Weather integration - recommendation?

Configuration
1

hello. i’m looking for good weather integration that

  • is accurate for my location near london
  • updates frequently
  • exposes all the info in entities and attributes.
    accuweather might be an option but the problem is that i can’t create an account because they want me to solve a CAPTCHA but that CAPTCHA doesn’t appear on my screen. and if i can’t see it, i can’t solve it.

i wasn’t happy about met.no because i couldn’t extract essential info like air pressure

i also tried NWS but that one doesn’t update anywhere near frequently enough (sorry, 1 update in more than 20 hours just doesn’t cut it)

is there an integration or an add-on that can extract the relevant info from METAR code? if so, i could use that to get the data from my nearest airport.

1 Like
2

Haven’t tried it but found this:

3

This is what the integration gives you:

image
image1047×552 47.1 KB

That works… I would rather have one sensor with all the values as attributes but that is just my preference.

Strange that it doesn’t pick up the CAVOK. METAR: ESMS 031150Z 19014KT CAVOK 27/14 Q1014

4

thanks, that looks like something worth trying. but how do i install it? i added that yaml code to my configuration file, but when i go to developer tools and click check configuration, it complains that it can’t find the metar integration. so how do i install it? i can’t find it in integrations or add-ons or in HACS.

5

Click the code button on GitHub and download.
Open the zip and copy the folder metar to custom components in HA.

Restart.

Add the yaml
Keep in mind to not make duplicate keys by having two sensor:.
Instead add the following below your sensor: entry in configuration.yaml:

  - platform: metar
    airport_name: Pisa
    airport_code: LIRP
    monitored_conditions:
      - time
      - temperature
      - wind
      - pressure
      - visibility
      - precipitation
      - sky

Restart.

Done.

1 Like
6

I use Open Weather Map. You can make 1000 API calls per 24-hour day (1.44 minutes between calls) for free.

METARS is, well, so 20th Century. It was developed when teletype was the only way to transmit data between weather stations, and since most weather stations are at airports it became synonymous with aviation weather. It is cryptic because the company that owned the telegraph wires (American Telephone and Telegraph) charged by the character. (Come to think of it, so did the earliest Internet connections). METARS is updated hourly, mostly by automated stations.

I have landed VFR at an airport where METARS was reporting a ceiling of zero. (Because no one cleaned the grass clippings from the ceilometer). Technically, had there been an incident, a pilot could have been responsible for flying VFR in IFR conditions.

Open Weather Map is free up to 1,000 API calls in 24 hours. Meaning you can hit it every 2 minutes and be below 1000 calls. The data is updated continuously from thousands of measuring stations and is surprisingly accurate.

The only nit I have with the integration is that the minimum call period in the configuration is one hour.

7

Around here it’s 30 minutes.

Just because you can update every two minutes doesn’t mean the data is updated that frequent.
What is the actual update frequency?

8

It’s continuous. The spec for the free account says “< 2 hours”, but that is for a complete data update. I can literally watch a cold front come through by watching the reported pressure drop over 30-minutes.

Also, I was wrong about the number of API calls. The free tier can make 60 calls per minute, up to 1 Million calls per month.

9

ok, i have downloaded and unpacked the zip file, but now what? how do i get that folder from my linux box into my raspberry pi?

10

Either you upload the files through the HA GUI file app or you use samba share and copy it there that way

11

i’m trying out openweathermap, and i’m not happy about the update frequency. ok, so far it’s not as bad as NWS was (20+ hours??? COME ON!!!) but it’s still a bit long :frowning:
is there a way to set how often it should update, or to make home assistant update those entities on command?

also, it gives me wind speed in m/s but i’d prefer it in knots. i can work out the conversion factor but then how do i tell home assistant how to do the calculation?

12

You can get <10 minutes if you pay for it.

The conversion is simple, 1 m/s = 1.94384 kt, so just multiply by 1.94384
That’s the easy part. I would guess you need a value template to do this, but knowing how is above my pay grade and experience.

Update:
This got me thinking, and I figured this out:
Use an entity template.

template:
  - sensor:
    - name: 'windspeed in knots'
      unique_id: 'windspeed_kts'
      state: "{{ ((states('sensor.openweathermap_wind_speed') | float(0)) * 1.94384) | round(1) }}"

Then use sensorwindspeed_in_knots in your entity card.

EDIT:
I updated the yaml file:

template:
   - sensor:
    - name: 'windspeed in knots'
      unique_id: 'windspeed_kts'
      state: "{{ ((states('sensor.openweathermap_wind_speed') | float(0)) * 1.94384) | round(0) }}"
      unit_of_measurement: 'kts'

And use the entity in a glance card:
glance

13

looks good. but the question is, where does that code go? into my configuration.yaml?

14

While you are trying out varioius solutions, and since you are based near London, you could try the Met Office integration.

15

Seems to be a browser issue. Switch temporary off any ad-blocker or try it again with another browser.

16

Yes. The template creates a new entity (name) that you use in your Lovelace card or automation.

17

where can i learn more about those templates?

18

I was afraid that someone would ask this.
Honestly, I don’t know. I am certain it’s documented somewhere in the Encyclopedia Home Assistant, but I haven’t the foggiest idea where.
I knew that I had somewhere in my notes some code that made a new Fahrenheit entity from a Centigrade entity. I just played with it until it worked to make the kts entity from the m/s entity.

Here’s a video that may help.

19

Go to developer tools → templates and there are three links at the top (or perhaps two links)

20

i added that to my configuration file, but i noticed something: i can use that new entity in gauges but not in history graph cards. WHY?