screen reader when one is running. Otherwise they use your computer's built-in voice (Windows OneCore or SAPI voices, the macOS system voice, or Speech Dispatcher on Linux). AccessiWeather has to be running for readings to play, including when it is minimized to the tray. If your computer was asleep at a reading's time, that reading is skipped.

If you rename a location, its readings follow the new name; removing a location removes its readings.

Explain Weather

Explain Weather gives you a one-shot AI explanation of the current weather.

Use it when you want a quick plain-language summary.

Weather Assistant

Weather Assistant is the chat-style AI tool.

Use it when you want follow-up questions, practical advice, or a longer conversation about the current weather and forecast.

12. Where to get help

If you need help, updates, or downloads, use these resources:

Project website: AccessiWeather on orinks.net
Report a bug: Orinks/AccessiWeather issues
Download releases directly: Orinks/AccessiWeather releases