Display the weather on the Windows taskbar (without Widgets)

Microsoft’s Windows 11 operating system displays the Widgets icon on the taskbar by default. It was updated recently to show weather information. If you do not use Widgets, but like the weather information, you can use a third-party alternative.

Tray Weather is an open source application for Windows to display weather information in the System Tray area.

Good news is that it supports multiple weather providers, and one of them does not require an account or API access.

The details:

• Weather Tray is compatible with Windows 7 and newer versions of Windows, including Windows 11.
• Setup is a bit fiddly, but not too complicated.

You can download the latest version of the program from the project’s GitHub repository.

Windows will display a security dialog when you execute setup, because the application is not signed. Setup itself is straightforward, but it is necessary to make a few changes in the configuration and in Windows.

Lets talk about the program’s configuration first. Here you make a number of important decisions regarding the program:

• Select OpenMeteo API under Weather Data Provider to get weather data without API requirement.
• Make sure the set location is correct or change it.
• Switch the measurement units, modify graph temperatures, and opacity.
• Pick an icon for display on the taskbar. The default displays a representative icon of the weather, e.g., a sun or clouds. You can switch that to temperature or combinations.
• Add or remove information from the icon’s tooltip. The default displays the location, current weather, and temperature only. You may add information such as air quality, wind speed, humidity, ground pressure, and more to it.
• Change the time between updates from the 15 minute default.

Windows may not display the icon of the app by default in the system tray area. On Windows 11 for example, you need to enable it first so that it displays all the time.

Right-click on a blank space on the taskbar and select Taskbar Settings. Expand “Other system tray icons” on the page that opens and toggle Weather Tray to display it permanently.

That is as far as configurations are concerned.

Closing Words

Weather Tray may not have the prettiest icons, but it works well, is open source, and does not get in your way with other content that you may not want. It is an excellent option for Windows users who would like to display weather information on their systems.

What is your take on this? Do you use little helper apps like Weather Tray on your devices? Let us know in the comments down below.