Creating a Custom 1:1 Weather Forecast Graphic with ChatGPT

Learn how to turn raw weather data into a clean, scroll-stopping graphic for social media or your website using AI + design.

📌 Overview

This guide walks through the step-by-step process used to build a clean, social-media-ready weather forecast graphic using ChatGPT and a little Python. The final product is a 1:1 (square) image showing:

Temperature
Heat index
Rain chance
Wind speed
Humidity
Sea temperature
UV index

🎯 Goals

Create a visually clean and readable 1:1 weather graph
Eliminate clutter like gridlines and axis labels
Include sea temperature and UV index in a visual footer
Align all elements for easy social sharing

🛠 Step-by-Step Build

1. Gather Weather Data

Use hourly data for: temperature, heat index, rain chance, wind speed, humidity
Add daily data for: sea temperature and UV index
Note: Some data sources only provide 3-hour intervals (e.g. 6AM, 9AM, 12PM, etc.)

2. Define Design Objectives

Maintain a 1:1 aspect ratio for Instagram or square display
Use curved lines for smooth data transitions
Remove vertical and horizontal gridlines
Place data labels cleanly on or near each point

3. Add Visual Components

Temperature & Heat Index: orange and red smoothed lines
Rain Chance: dashed blue line
Wind Speed: transparent gray bars
Humidity: green dash-dot line
Time Labels: centered under each wind bar
Legend: color-coded at bottom of graph

4. Build a Clean Footer

Remove axis/grid clutter
Time labels under wind bars
Below that: Sea Temp (~) and UV (☀️) shown on one line
Final row: legend with colored dots and matching labels

5. Final Polish

Use bold title at the top: Your City — [Date] Forecast
Adjust subplot padding to fill vertical space
All footer text aligned using figtext or CSS equivalents

♻️ Tips for Reusability

Swap in any location and date
Re-use the same layout and styling for brand consistency
If using limited data (3-hour intervals), adjust timing labels accordingly
Stick to a minimalist layout for readability and clarity

✨ Optional Additions

Animated version for Instagram Stories
Embed emoji/icons for sea and sun vibes
Export as high-res PNG for better clarity

✅ Conclusion

With just a little AI help and style guidance, you can create stunning weather visuals tailored to your brand, platform, or community. Whether you're posting to Instagram or updating your site, this layout helps your forecast stand out and stay clean.

Have questions or want a custom version for your town? Drop a comment!

⚡ Get Your Own Weather Graphic

Want a personalized version of this graphic for your city?

Just copy and paste the following prompt into ChatGPT:


Use the WXGraph Template with 1:1 format. 
Include: curved lines for temp, feels like, rain, humidity; 
bars for wind; no grid; centered time labels below each bar; 
footer with ~ sea temp and ☀️ UV index; final legend on one line.

Or use this shortcut:


#wxgraph for [Your City] on [Date]

Example:
#wxgraph for Clearwater Beach on Friday

This tells ChatGPT to use the exact layout and visual style described in this post — no extra instructions needed.

ChatGPT Weather Graphic