Weather

What are Weather Feeds?

RSS feeds allow you to stay up to date with the latest observations and forecasts from BBC Weather.

There is some discussion as to what RSS stands for, but most people plump for 'Really Simple Syndication'. In essence, the feeds themselves are just web pages, designed to be read by computers rather than people.

How do I start using feeds?

In general, the first thing you need is something called a RSS reader. This is a piece of software that checks the feeds and lets you read any new articles that have been added. There are many different versions, some of which are accessed using a browser, and some of which are downloadable applications.

Browser-based RSS readers let you catch up with your RSS feed subscriptions from any computer, whereas downloadable applications let you store them on your main computer, in the same way that you either download your e-mail using Outlook, or keep it on a web-based service like Hotmail.

Once you have chosen a RSS reader, all you have to do is to decide what content you want it to receive.

If you click on an RSS button you can subscribe to the feed in various ways, including by dragging the URL of the feed into your RSS reader or by copying and pasting the same URL into a new feed in your RSS reader. Most sites that offer feeds use a similar orange button, but some may just have a normal web link.

Some browsers, including Firefox, Opera and Safari, automatically check for feeds for you when you visit a website, and display an icon when they find one.

There is a range of different RSS readers available and new versions are appearing all the time.

Different RSS readers work on different operating systems, so you will need to choose one that will work with your computer.

Terms of use

Please note that this is an easy to read BBC Weather summary of the BBC RSS feed standard licence terms. To find out more please visit BBC's Feedfactory.

Any use of BBC content obtained via the BBC Weather Centre RSS feed must be personal in nature. For example, on your personal website or as part of any online innovations via backstage.

You may not use BBC Weather content for any commercial purposes. This includes using BBC Weather content on any predominantly commercial websites, charging users of your website for access to the content and/or using BBC Weather content in a way which suggests BBC endorsement of your site.

Where you use BBC Weather content you must provide a link back to BBC Weather either via the active links in the RSS feed content and incorporate a credit to the BBC in accordance with the BBC's RSS Accreditation Guidelines. To find out more please visit BBC's Feedfactory.

BBC Weather content cannot be used on any Excluded Websites which include sites that contain unlawful, harassing, defamatory, infringing, abusive, threatening, harmful, obscene, profane, sexually oriented, racially offensive or otherwise objectionable material.

If you want to use BBC Weather content for any purposes or in any way that does not comply with the above terms you will need to obtain the consent of the Met Office (the provider and copyright owner of the weather content).

You may not use any BBC Weather icons or any other BBC trade marks on your website.

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