Request to add a reliable Baltic weather source: rp5.lv / rp5.ru
-
Hi Windy Team,
First of all, thank you for your amazing platform. I have been a loyal Premium subscriber for several years now, and Windy is my absolute go-to weather app.
I am writing to you from Riga, Latvia. While the models currently available on Windy are great, they occasionally miss specific local weather patterns unique to the Baltic region.
In particular, global models very rarely and poorly predict fog and local precipitation in our area. This is a critical issue for me.
There is a highly reliable local weather forecasting service here called rp5 (rp5.lv or rp5.ru). It is widely known in Latvia for its high accuracy, especially when it comes to predicting fog and precise precipitation layers.
As a Premium user, I would love to see this source integrated. Would it be possible to add the data or the regional models used by rp5 into Windy? It would be an incredibly valuable addition for all users in the Baltic states.
Thank you for your time and for constantly improving the platform!
Best regards,
Alexander -
@Hamilton_LV
Hi,
I doubt Windy would agree, or be able, to add RP5 data, as it's certainly not available for free or for a fee.
It's a weather app, not a weather model sharing its forecasts. This app doesn't specify which weather models it uses. -
@idefix37
Hi! Thanks for your comment, but I must gently disagree with your view on how RP5 operates.
RP5 (Reliable Prognosis) is not just a simple layout app. It is a long-standing meteorological service licensed in hydrometeorology. They generate their detailed forecasts by using and adapting major numerical weather prediction models, specifically the UKMET model (UK Met Office), which is highly respected globally but not fully represented in our region on Windy.
More importantly, RP5 doesn't just copy global data. They run strict local post-processing (MOS) by directly integrating real-time observations from thousands of international SYNOP and METAR ground stations.
In the Baltic region, this approach changes everything. As I mentioned before, the Doppler weather radar coverage over Latvia is often highly limited or relying on distant Lithuanian/Estonian radar edges. This creates a major "blind spot" for global models, causing them to completely miss low-level Baltic fog and sudden drizzle. RP5 overcomes this by adjusting the UKMET model with immediate ground-station data, which is exactly why their fog and local precipitation forecasts are so accurate here.
Windy already integrates various unique data sources and regional models for its Premium users. Adding the UKMET data with the specific regional ground-tuned logic that RP5 uses would fix a major coverage gap in North-Eastern Europe.I’m speaking from real, multi-year experience here! :)
When other models desperately try to predict exact conditions during low-gradient weather fields—when pressure barely changes and the wind is just 1–2 m/s—it is practically impossible to know where the wind will blow in the next 5–10 minutes. If you analyze standard global models in these situations, you end up understanding absolutely nothing because they try to force a precise calculation on chaotic, weak airflows.
This is exactly when RP5 shines. When their algorithm detects this unpredictable atmospheric stagnation, they don't fake a perfect forecast. Instead, they just put that single droplet per hour. For local experts, this is a clear message: 'The air is completely still and unstable, no model can mathematically capture this right now, so just look out the window.'
This unique logic is highly valuable, and that's why integrating this source would benefit everyone in 243 countries around the world
