Posts made by mark.ingalls

Still waiting for Total Precipitable Water

@Suty Being able to filter out low dbz returns could help clean up the display in cases of ground clutter and also to filter out returns from distant radars that are looking into the upper level of a storm.

In areas with good radar coverage, a composite like you guys offer will often (properly) show heavy rain near the thunderstorm's core but also an apron of light rain that is actually a different radar looking at the upper level of the storm.

I'm attaching an image from a non-Windy source that illustrates this phenomenon. It occurs on all composite weather radar displays, which is what Windy has. In this case the user would set the filter to remove the lighter returns ahead of the four storm systems circled.

@Polina-Nozdrina I'm very disappointed that Total Precipitable Water was again not included despite years of several people requesting it.

@javier-ferres Total precipitable water would be the perfect way to do this. Several of us have been asking for it for years, but it currently does not exist on Windy.

@andrew98 The National Blend of Models isn't a weather model, it essentially treats multiple other models (GFS ens, ECMWF ens, etc.) as a single ensemble model. As such the "deterministic" output is essentially just an ensemble mean and isn't very useful in forecasting. The NBM's value comes in probability outputs, such as calling out a 15% chance of a high end event. This sort of data would be hard to communicate on Windy.

The RRFS is not operational yet and NOAA had some setbacks on developing it. In this "experimental" phase it can be erratic in how often or how well it runs, making it difficult to use. The latest estimate for going operational that I heard was during the second half of 2025. It will eventually replace the HRRR and NAM, but does not run reliably yet.

@xd1936 Hello! Thanks for writing this script. I recently used it to get a friend's station on CWOP (which Windy pulls from). I hope you don't mind me writing this guide on how I did it: https://ingallswx.com/2024/10/31/simple-guide-to-forward-your-weather-station-data-to-multiple-sites-online/

@idefix37 Ideally the devs would be able to work toward something able to work natively in the app too.

@idefix37 +1 for pressure gradients, this would be awesome! The chart you display is good, though perhaps have two user entries for the chosen locations with both an associated search function or custom map pin function. I would use this for multiple regions in the US and Canada during the winter.

@cmarin73 I am a meteorologist and I agree entirely with @Wheats. The general public evidently does not realize the time-consuming analysis that goes into producing front maps that are of acceptable quality.

Hi Windy team! Thanks again for the awesome service. I included Windy in my list of weather apps that I use as a meteorologist. I thought you might be interested in the article.

https://ingallswx.com/2024/10/08/five-weather-apps-that-i-find-useful-as-a-meteorologist/

Also, please add the total precipitable water parameter! It's the only thing the app is missing in my opinion.

@syale Radar data is collected by sensors located on land. In general, weather radars can see between about 50 and 300 km depending on the model.

Mexico has very poor radar coverage and no weather radars that are close enough to be able to see Milton. It will come into view of Florida's radars at it approaches tomorrow.

@Peter-Hufnagel Is there even a weather radar station in Seychelles? My guess is either there is not or the data would be cost prohibitive to acquire in real-time.

@David-Polášek Total precipitable water in 44? Please?

@Ørjan-P-Stien Total Precipitable Water!

@anthony10 On a similar note, I've been pushing for total precipitable water for a few years now. Hopefully someday they'll listen.

@anthony10 GeoColor is the name of the parameter in AWIPS, so I assume that's what an API call would require. I'd love the night time microphysics display to be an option too since I live in a region with frequent low stratus and fog but GeoColor is a higher priority for me.

@anthony10 I strongly agree that Windy should switch to the GeoColor satellite product for visible imagery instead of what they use currently.

@russdoty11 The data source Windy uses for weather radar does not include that information. That level of data is quite a bit more expensive, both to obtain and also to process and handle within the system.

@Canli You could use the high-resolution model (NAM), but the global models will continue to handle this poorly because they don't resolve that low spot from Kahului to Maalaea very well. The NAM will still struggle, but will be better than the other models.

Unfortunately there aren't many high-resolution options available for Hawaii in general even if Windy were interested in pulling in another source.

As for getting an actual weather station in the bay, you would likely need to somehow convince NOAA to place a buoy out there. Onshore MADIS stations P36, 005HE, and KPDH1 may be helpful. I thought Windy pulled in MADIS already so I'm not sure why these don't show up.

@vujacicm The SE United States benefits from dense vegetation which adds additional moisture due to evapotranspiration. Italy does get pretty moist thunderstorms during the summer as moist air comes onshore, similar to Florida. In those regions it is both terrain and the boundary between onshore and offshore flow that generates the lift needed for storm development.