A Desktop Replica of the Flint, Michigan Citizen Bank Weather Ball

Cities all across the United States have unique landmarks that feel like they’re a part of the local history. Residents of Marietta, Georgia will helpfully tell you to “take a right at The Big Chicken.” Rachel, Nevada’s UFO-toting tow truck is probably more well-known than the city itself. And for more than 60 years, Flint, Michigan’s Weather Ball has sat perched atop the Citizens Bank building to let passersby know what kind of weather they could expect on the coming day. As a gift for their mother, Imgurian Soihadthisidea built a desktop replica of the iconic Weather Ball.

The 5,000 Weather Ball rests on top of the former Citizens Bank building on Saginaw Street in downtown Flint, Michigan. That building is now owned by FirstMerit Bank, and the Weather Balls “CB” lettering has been changed to “FM” and the bank’s logo has been added to reflect the change. But the Weather Ball still serves the same purpose that it has since 1956, which is to provide a simple weather forecast. There is even a handy jingle to help residents remember what the globe’s color signifies:

When the weather ball is red, warmer temperatures ahead.

When the weather ball is blue, colder temperatures are due.

When yellow light is the color of the weather ball, there will be no change at all.

When it blinks in agitation, there will be precipitation.

Soihadthisidea’s desktop replica features the original “CB” design. It’s constructed from wood and hand-brazed copper sheet and heavy copper wire. Both the letters and the globe at the top are lit with Adafruit DotStar LEDs. Those programmable RGB LEDs are similar to NeoPixels, but are controlled a bit differently. In this case, they’re driven by a Feather M0 board through a series of shift registers. The weather forecast is checked through the DarkSky API, and the color of the LEDs are changed to reflect the upcoming weather.