Weather.com innovates the weather map with street level detail – it’s raining on my block!

Alright, it's rare that I "mark out" for a map, but I must say that this new feature from The Weather Channel is pretty dang cool. Using their new partnership with Microsoft and their Virtual Earth product, you can now actually see the weather in real-time for your block (in the U.S.). Instead of just seeing a radar image or satellite view of your area (I think 30 miles was the closest before), you can now zoom in as far as your street and see what's going on. I guess naysayers believe you could just look out your window, but that's so Web 1.0!

So what will Ft. Lauderdale look like when it rains on one side of the street but not the other? :)

From TWC: The new weather.com interactive map features a transparent slider bar, which controls the consumer's view of their weather. This new feature, coupled with the high-resolution Microsoft Virtual Earth imagery, gives users the unprecedented ability to see where significant weather is — and isn't — occurring in their immediate area. The new tool is available for virtually any location worldwide.

Deslie Quinby, vice president weather.com, "Maps are one of the most viewed areas on weather.com so we are constantly looking for ways to enhance them with the latest technology. Microsoft Virtual Earth gives us an ideal platform to build on and has enabled us to give consumers the most advanced and functional weather map online with our industry leading weather data."