Build Your Own Stylish ePaper Weather Dashboard

Oh, the weather outside is frightful, but Maté’s weather dashboard is so delightful. We are heading into the winter season once more, so we need to know what Jack Frost is up to before we rush out the door. This year, we can stay informed in style by copying the cute little weather dashboard created by a software engineer named Maté. And if you’re an electronics hobbyist, there’s a good chance you already have all the parts you need.

Maté used a Raspberry Pi Zero, but a Pi Zero 2 W or similar single-board computer should work just as well. This is paired with a Pimoroni Inky Impression 7.3-inch ePaper display. Once again, other ePaper displays should also do the trick, but this particular one can produce seven different colors, which certainly adds a little something extra to the project. Add a 3D-printed case into the mix, and you are good to go.

Well, almost good to go, anyway. The dashboard doesn’t become a weather dashboard until it is programmed to be one, naturally. Getting there involves pulling weather data from an API and formatting all of the numbers and charts to look just the way you want, then turning it all into one big image. That image can then be displayed on the ePaper display with the help of existing libraries.

All of this work can certainly take some time, but fortunately, Maté has done the tough part for us. You can grab the source code from GitHub and have your own weather dashboard up and running before the first freeze hits if you hurry. Or you could repurpose the hardware for another application — just be aware that the refresh rate of the screen is about 30 seconds, so you can forget about playing snake game on it!