WeatherStar 4000+: Relive the 90s Weather Channel in Your Browser
🌤 Launch WeatherStar 4000+ · GitHub · 1.9k ★
You know those old Weather Channel local forecasts from the 90s. Blue and orange gradients. Blocky temperature graphics. Smooth jazz playing while a city name scrolls across the bottom of the screen. The WeatherStar 4000 was the hardware that generated those broadcasts, and it is a core memory for a generation of Americans who grew up watching it before school.
This is a web-based recreation. It pulls live data from the NOAA weather API, renders it in the same visual style, and runs in any modern browser.
What It Shows
Enter a location and you get the full treatment: current conditions with temperature, humidity, wind, and pressure. An hourly forecast graph with temperature, dewpoint, cloud cover, and precipitation. A travel forecast for multiple cities. A local radar loop with precipitation intensity. A 7-day extended forecast. An almanac with sunrise, sunset, and moon data. Even the Storm Prediction Center outlook for severe weather risk.
The displays cycle automatically like the original, with configurable speed. Each screen matches the look and layout of the original WeatherStar hardware — the nixie-style numerals, the map overlays, the blue gradient bars.
Beyond Nostalgia
The developer (netbymatt) forked this from Mike Battaglia’s original work in 2020 and has been maintaining it since. 1.9k stars, 242 forks, 150 releases. It is actively developed and well documented.
It runs as a PWA — you can install it to your phone or desktop home screen and get the full kiosk experience. There is a Docker image for running on a server. It supports custom music playlists (just drop MP3s in a folder). There is a permalink system for sharing exact configurations, and a kiosk mode that fills the screen and hides all controls.
The README includes a thoughtful disclaimers section noting that this should not be relied on for life-threatening weather situations, a known issue that the full moon icon is broken (the original hardware had the same problem), and a section for people who want to stream it via FFMPEG.
The Music
The original WeatherStar played smooth jazz and new age from artists like Patrick O’Hearn and Yanni. Those tracks are copyrighted, so this project ships four AI-generated tracks in the same style, with an additional repository of more tracks. You can also add your own music by mounting a folder with MP3s.
How It Works
The app uses the free NOAA weather API (api.weather.gov) and is tightly coupled to US locations — it will not work internationally without a fork. The codebase is well structured as a learning resource: ES6 modules, async/await, a custom build system with Gulp and Webpack, SASS for CSS, and an Express server with optional caching proxy.
There is also a WeatherStar 3000+ if you want something even more retro.
I set it up on a spare monitor in the kitchen. It cycles through the forecast with scan lines enabled and the music playing. It costs nothing, uses no API keys, and every time I walk past it I feel like I am 12 years old again, eating cereal before the school bus.
Crepi il lupo! 🐺