[Updated 11/2/06] This script used CURL to download data.

I was looking for a way to get weather from the internet without using 3rd party programs like Weatherman for use with Indigo. There's nothing wrong with them but they don't always provide the information I need. I started playing around with the experimental feeds that the NOAA website provides and was able to parse that data with Applescript. The script requires XML Tools, a free scripting addition that provides the XML parsing. From there you need to get the correct NOAA XML URL for your state (note, use XML NOT RSS.).

The XML feed does not contain as much information as Weatherman provides. But if you don't want to pay for Weatherman at the moment this is a good alternative. Also note that this is an experimental service by the NOAA, it could go away.

Recently Slashdot had a article about the availability of free data by the NOAA. Software providers don't want you to have free data since that hurts their revenue stream. If you think free data from the NOAA is important then please send them feedback.