What's the weather going to be like today? Answering that question used to involve opening a newspaper or turning on the TV. Now you don't even have to open up a web browser!

Here are some of the top options floating around in your Linux app store or on the web. (Note that the ones available to you may depend on your desktop environment.)

1. GNOME Weather

Linux weather

Weather shows you what temperature and precipitation you can expect outside right now, throughout the day, and tomorrow. For the next five days, it provides an icon showing what weather to look for along with the highest temperature. The app pulls data from the Norwegian Meteorological Institute.

You can search for and save multiple locations inside the app. To check the weather from the GNOME's activities overview later on, you search for the name of a location to see the current forecast.

If you like GNOME's design, this is the app with the best integration.

Download: GNOME Weather (Free)

2. OpenWeather (GNOME Shell Extension)

Linux weather

Don't want to have to open a dedicated app? There's a GNOME Shell extension that keeps the forecast even more accessible by placing an icon in the panel at the top of your screen.

Clicking that icon shows the forecast for today and tomorrow, along with added details such as humidity and wind speed. You can store several cities, which can be especially useful for people who travel often.

The extension comes with some customization options, so you can change the number of days displayed as well as what information appears. The default source is OpenWeatherMap, but you can change it to Dark Sky.

Download: OpenWeather (Free)

3. KDE Plasma Weather Widget (Default)

Linux weather

Here's an option exclusive to KDE Plasma users. While not a full-blown app, the Plasma desktop's weather widget can go in your system tray or on your desktop background. Either way, the functionality is the same.

KDE's weather widget will let you know the day's highest and lowest temperatures. The icon in your system tray will also show whether the skies are clear or if there's precipitation. Plus you can see the pressure and visibility outside.

There are multiple weather sources to pick from, and clicking on the forecast opens more detailed information in the relevant website.

Download: KDE Weather Widget (Pre-installed with Plasma desktop)

4. KDE Plasma Weather Widget (Downloaded)

Linux weather

Want more information available at a glance? There's an alternative widget with the same name available in the KDE Store. It will display the forecast for the next seven days, complete with a detailed graph of what you can expect over the next 48 hours. Weather sources are limited to Yr (from the Norwegian Meteorological Institute and the Norwegian Broadcasting Corporation) and OpenWeatherMap.

Unlike the default option, this widget is intended to reside in a panel (though not your system tray). If you drag it out onto your desktop, it will still only show the current temperature and a weather icon. This widget, too, is exclusive to KDE.

Download: Weather Widget (Free)

5. Weather (Cinnamon)

Linux weather

Weather is an applet that sits in your panel next to system indicators. An icon and text provide you with the current weather and temperature. Clicking on the applet brings up more information. You can see the highs and lows for up to a week. The right column also shows the current temperature, humidity, pressure, wind speed, and wind chill.

Weather is very configurable, allowing you to change measurement units and various aspects of the applet's appearance. You can download the widget directly from the Cinnamon desktop.

Download: Weather (Free)

6. Nimbus

Linux weather

Nimbus is a weather app for elementary OS from the founder of elementary OS himself. Described as a weather applet, Nimbus doesn't do all that much. The app window floats on top of your desktop at all times, displaying the current temperature and weather. That's it. It's the digital equivalent of looking out the window. But in some cases, that's enough. Such a basic design is not out of place on elementary OS.

I like the simplicity of Nimbus, but I do find it jarring that clicking on the icon in the dock doesn't make the window appear on top of your other open windows. Nimbus feels like a desktop widget on a desktop that doesn't support widgets, stuck somewhere being a widget and an app.

Download: Nimbus (Free)

7. Coffee

Linux weather

Coffee is a relative newcomer to the scene. The app docks to the side of your screen, where it displays your forecast in a card that displays the next five days. The information comes from Dark Sky.

Coffee's slim profile makes it great to use like a ticker, but why would you do this just for the weather? Well, you don't have to. Coffee also displays the news. You can choose to receive headlines from over forty different sources, which come via News API.

Download: Coffee (Free)

8. Temps

Linux weather

If you're a fan of weather widgets, Temps may be the way to go. While it isn't technically a widget, the app has the feel of one. Temps consists of a single stylish card that shows four days of weather. Nice touches include the addition of animations for rain, snow, and storms. As for functionality, you can view an interactive hourly forecast.

Temps is a minimalist tool that unapologetically places style over substance. When it comes to weather apps, for many of us, that's perfectly fine.

Download: Temps (Free)

9. AWeather

Linux weather

Most of the apps on this list scratch a similar itch. They show what's going on outside and list some temperatures.

AWeather is less a weather app and more a tool for weather enthusiasts. The app shows a map of the US complete with weather alerts at the county level. You can see if the United States National Weather Service has issued a flood advisory or tornado warning in your area, for example.

The fun doesn't stop there. If you have the necessary files, you can also view radar coverage of the skies.

Download: AWeather (Free)

10. Weather Utility

Linux weather

There's a command line tool to do just about anything on Linux, and checking the weather is no exception. Weather Utility has been around since 2006, and while that would make it ancient compared to desktop Linux apps, life in the terminal moves at a more stable pace. Weather Utility did what it needed to back then, and it still does today.

If you live in the US, the process is simple. Type this command to get your forecast:

        weather-util --forecast [zipcode]
    

Download: Weather Utility (Free)

How Do You Check the Weather on Linux?

Do you fire up a search engine? Keep a widget in your panel? Prefer to use your phone? Maybe you stick with cracking open a window and feeling the breeze. We all have our preferences. What's yours?