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Building a Weather App with JavaScript and Open Weather API

How I Built a Weather App using JavaScript and OpenWeather API

Have you ever wondered how weather apps work behind the scenes? In this blog, I’ll walk you through how I built a simple yet powerful weather app using HTML, CSS, JavaScript, and the OpenWeather API.

🧾 Prerequisites

  • Basic knowledge of HTML, CSS, and JavaScript
  • Code editor (like VS Code)
  • OpenWeather API key (free to generate)
  • Basic understanding of REST APIs

📁 Project Structure

weather-app/
├── index.html
├── style.css
├── script.js

✨ Features

  • 🌆 Search weather by city name
  • 🌡️ Display temperature, humidity, wind speed
  • 🌤️ Dynamic icon and weather description
  • 🌈 Background image changes based on weather
  • 🕔 5-day forecast using OpenWeather's Forecast API
  • 🔄 Reset button to clear UI
  • 📱 Responsive layout with Bootstrap

🔌 How It Works

The app connects to two endpoints from the OpenWeather API:

  • /weather – Gets current weather data
  • /forecast – Gets 5-day forecast in 3-hour intervals

When a user searches for a city:

  1. The current weather data is fetched and displayed
  2. The 5-day forecast is filtered to one result per day (at noon)
  3. The icon and background are updated dynamically

🖼️ Dynamic Background

Based on the weather type (like Clear, Rain, Clouds), the app changes the background image using Unsplash:


const backgroundImages = {
  Clear: "url('https://source.unsplash.com/1600x900/?sunny')",
  Rain: "url('https://source.unsplash.com/1600x900/?rain')",
  Clouds: "url('https://source.unsplash.com/1600x900/?cloudy')"
};

document.body.style.backgroundImage = backgroundImages[weatherMain] || defaultBg;

📄 Forecast Filter

To limit the forecast to one result per day (12:00pm):


const daily = forecastList.filter(item =>
  item.dt_txt.includes("12:00:00")
).slice(0, 5);

✅ What I Learned

  • How to consume public APIs with Axios
  • Dynamically updating UI with JavaScript
  • Handling errors and form validation
  • Filtering and slicing forecast data from JSON
  • Creating responsive designs with Bootstrap

🔗 Live Demo and Code

💬 What’s Next?

  • 🌓 Add dark mode toggle
  • 📍 Use Geolocation API for local weather
  • 📲 Turn it into a PWA for offline access

🎉 Final Words

This project helped me solidify key frontend concepts and API handling. If you're learning web development, building something real like this is one of the best ways to learn. Try adding your own features and make it your own!

🤔 What feature would you add to this app? Let me know in the comments!

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