might be just me but a 100k header gif loading on every page load seems quite overwhelming.. maybe you should consider killing the banner for a more efficient one?

it would be nice if you put together a forum for Q&A's for newbies on how to gather info, decipher it, and the like so all of us non-weather guru's understand things like what a trough is, how to interpret data, etc.. maybe one of the Met guys could host a weekly beginner's class?

I agree that the weather statements overload the front page. A simple link off to current statements should be enough, I would think.

As for weather statements, you could take the zip code where folks sign up from and automatically send them alerts on the front page when they log in (or a simple flashing gif that says ALERT or something), and make a link off to the statement area otherwise available. There are numerous databases of zip codes and distances available now to do that for you.

The third column is almost a waste it seems.. you could incorporate it in the left side and open up your front page to be a very fast loading, immediate viewing of the problem areas with the ability to link off to where you want to go.

Just thinking of bandwidth..