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**WATCH LOCAL NEWS WEATHER VIDEOS THROUGH AMAZON’S ECHO SHOW SMART DISPLAYS**
Do you rely on your local TV news station’s weather forecast? If so, Amazon’s latest feature on Echo Show smart displays is set to make it easier for you to watch these forecasts on demand. By partnering with local news channels, Amazon has made it possible for you to easily access their most recent weather news videos simply by saying “Alexa, what’s the weather?”
Living in a coastal city prone to hurricanes, floods, and severe weather warnings, I understand the importance of staying informed for safety. Local meteorologists are often the best source of information in such situations, surpassing any weather app available. However, tuning in to the news at specific times isn’t always feasible, especially for those who have cut the cord and no longer rely on traditional TV channels. Additionally, navigating local news station websites to find weather videos can be cumbersome.
With hurricane season fast approaching, I was eager to try out this new feature. Unfortunately, the availability of local weather news videos is limited and not yet offered in my city. However, I learned from Amazon spokesperson Eric Sveum that the feature is already live in over 60 cities, including New York, San Francisco, Seattle, Boston, Washington, DC, Los Angeles, Atlanta, Charlotte, Phoenix, Chicago, Milwaukee, Fresno, Omaha, Toledo, and San Antonio. Sveum assured me that Amazon plans to expand the feature and is considering making it available wherever there are local news stations.
To test the feature, I requested the weather for a supported city by saying, “Alexa, what’s the weather in New York City?” On the Echo Show 15 device, the screen displayed the usual forecast and current weather conditions. However, this time, thumbnail videos of local forecasts from multiple news stations also appeared at the bottom of the screen.
Thankfully, the videos do not autoplay, and I had to tap on one to start playing. The video opened in full screen, beginning with the typical few seconds of news anchor banter before diving into the forecast. Some videos lacked a clear timestamp indicating when they were recorded, which would have been helpful.
If you prefer not to use voice commands, you can still access the weather information by tapping the Alexa weather widget. This brings up the same information screen without the videos. To add a widget to your Show device, swipe left from the edge of the screen and select the Widget Panel.
According to Sveum, the local weather news videos feature is currently available on Echo Show 8, Echo Show 10, Echo Show 15, and will soon roll out to Echo Show 5 devices.
**Source:**
1. [The Verge – “Amazon Echo Show 15 review: wall-mounted Alexa tablet is a kitchen TV”](https://www.theverge.com/22839220/amazon-echo-show-15-review-wall-mounted-alexa-tablet-kitchen-tv)
2. [The Verge – “Here are the best weather apps available for iOS”](https://www.theverge.com/23698001/apple-best-weather-app-ios-forecast)
3. [The Verge – “2023 Atlantic hurricane season forecast calls for near-normal activity with potential El Niño”](https://www.theverge.com/23737286/2023-atlantic-hurricane-season-forecast-near-normal-el-nino)
**Correction, June 23rd, 4:30 PM ET:** The local weather news video feature is currently available in 60 cities, not 15. Furthermore, it is not available on the Fire TV Omni and can only be accessed through voice commands, not through the Show weather widget. We apologize for the mistake.
