Scootercam Weather Plugin

A comprehensive WordPress plugin for displaying weather information from Visual Crossing data, including current conditions, 24-hour forecasts, and 7-day forecasts.

Features

Current Conditions

Display individual weather data points using simple shortcodes:

Temperature
Humidity
Wind speed and direction
Barometric pressure and trend
UV index with safety remarks
Air quality index (AQI)

24-Hour Forecast

Display a detailed hourly forecast table showing:

Time
Weather icon
Conditions
Temperature
Wind speed and direction
Precipitation chance
Visibility
UV index

7-Day Forecast

Display a visual weekly forecast widget with:

Day names
Weather icons
High/low temperatures
Precipitation probability
Customizable styling

Installation

Upload the scootercam-weather folder to /wp-content/plugins/
Activate the plugin through the ‘Plugins’ menu in WordPress
Go to Settings → Scootercam Weather to configure

Configuration

Data Paths

Navigate to Settings → Scootercam Weather → Data Paths to configure your weather data file locations:

Base Path: Absolute path to your website root (default: /home/scootercam/public_html)
Summary File: Current conditions data (default: wx/summary.json)
Hourly File: 24-hour forecast data (default: wx/hourly.json)
Daily File: 7-day forecast data (default: wx/daily.json)

UV Remarks

Customize safety messages for different UV index levels in Settings → Scootercam Weather → Current Conditions.

7-Day Display

Adjust font sizes, icon sizes, and styling for the 7-day forecast widget in Settings → Scootercam Weather → 7-Day Display.

Usage

Current Conditions Shortcodes

Display individual weather data points:

Temperature: [sc-temperature]
Humidity: [sc-humidity]
Wind: [sc-wind-speed] from [sc-wind-direction]
Pressure: [sc-pressure] and [sc-pressure-trend]

UV Index: [sc-uv-index] ([sc-uv-desc])

Seek shade during midday hours. Slip on a shirt, slop on sunscreen and slap on hat.

Air Quality:N/A –N/A

Available Shortcodes

Shortcode	Description	Example Output
`N/A`	Current temperature	72°F
`N/A`	Current humidity	65%
`N/A`	Wind speed	12 mph
`N/A`	Wind direction	NW
`30.21 inHg`	Barometric pressure	30.15 inHg
`N/A`	Pressure trend	Rising
`5`	UV index value	5.2
`Moderate`	UV index description	Moderate
`Seek shade during midday hours. Slip on a shirt, slop on sunscreen and slap on hat.`	UV safety remarks	Seek shade during midday…
`N/A`	Air quality index	45
`N/A`	AQI description	Good

Shortcode Attributes

All current condition shortcodes support optional attributes:

units="true/false" – Show or hide units (default: true)
round="true/false" – Round numbers (default: true for temperature/humidity)

Examples:

[sc-temperature units="false"] → displays: 72
[sc-temperature round="false"] → displays: 72.3°F
[sc-humidity units="false" round="false"] → displays: 64.8

24-Hour Forecast

Display a complete 24-hour forecast table:

[scootercam-24]

This creates a responsive table with hourly weather data including conditions, temperature, wind, precipitation, visibility, and UV index.

7-Day Forecast

Display a visual 7-day forecast widget:

[scootercam_7day]

Customization

Override default display settings with shortcode attributes:

[scootercam_7day day_font_size="13px" temp_high_size="18px" icon_size="32"]

Available Attributes:

Attribute	Description	Default
`day_font_size`	Font size for day names	11px
`temp_high_size`	Font size for high temperature	16px
`temp_low_size`	Font size for low temperature	12px
`precip_size`	Font size for precipitation %	11px
`icon_size`	Icon width/height in pixels	28
`card_padding`	Padding inside each day card	6px 3px

Examples

Simple Current Conditions Display

<div class="current-weather">
    <h3>Current Conditions</h3>
    <p><strong>Temperature:</strong> [sc-temperature]</p>
    <p><strong>Humidity:</strong> [sc-humidity]</p>
    <p><strong>Wind:</strong> [sc-wind-speed] from the [sc-wind-direction]</p>
    <p><strong>Pressure:</strong> [sc-pressure] and [sc-pressure-trend]</p>
</div>

UV Information Widget

<div class="uv-widget">
    <h3>UV Index</h3>
    <p><strong>Current UV Index:</strong> [sc-uv-index] ([sc-uv-desc])</p>
    <div class="uv-advice">

Seek shade during midday hours. Slip on a shirt, slop on sunscreen and slap on hat.

</div> </div>

Complete Weather Page

<h2>Current Conditions</h2>
<p>
    Right now it's [sc-temperature] with [sc-humidity] humidity.
    Winds are [sc-wind-speed] from the [sc-wind-direction].
</p>

<h3>UV Index</h3>
<p>UV Index: [sc-uv-index] ([sc-uv-desc])</p>
<p>[sc-uv-remarks]</p>

<h2>24-Hour Forecast</h2>

Time	Conditions	Temp	Wind	Precip	Visibility	UV
6 pm	Partly cloudy	50°	S @ 7	1%	10.1 mi	0
9 pm	Partly cloudy	47°	S @ 11	4%	10.1 mi	0
12 am	Overcast	47°	S @ 15	11%	10.1 mi	0
3 am	Rain, Overcast	47°	S @ 17	75%	10.1 mi	0
6 am	Rain, Overcast	48°	SW @ 16	95%	10.1 mi	0
9 am	Rain, Partly cloudy	52°	SW @ 14	67%	10.1 mi	1
12 pm	Rain, Partly cloudy	56°	W @ 14	67%	10.1 mi	3
3 pm	Partly cloudy	57°	W @ 14	33%	10.1 mi	3
6 pm	Partly cloudy	55°	W @ 13	33%	10.1 mi	0

<h2>Week Ahead</h2>

Today

53°

32°

11%

Fri

57°

46°

95%

Sat

47°

37°

90%

Data Requirements

The plugin expects JSON files from Visual Crossing Weather API in the following formats:

summary.json (Current Conditions)

{
  "local": {
    "beach": {
      "temp_f": 72.5,
      "humidity": 65,
      "wind_mph": 12.3,
      "wind_dir": 315,
      "pressure_in": 30.15,
      "pressure_trend": 0.02,
      "uv_index": 5.2
    }
  },
  "air_quality": {
    "aqi": 45
  }
}

hourly.json (24-Hour Forecast)

{
  "forecast": [
    {
      "time": "3:00 PM",
      "temp": 75,
      "conditions": "Partly Cloudy",
      "icon": "partly-cloudy-day",
      "windSpeed": 10,
      "windDir": 270,
      "precipChance": 10,
      "visibility": 10.0,
      "uvindex": 6
    }
  ]
}

daily.json (7-Day Forecast)

{
  "forecast": [
    {
      "date": "2025-01-15",
      "tempHigh": 78,
      "tempLow": 62,
      "conditions": "Partly Cloudy",
      "icon": "partly-cloudy-day",
      "precipProb": 20
    }
  ]
}

Styling

The plugin uses W3.CSS for styling, which is automatically loaded. The 24-hour forecast uses responsive classes to hide certain columns on smaller screens:

.w3-hide-small – Hides content on screens < 601px

You can override styles in your theme’s CSS:

/* Customize table styling */
.w3-table.w3-striped tbody tr:nth-child(odd) {
    background-color: #f9f9f9;
}

/* Customize 7-day widget */
.w3-card-2 {
    box-shadow: 0 4px 10px rgba(0,0,0,0.2);
}

Migration from Previous Plugins

If you were using the individual plugins (Scootercam Current Conditions, Scootercam 24-Hour Forecast, ScooterCam 7-Day Forecast), this consolidated plugin automatically migrates your settings on activation:

UV remarks are preserved
7-day display settings are maintained
All shortcodes remain backward compatible

To complete migration:

Install and activate Scootercam Weather
Verify your settings in Settings → Scootercam Weather
Deactivate the old individual plugins
Test your pages to ensure everything works

Troubleshooting

No Data Displayed

Check file paths: Verify the paths in Settings → Scootercam Weather → Data Paths
Check file permissions: Ensure JSON files are readable by the web server
Check JSON validity: Ensure your JSON files contain valid data
Check error logs: Look in your WordPress debug log for error messages

Shortcodes Not Working

Verify shortcode syntax: Ensure square brackets are used N/A not {sc-temperature}
Check plugin activation: Ensure the plugin is activated
Clear cache: Clear any caching plugins or browser cache

Styling Issues

Check W3.CSS loading: Verify W3.CSS is loading in your page source
Check theme conflicts: Some themes may override styling
Browser compatibility: Test in different browsers

Support

For issues or questions:

Check the Overview tab in plugin settings for quick reference
Review this README
Check your WordPress error logs
Contact: https://scootercam.com

Credits

Author: Scootercam
Version: 2.0.0
License: GPL v2 or later
Data Source: Visual Crossing Weather API
Styling: W3.CSS

Changelog

Version 2.0.0

Consolidated three separate plugins into one unified plugin
Added centralized data handling and caching
Created unified settings interface with tabbed navigation
Maintained backward compatibility with all existing shortcodes
Automatic migration of settings from previous plugins
Improved code organization and maintainability

Previous Versions

Individual plugins for Current Conditions, 24-Hour, and 7-Day forecasts