There’s a place for high-tech meteorology, like when you want to know if the tornado is headed right for you, but for the everyday, a cat works just fine. If you don’t like cats, you can just walk out the door yourself and see what falls on you.
A simple rule of thumb around here is:
If you can see the contrails the sky is clear,
If not it is overcast,
If you can’t see any aircraft it is about to rain,
If you can’t hear any Aircraft it is raining.
Thank you Boeing for your weather indicating equipment.