We've all been there – trying to figure out what to do when the weather seems to have its own plans. That's exactly why I built ActiWeather. It’s a smart web app that gives you activity ideas perfectly matched to your local forecast and, just as importantly, to what you actually like to do. The goal is to help you make the most of your day, rain or shine, by taking some of the guesswork out of planning.
I designed ActiWeather to be pretty easy to use. It grabs the latest weather for where you are (or any place you pick) using the OpenWeatherMap API. Then, based on things like the temperature, whether it’s raining, or how windy it is, it'll suggest different kinds of activities. The really useful part is the personalization – you can tell ActiWeather what you're into, like "Outdoor" adventures, "Relaxing" options, or "Cultural" experiences, and even save your favorite go-to spots. The app remembers these details using browser storage (with React Context managing things behind the scenes), so its suggestions get more tuned into what you'll enjoy over time.
Under the hood, I built ActiWeather with Next.js 15, using its App Router to make sure the app is fast and responsive. For the design and layout, I chose Tailwind CSS, which let me build a clean and consistent look pretty quickly. When ActiWeather needs to fetch weather details or find actual places nearby using Google Maps (like turning a city name into map coordinates or finding a park), it communicates through Next.js API Routes. This setup keeps all the API key information secure and helps everything run smoothly on the backend.
My main idea for ActiWeather was to create something genuinely helpful for that common "what should I do today?" question, especially when the weather's a factor. This project was also a fantastic way for me to really dive into Next.js 15's features, get hands-on with Tailwind CSS (including some of its newer v4 aspects), connect various APIs effectively, and figure out a good system for managing user preferences to make the app feel personal. Overall, ActiWeather was a great opportunity to put my skills in full-stack JavaScript, API integration, and building user-friendly web apps to work.