Milwaukee Gas Light

When the flame is blue, there's no change in view!

Since 1956, Milwaukeeans needed only to look toward the downtown skyline to get their weather forecast. That's when the Wisconsin Gas Co. installed the flame-shaped, color-changing light atop their iconic Art Deco building on Wisconsin Avenue.

The flame isn't just decorative, it's a weather report. The meaning of the colors isn't obvious, so a rhyme was created to help people remember:

When the flame is red, it's warm weather ahead!
When the flame is gold, watch out for cold!
When the flame is blue, there's no change in view!
When there's a flickering flame, expect snow or rain!

Now this historic and simple weather forecast is on your iPhone!

The Milwaukee Gas Light app will give the forecast for your current location, so even if you're not downtown, you can still see flame.