Weather Channel Gets Mappy With Google Maps - But What About Microsoft?

The Weather Channel is announcing a new partnership with Google to be the exclusive partner of weather data on Google Maps. This technology is also now available in Google Earth as well.

Here's how you add the weather mapplet to Google Maps: Click My Maps on the left panel and then check the box next to the Weather Channel. You can add just the temperature (see below) or satellite and radar data.

I wonder if this affects The Weather Channel's relationship with Microsoft? Currently Microsoft provides the mapping technology on the weather.com site. Does this potentially signal a change down the road to Google Maps for weather.com? I also wonder how this might affect traffic to weather.com - if I can get the current weather at the location I am traveling to while I print a map of how to get there, why even go to weather.com at all?

Here is an example of the weather - it's pretty groovy!