The weather app on my phone told me it was going to rain starting at 2pm. I was in a meeting at 2pm and did not check my phone. I walked to my car in a downpour.
The problem was not that I did not have weather data. I had it everywhere. The problem was that I checked it in the morning and then forgot about it.
Ambient weather display — where the current conditions are simply visible without you having to check — is different.
What Weather and Clock Dashboard does
Puts the current weather conditions and a live clock on your Firefox new tab. Every time you open a new tab, you see: temperature, conditions, and your local time.
No app to open. No widget to find. It is just there.
How the weather data works
The extension uses a public weather API based on your location coordinates. Firefox provides your location locally — the extension does not need to send your exact coordinates to a server repeatedly. It fetches current conditions periodically and caches them.
No account. The weather data is the same public data available from any weather service.
Why the analog clock specifically
Digital clocks are precise but passive. An analog clock face shows time more spatially — you can read roughly how much time is left before a meeting in a glance, without reading digits. The arc of the clock hand communicates relative time.
This is a subjective preference. If you prefer digital, most weather extensions include both formats.
The case for a minimal design
Weather apps pack in hourly forecasts, UV index, humidity, pollen, air quality, 10-day forecasts, and radar maps. Most of that information is irrelevant for the basic question: do I need a jacket today?
Weather and Clock Dashboard shows the essential: current temperature, current conditions, and the time. For a new tab widget that you glance at briefly, this is the right level of detail.
Install it
Weather and Clock Dashboard — Firefox Add-ons
Free. No account. Works in Firefox.
Weather and Clock Dashboard is one of 11 Firefox extensions I built — all free, no-account, no-server. See the full series for the others.
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