Weather Watcher Live

This updated weather application offers a smorgasbord of weather-related data. Once you've provided a zip code or city, Weather Watcher Live's easy-to-use interface displays detailed weather information, including forecasts, temperature, and expected highs and lows. You can add as many locations as you'd like and switch among them using the system-tray icon.

Automatic updates keep you abreast of the current wind speed, dew point, humidity, barometric pressure, and moon phases. You can display your location's current weather conditions by mousing over the temperature readout in your system tray. Weather Watcher Live provides extensive customizations, measurement conversions, and numerous maps from all over the globe, and a log for quick reference. You can view weather data with hourly and daily forecasts, and create a keyword list to filter severe weather alerts.

The application also features a wallpaper changer for your desktop using several file formats, including JPEG, GIF, BMP, and HTML. Our only serious complaint is its hefty 19MB memory usage. Overall, though, this informative, customizable program can benefit a wide range of users, and it's free to boot. This is a top pick.