WeatherFast 3.0.1 (Windows)

WeatherFast 3.0.1 is a complete rebuild of the Windows app — same free data (no
account or API key), with a much larger feature set, a proper installer, and
signed binaries. It replaces 3.0.0.

Install

• Installer (recommended): WeatherFast-3.0.1-Setup.exe — per-user install,
  Start Menu shortcut, no admin required, and automatic updates going forward.
• Portable: WeatherFast-portable.zip — extract the folder anywhere and run
  WeatherFast.exe from it. Nothing is installed. Keep the folder together; the
  application needs the _internal folder beside the executable.

Both downloads are code-signed.

If you already have 3.0.0

Nothing special to do — WeatherFast will offer 3.0.1 the next time you start it,
and installing it over 3.0.0 works. You can also just download and run the
installer yourself.

3.0.0 had a packaging fault that could leave the application running invisibly
after you closed it, holding its own files open, which made an update fail with
"DeleteFile failed; code 5. Access is denied." 3.0.1 fixes that, and its
installer clears any stuck copy on the way in. In the unlikely event you still
see that error, close WeatherFast — or end WeatherFast.exe in Task Manager —
and run the installer again.

Highlights

• Place search for cities, ZIP/postal codes, addresses, and specific places
  (airports, universities, landmarks), always with a selectable results list.
• Full weather: current conditions, a plain-language "Today's Outlook",
  24-hour hourly, and a multi-day forecast, with day-by-day navigation.
• Weather alerts: shown in the city's own weather report, plus a full
  alert browser for the US and Canada — filter by severity and hazard type
  and drill into affected areas.
• Expected Precipitation next-hour nowcast, Weather Around Me (eight
  directions plus a directional explorer), Historical weather (single day,
  same-day-across-years, daily browse), Marine, Astronomy (moon), and a
  configurable My Data section (marine, air quality, pollen, and more).
• Browse cities by US state or country with sorting and favorites.
• Configurable fields and units (wind in mph / km/h / m/s), defaulting to your
  Windows region on first run.
• Automatic updates and a built-in User Guide (Help, or F1).

New in 3.0.1

Weather alerts appear in the weather report. In 3.0.0 the city list could
mark a city as having an alert, but opening that city's Full Weather showed no
sign of it — the alert was only reachable from the Weather menu. Alerts now sit
directly under the city heading, ahead of the forecast:

Report for Madison, Wisconsin
ALERTS
MODERATE: Heat Advisory - until Sun Jul 26 09:00 PM
CURRENT
...

Press Enter on an alert for its full text: description, safety
instructions, affected areas, valid period, and a link to the official NWS
page. A check that fails is never reported as "no alerts" — it says so plainly
and offers a line you can press Enter on to try again. Cities outside the US
omit the section, since the National Weather Service has no coverage there.

The city list names the alert. Instead of a bare [ALERT], which read the
same for an extreme tornado warning and a minor frost advisory, the row now
names the most severe alert and how many others there are:

Madison, Wisconsin - 78°F, Cloudy (High: 80°F, Low: 60°F)  [EXTREME: Tornado Warning, +1 more]

The window title also leads with the severity, so a screen reader announces it
on entering the report.

Alert text no longer breaks mid-sentence. The National Weather Service
hard-wraps its bulletins at about 68 columns, and each of those physical lines
was becoming its own row — stranding fragments like "illnesses." alone on a
line. Alert text is now rejoined into whole paragraphs.

Other fixes:

• Enter now works on rows in the weather report.
• A city's alert marker is no longer lost when its weather refreshes.
• Fixed the packaging fault described under If you already have 3.0.0, which
  also prevented automatic updates from installing.

Full user guide: https://kellylford.github.io/WeatherFast/

What's Changed

• Windows 3.0.1: show alerts in the weather report; fix wrapped alert text by @kellylford in #110
• Windows: fix the updater by switching to a one-dir build by @kellylford in #111
• Windows: 3.0.1 notes assume in-place update, not manual reinstall by @kellylford in #112

Full Changelog: windows-v3.0.0...windows-v3.0.1

V2 Windows App

FastWeather v2.0 Windows App Release Notes

Release Date: January 17, 2026

Major Features

🗺️ Browse Cities by State/Country

• NEW: Browse and add cities from pre-loaded lists organized by U.S. state or international country
• Navigate through states → cities hierarchically with intuitive back navigation
• Access via "Browse Cities by State/Country" button or Alt+W keyboard shortcut
• Pre-geocoded city coordinates for 50 cities per U.S. state and major international cities
• Dramatically faster than manual geocoding (instant vs. 20+ second waits)
• Alphabetically sorted city lists for easy navigation

⚡ Performance Improvements

• Thread Pool & Caching System: Weather data now cached for 10 minutes with intelligent thread pooling
• Concurrent Request Limiting: Maximum 5 simultaneous API requests (down from 50+) prevents system overload
• Smart Cache Management: Reduces API calls by 90%+ for repeated queries
• Browse Performance: Browsing 50 cities now takes 3-5 seconds instead of causing app hangs (10+ seconds)
• Manual refresh clears cache to force fresh data when needed

⌨️ Keyboard Shortcuts & Help

• NEW F1/? Help Screen: Comprehensive keyboard shortcuts reference accessible via F1 or ?
• Enhanced Navigation: Full keyboard shortcuts for all major operations
• Browse Navigation Improvements:
  • Alt+W - Open browse cities dialog
  • Alt+A - Add selected city from browse view
  • Escape - Navigate back through browse hierarchy
  • Focus restoration - Returns to previously selected state/country when going back

🎯 Accessibility Enhancements

• Hierarchical navigation with proper focus restoration
• Clear visual and auditory feedback for all actions

Complete Keyboard Shortcuts

Navigation

• F1 or ? - Show keyboard shortcuts help
• Escape - Go back / Navigate hierarchy
• Tab / Shift+Tab - Move between controls
• Up/Down Arrow - Navigate lists
• Home/End - Jump to start/end of list
• First letter - Jump to items starting with that letter (repeated presses cycle)
• Enter - Activate/Select item

City Management

• Alt+N - Focus new city input field
• Alt+W - Browse cities by state/country
• Delete - Remove selected city
• Alt+U - Move city up in list
• Alt+D - Move city down in list

Weather

• F5 or Ctrl+R - Refresh weather for selected city
• Alt+F - Show full weather details
• Alt+C - Configure weather display

Browse Navigation

• Enter - Navigate into selection
• Escape - Go back one level
• Alt+A - Add selected city to your list

Technical Improvements

Architecture

• Implemented ThreadPoolExecutor with configurable worker limit (5 concurrent)
• Weather cache with timestamp tracking and automatic expiration
• Cache-aware fetch method with smart invalidation
• Improved error handling and user feedback

Data Files

• us-cities-cached.json - Pre-geocoded coordinates for 50 cities × 50 U.S. states
• international-cities-cached.json - Pre-geocoded coordinates for major international cities
• Eliminates slow Nominatim API calls for browsing

Code Quality

• 700+ lines of new code with improved organization
• Consistent async patterns using thread pool
• Better separation of concerns (browse, weather, UI)

Bug Fixes

• Fixed: Cities added via browse now appear immediately in main list (no restart required)
• Fixed: Focus properly restored when navigating back through browse hierarchy
• Fixed: Screen reader compatibility in help view (removed empty items)
• Fixed: Cache clearing on manual refresh to ensure fresh data

Breaking Changes

None - Fully backward compatible with v1.1

Known Issues

None reported

Upgrade Notes

• Existing city lists are preserved
• No configuration changes required
• Cache files bundled with application automatically

Performance Comparison

Operation	v1.1	v2.0
Browse 50 cities	10-15s (hang)	3-5s (smooth)
Re-browse same state	10-15s	<1s (cached)
Concurrent API requests	Unlimited (50+)	5 (controlled)
Duplicate API calls	Every time	Cached 10 min
Add city from browse	Requires restart	Instant update

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Full Changelog: v1.1...v2.0

Download: See Releases

V1.1 - Ready for Winter

FastWeather Release Notes

Version 1.1 - November 28, 2025

New Features

Precipitation Configuration & Display

• Configurable Precipitation Details: Added options to show/hide snowfall, rain, and showers in Current, Hourly, and Daily weather sections
• Snow Depth: Added snow depth display in Current weather (shows total accumulated snow on the ground)
• At-a-Glance Precipitation Indicators: City list now shows [Snow] or [Rain] indicators when precipitation is occurring
• Improved Precision: Changed precipitation thresholds to show trace amounts (≥0.01mm) instead of only larger amounts
• Smart Display: Shows "None" for zero values when precipitation options are enabled

Unit Configuration System

• Temperature Units: Choose between Fahrenheit (°F) and Celsius (°C)
• Wind Speed Units: Choose between mph and km/h
• Precipitation Units: Choose between inches (in) and millimeters (mm)
• Persistent Preferences: Unit settings are saved and applied across all weather displays
• New Units Tab: Added dedicated Units configuration tab in the settings dialog

Enhanced User Experience

• Apply Button: Configuration dialog now includes an Apply button to preview changes without closing the dialog
• 24-Hour Forecast: Extended hourly forecast from 12 to 24 hours for better planning
• Configure Button on Main View: Quick access to configuration settings from the main screen

Improved Accessibility

• New Keyboard Shortcuts:
  • Alt+N: Focus the new city input field
  • Alt+C: Open configuration dialog
  • Alt+F: View full weather report
• Enter Key Support: Pressing Enter in city search results now selects the city
• Text-Based Indicators: Precipitation indicators use accessible text ([Snow], [Rain]) instead of emoji symbols

Technical Improvements

• Unit conversion system with helper methods throughout the application
• Enhanced configuration merge logic to handle new settings gracefully
• Improved precipitation data display across all views
• Better integration between configuration changes and live data refresh

Documentation

• Updated USER_GUIDE.md with complete keyboard shortcut reference
• Added documentation for new precipitation and unit configuration features

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Version 1.0 - Initial Release

Initial release of FastWeather with core features:

• Current weather conditions display
• Hourly and daily forecasts
• Multiple city management
• Basic weather configuration options
• Accessible interface with screen reader support
• Keyboard navigation
• No API key required (uses Open-Meteo API)

FastWeather 1.0

FastWeather Initial Release

Introducing FastWeather, a lightweight and accessible desktop weather application designed to get you the information you need without the clutter.

Key Features

• Fast & Simple: Instant access to current conditions and detailed forecasts.
• Comprehensive Data: View temperature, feels-like, humidity, wind, precipitation, UV index, visibility, cloud cover, and more.
• Hassle-Free: No API keys required (uses Open-Meteo) and available as### FastWeather Initial Release

Full Changelog: https://github.com/kellylford/FastWeather/commits/v1.0