My-Cast, by Digital Cyclone

Helping you stay ahead of the weather.

Your weather. On your phone.

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My-Cast Help Guide

Registration and your account

Working With Locations

The My-Cast Web Pages

Email Weather Alerts

Email Forecasts

Weather Forecasts

Where can I go for help with questions that are not addressed in this Guide?

Send an email to webmaster@my-cast.com describing your problem. Please include as much information as possible, including any error messages you see.

Registration and your account

I am having trouble registering. What should I do?

Check to make sure cookies are enabled in your Web browser security settings. Cookies must be enabled for you to register and run My-Cast. If they are enabled and you still have trouble, your email address and password probably made it to our database, but not the information about your location. Go to the home page and log in. Follow the procedure below to add or edit your location(s). If you get an error message that your account does not exist, please try your registration again. If you continue to have trouble, send an email to webmaster@my-cast.com describing the problem.

I forgot my password.

Fill out our Reminder Request and our automated system will email your password to you right away.

How can I return to My-Cast without having to log in every time?

You may bookmark (add to favorites) any of your My-Cast forecast pages and return to them without having to log in every time. This requires two things to work properly:
  1. Do not ever click any links on the My-Cast site labeled "log-out" or "sign off."
  2. Maintain "cookies enabled" status in the security settings of your Web browser.

How do I cancel my membership?

If you no longer use My-Cast and want to have your membership canceled, send an email to webmaster@my-cast.com and request that we cancel your membership. We would also appreciate it if you let us know why you are canceling so we can continue to improve our service.

My email address and password are not working. What could be wrong?

Your password is case sensitive, and must be entered exactly as you set it up (upper and lower case letters). If you need a password reminder, fill out our Reminder Request and our automated system will email your password to you right away.

How can I change my email address and password for my My-Cast account?

  1. Click on the "Change Preferences" button (or text link) to go to the "Edit Your Account" page.
  2. On the "Edit Your Account" page, go to the "My-Cast Account Information" tab.
  3. Click on the appropriate link to change name, email address or password.
  4. BE SURE to click the "Submit..." button when you are finished.

Working With Locations

How do I add additional locations?

  1. Click on the "Change Preferences" button (or text link) to go to the "Edit Your Account" page.
  2. On the "Edit Your Account" page, go to the "Add a New Location" tab.
  3. Use a ZIP Code or City and State to select your location. Follow the directions to also select email preferences.
  4. When you are finished, click on the link at the left of the screen "click here to view weather."

How do I delete locations?

  1. Click on the "Change Preferences" button (or text link) to go to the "Edit Your Account" page.
  2. On the "Edit Your Account" page, go to the "Edit or Delete Locations" tab.
  3. Simply click the "Delete" button for any location you want removed.

What is the "Default Location" and why can't I delete it?

The default location is the first location you registered with My-Cast. Your email forecasts are sent out according to the time zone for your default location. Because every My-Cast account must have at least one location, you may not delete the default. However, you may add as many locations as you like and change one of them to default by clicking the "Set as default location" button for that location. Once you make this switch, you will be allowed to delete the previous default location.

The My-Cast Web Pages

Why do some pages load very slowly?

The latest revision of the My-Cast web site added a lot of new content, making some of the pages very complex. Unfortunately, older versions of Netscape (version 4) have problems processing pages like this. We did put great effort into making sure that the pages look correct in Netscape 4 and other browsers, but we can't overcome Netscape 4's inherent speed problem with complex tables.
Mozilla Firefox, Microsoft Internet Explorer, and many other newer browsers do not have these problems and display the pages very quickly. We recommend upgrading to a newer browser.
If you are not using Netscape 4, other common problems include a slow connection, and intermittent high internet traffic.

What browsers are recommended?

Email Weather Alerts

How do I subscribe or unsubscribe to email severe weather alerts and forecasts?

  1. Click on the "Change Preferences" button (or text link) to go to the "Edit Your Account" page.
  2. On the "Edit Your Account" page, go to the "Edit or Delete your My-Cast Locations" tab.
  3. Click the "Edit" button for the location which you want to change email preferences for.
  4. Scroll down to the "Email Preferences" tab and click on the text link "Change your Email Preferences."
  5. Add check marks to subscribe to particular emails, or remove check marks to unsubscribe.
  6. BE SURE to click the "Update Email Preferences" button when you are finished.
  7. Repeat this procedure for each location you want to change.

I'm going on vacation. Can I temporarily unsubscribe from email?

  1. Click on the "Change Preferences" button (or text link) to go to the "Edit Your Account" page.
  2. Under the Email Preferences section you will be able to easily unsubscribe from any of the My-Cast email services.

Why do I receive multiple copies of Severe Weather email alerts?

My-Cast acts as an agent for passing on Severe Weather alerts from the National Weather Service. Our automated system emails these alerts to you immediately upon release so that there is no delay (when in some cases, every minute may count).
Often, the National Weather Service issues what seem to be duplicates. However, there is usually a subtle difference, such as a change in the expiration time, a county added to the covered area, or a correction to a typo. And sometimes the National Weather Service does issue duplicates for reasons unknown to us.
Unfortunately, there is no way for us to filter these out. If you are frustrated by the amount of severe weather alerts you are receiving, check your email preferences (see procedure above). If you are subscribed to "Statements," you might want to unsubscribe to these by unchecking the box (but keep Warnings and Watches). Statements are broad in coverage, issued frequently and may not involve severe weather.

Why do I receive Severe Weather alerts that do not cover my location?

If you receive a severe weather email alert from us, it does cover your location. The National Weather Service usually issues alerts by county. If you receive an alert, it means your location is in one of the counties for which the alert was issued.

Why are the Severe Weather alerts in all capital letters?

My-Cast issues weather alerts exactly as issued by the National Weather Service. They create the alerts in all capital letters because it is faster for them to type. Their goal is to get the alert out as soon as possible, and every moment they can save is important.

How do I get forecast Severe Weather Alert emails sent to more than one of my email addresses?

Your My-Cast membership can have only one email address. If you would like to have emails sent to a second email address, register a separate My-Cast membership for that email address. Your second My-Cast membership is also free.

Can I have weather alerts sent to my pager, cell phone or other wireless device?

Our My-Cast.com alerts are not specifically formatted for wireless devices and may not display properly. To get weather service on your wireless device we recommend Mobile My-Cast which provides additional content along with text message alerts for severe weather.

Email Forecasts

How do I subscribe or unsubscribe to email severe weather alerts and forecasts?

  1. Login to My-Cast if you haven't already.
  2. Click on the "Change Preferences" button (or text link) to go to the "Edit Your Account" page.
  3. On the "Edit Your Account" page, go to the "Edit or Delete Locations" tab.
  4. Click the "Edit" button for the location which you want to change email preferences for.
  5. Scroll down to the "Email Preferences" tab and click on the text link "Change your Email Preferences."
  6. Add check marks to subscribe to particular emails, or remove check marks to unsubscribe.
  7. BE SURE to click the "Update Email Preferences" button when you are finished.
  8. Repeat this procedure for each location you want to change.

I'm going on vacation. Can I temporarily unsubscribe from email?

  1. Click on the "Change Preferences" button (or text link) to go to the "Edit Your Account" page.
  2. Under the Email Preferences section you will be able to easily unsubscribe from any of the My-Cast email services.

What is the difference between plain text and HTML format?

HTML format includes colors, graphics, links - much like a Web page. Plain text format is text only with no special formatting. HTML is a more attractive, easier-to-read format, however there are a couple things to keep in mind. Because of the addition of graphics and other formatting elements, the email may take longer to load on your computer, especially if you have a very slow connection. Also, some older versions of email programs may not support HTML email or provide only partial support. You can check this through the Help menu of your email program. When you register for My-Cast daily forecasts, you are automatically assigned to the HTML format but may switch to plain text as described below.

How do I switch from HTML format back to plain text?

Click the link at the upper left of your forecast email that reads: "Want to switch back to plain text email? Click here".

Why does my email forecast not display properly?

My-Cast forecasts are available in plain text and HTML format. HTML format allows a more feature rich presentation. Unfortunately, not all email programs can display our HTML emails properly. If your email program does not properly display the forecast email, please send an email to webmaster@my-cast.com letting us know your email program, version number, computing platform (PC, Macintosh, other) and the display problem you are seeing. You may need to switch to plain text format to be able to view your forecast properly (see procedure above).

What email programs are known to have problems displaying My-Cast forecasts in HTML format?

  1. America Online version 5.0 and lower. You may view My-Cast forecasts in HTML format if you upgrade to America Online version 6.0 or higher.
  2. Entourage and Outlook for Macintosh may have trouble rendering complex HTML email such as My-Cast forecasts.
  3. Eudora 4.0-5.0: For full HTML support, you need to configure Microsoft Internet Explorer as the HTML viewer. Eudora below version 4.0 has little or no support for HTML.
  4. Novell Groupwise (all versions) have been reported as not displaying HTML format properly.
  5. Microsoft Exchange (all versions) have been reported as not displaying HTML format properly.
  6. Microsoft Outlook 97 does not properly display HTML email (later versions support HTML).
  7. Lotus Notes below version 5. Version 5 and above support HTML. Some versions of Lotus cc:Mail may not support HTML.
If your email program does not properly display the forecast email, please send an email to webmaster@my-cast.com letting us know your email program, version number, computing platform (PC, Macintosh, other) and the display problem you are seeing, so that we may add it to this list.

Can I have forecasts sent to my pager, cell phone or other wireless device?

We strongly advise against it. My-Cast weather alert emails are not specially formatted for wireless devices. As a result, you will get introductory text that may cause the alert portion to be cut off because of your wireless device's character limit. We are looking into offering this service for wireless users and hope to have it available in the future.

Weather Forecasts

Why are the Current Conditions not for my neighborhood?

Because current conditions are actual conditions and not a forecast, we may not be able to provide them precisely for your neighborhood. We must use actual data from the nearest National Weather Service reporting station. To qualify, the station must use the automated METAR system that provides hourly updates. If you are in a metro area, there is likely a reporting station within 10-15 miles of your location. For a non-metro area, it may be further.

Why are there N/As in my forecast?

Occasionally there may be data missing from a computer model forecast run for a particular location. When that happens, you will see "N/A" displayed for the missing data. This is usually temporary and will likely clear up by the next update.