The weather is always a popular topic of conversation, even more so at this time of the year with extended periods of rain and the threat of tropical cyclones. There are a host of useful websites covering this topic, so here are some search tips for finding them.
When searching for information, one of the best questions to ask yourself is “Who cares?”. Who would care enough about that information to collect, organise and publish it? Who would be the best person or organisation to consult for an answer?
In this case the Australian Bureau of Meteorology is an obvious answer. Their website holds a wealth of information about current conditions, cyclone and flood warnings, satellite images, forecasts and more. Townsville residents should check out the updated radar images from the Mount Stuart station and the local rainfall maps.
Another search strategy when using internet search engines, is to type the answer you hope to find, rather than the question you are asking. For example, if you’re travelling to another place and want to know the weather forecast, instead of typing “what is the weather in Christchurch?”, try typing “the weather in Christchurch is”. This strategy takes advantage of the fact that search engines index the words on a page, and most information is written as answers, rather than questions. This doesn’t always provide better results, but it should certainly make you aware of different websites that may not appear in your first search.
A third search strategy to consider is to enter your search words into a number of different search engines, as the results that each one provides can be very different. Try typing “Townsville weather” into four different search engines - Google, Yahoo!, Ask and MSN Search – and compare the results. You might find out what the weather is like in Townsville in North Carolina!
To finish up on something a little bit different, check out 50,000 years of weather expertise at the Indigenous Weather Knowledge site by the Bureau of Meteorology.
Need help searching the web? Contact your local CityLibrary branch:
CityLibrary Aitkenvale 4727 8312
CityLibrary Flinders Mall 4727 9665
CityLibrary Thuringowa 4773 8601 or infodesk@townsville.qld.gov.au
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Searchlight is a weekly column written by CityLibraries Townsville. It is published in the Townsville Bulletin newspaper and on this 'blog every Monday. Searchlight aims to make your internet searching more effective, efficient and fun by reviewing search tools, providing searching hints and tips, and helping with tricky search topics.
