GIFT GUIDE
Gifts for Weather Nerds & Storm Watchers
You know the type: three radar apps, opinions about forecast models, and a sixth sense for when to say “it’s about to pour.” They take it seriously, which makes buying weather gear for them a little intimidating.
A screen on the desk works alongside their apps. The data comes from the National Weather Service, which they’ll respect, and the storm-cloud mascot wins over everyone else in the house.
THE PICK
Storm Sentinel
WiFi desktop weather station
Storm Sentinel cycles live NWS conditions, forecasts, watches and warnings, and an hour of looping radar on a bright touchscreen, fronted by the Outdoor Score (a 0–99 “should I be outside?” number) and a storm-cloud mascot with eleven moods and a quip for every sky.
from $114.99
The final price, shipping and any color choices are on the listing, and checkout stays on Etsy.
Buy on Etsy (opens in a new tab)Checkout happens on Etsy. This opens the Storm Sentinel listing in a new tab.
Want the full tour? See the Storm Sentinel page, or read the field guide: How the Outdoor Score Works: One Number for “Should I Be Outside?”
Before you gift it
What they’ll need
- A 2.4 GHz WiFi network and its password. Most home routers broadcast one next to their 5 GHz network. No PlankLabs gadget can join a network that asks for a username or sends you to a sign-in page, which is common on school and hotel WiFi. The gadgets with a 3.5″ screen can’t join a WPA3-only network either. A normal home password (WPA2) is fine.
- A phone or laptop for setup, which runs in its web browser.
- A USB-A phone charger or a computer’s USB-A port. The box has a USB-A to USB-C cable, about 3 feet (36 inches), and no wall adapter is included.
- Setup asks for their ZIP code. Storm Sentinel works with any US ZIP code, including Alaska, Hawaii and the US territories.
Not sure it will work for them?
Message me on Etsy (opens in a new tab) before you order. Tell me what you know about their WiFi and where they live, and I’ll tell you whether it will work.
If it doesn’t work out, my 90-day maker warranty covers defects, and change-of-mind returns are accepted within seven days of delivery through Etsy, with the buyer covering return shipping. The FAQ has the details.
Once it’s unwrapped, planklabs.us/owners has the setup steps for every gadget.
WHY THIS ONE
What makes this gift work
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Straight from the NWS
Forecasts and alerts come from the National Weather Service, the same source their favorite meteorologist uses.
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Personality
The Outdoor Score and the moody little storm-cloud mascot give a weather instrument something to say.
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Alerts on the desk
Watches and warnings for their location show up on the screen, so nobody has to keep checking a phone.
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Radar that moves
The last hour of NOAA radar loops over satellite imagery of their area, and new scans arrive every few minutes, which is about how often they were checking anyway.
ALSO WORTH A LOOK
If they’re more the…
live data Storm Sentinel PLUS
7-inch touchscreen WiFi weather station
from $209.99
Storm Sentinel on a 7″ touchscreen: eight screens of National Weather Service forecasts, looping NOAA radar and storm outlooks. When a warning covers your location, the whole screen turns that hazard’s color.
See the gadget…if they’d want the radar, storm outlooks and warnings on a 7″ screen. It covers the lower 48 states only.
live data Satellite Sentinel
ISS & Starlink tracker
from $119.99
Counts down to the next visible ISS pass over your house and tells you which way to look. It also tracks up to 100 Starlink satellites.
See the gadget…if they also want to know when the Space Station goes over.
GIFT-BUYER QUESTIONS
The things people ask before gifting one
Is it hard for a non-technical person to set up?
No. Setup runs in a phone’s web browser and takes a few minutes. They plug the gadget into USB power, join the setup WiFi network it makes, and its setup page opens on their phone (if it doesn’t, they go to 192.168.4.1 in the browser). There they enter their home WiFi details, plus their ZIP code, and save.
Do they need to live somewhere specific for it to work?
Storm Sentinel works with any US ZIP code, Alaska, Hawaii and the US territories included, because the National Weather Service covers all of them. Setup asks for a ZIP code, so it shows the weather for their house, not a nearby city’s. The bigger Storm Sentinel PLUS covers ZIP codes in the lower 48 states only.
Will they get hit with a subscription after I gift it?
No. You pay once on Etsy, and there’s no monthly fee or account for them to manage. The live data comes from outside sources, so if one changes I make every reasonable effort to keep the gadget working, and free firmware updates arrive over the air on their own.
What does it cost?
The Etsy listing has the current price, shipping estimate and any enclosure color choices, and the Etsy button on this page opens it. When this page shows a “from” price, that is the listing’s starting price, checked with Etsy within the last few hours. Checkout happens on Etsy with full buyer protection, and I back every unit with a 90-day maker warranty.
Another question first? Message me on Etsy (opens in a new tab).
from $114.99
Buy on Etsy (opens in a new tab)