Tip #9: Check the weather forecast update time in the Windy.app

Among 100+ Windy.app features, there are always one or two, or even three small ones that you didn't know about, right? Even if you're a true weather and outdoor expert using the app. Meanwhile, these may be small, but important features.

For example, you can easily check the weather forecast update time on the screen of your favorite or the nearest spot to your current location. Why do I need to check the forecast update time? It’s like updating the operating system on your smartphone or computer — to use their latest features and make sure the devise work fast. In meteorology, weather forecasts come from weather models which have different update frequencies: from four to 12 times a day for global models like ECMWF, GFS, and ICON13 to 14 times a day for regional models like HRRR for North America. The closer the time the forecast is updated to your time, the more probable it reflects the real weather conditions, and respectively, the “older” the forecast, the more probable it is that the weather will turn upside down since the update: it will be raining instead of snow, weak wind instead of strong or 5 degrees warmer than you expect. So, in general, a forecast that has been updated recently should be trusted more than an “older” one.

Here’s exactly how you can do it:

1. Open your favorite or nearest spot — for example, Sydney, Australia.

Weather forecast update time in the Windy.app for iOS

2. Scroll down the screen a bit until the weather table is out of your sight and look for the phrase “Forecast update time” below it in the right corner of the screen. This is the time when the forecast was last updated for the weather model you selected above the forecast table.

In the screenshot below it is the global model GFS27 from US National Weather Service — it was updated four hours ago.

Weather forecast update time in the Windy.app for iOS

3. To see the update time for other models in the Windy.app, click on the faintly visible arrow next to the phrase. At this point, a menu will open with updated data for all models available for this weather profile: yachting, fishing, and others.

Weather forecast update time in the Windy.app for iOS

4. Switch between weather models and weather profiles to get more data.

5. But weather models are only one source of weather data, or rather a forecast based on them. Weather data is collected by weather stations around the world. Go to one of the stations closest to the spot by scrolling the screen even lower to see near real-time wind and temperature data from the weather station.

It also shows the last time this data was updated under the wind rose.

As you can see for yourself in the screenshot below, the stations are updated much more frequently — 22 minutes ago, using this one in Woolloomooloo (what a name!) in the New South Wales state as an example.

Weather forecast update time in the Windy.app for iOS

Read all useful tips in the Windy.app blog. You can also find them all on the Tips page in the Support section of the website:

Text: Ivan Kuznetsov, an outdoor journalist, editor and writer from the Dolomites, Italy, and Karelia, Finland, with 10 years of professional experience. His favorite sports are hiking, cycling and sauna. Read his other articles

Cover photo: George Desipris / Unsplash