Live data from Hacker News

Show HN: Weather API for non-commercial use

open-meteo.com

71–80 of 154 posts

Re: Show HN: Weather API for non-commercial use

#71
post #63

I respect and appreciate no API key being needed, but how will you prevent excessive usage? I'll just say that it's been a battle on my end to stop people abusing APIs I deploy. It's why we can't have nice things.

For a data point, as a user, I think requiring an API key is fine if the process to create and use a key is simple. Having to use one to prevent abuse is fair enough.

It's a problem if the code runs client-side and so there's no way to hide the key. I've run into this problem making widgets for the old OS X dashboard, and Javascript Pebble apps.

Re: Show HN: Weather API for non-commercial use

#73
post #21

how do you compare with Kachelmann and kachelmannwetter.com in terms of data? For visualization, the UI there is great for a trained eye only, yours seems more accessible. Congrats on that point!

Kachelmann seems to be more media oriented. I am not aware that there is a free API offer. It looks like Kachelmann is also integrating weather forecasts from different national weather services and the paid version from ECMWF. I am sure the "HD" forecasts mainly use DWD ICON models as well. In this case, data quality would be the same. I also spend some time to carefully integrate local and global weather models. Fo…

thanks for the sensible answer.

Re: Show HN: Weather API for non-commercial use

#74
Thank you! I found you some time ago in a Github list of free APIs; you made it possible for me to finish my design for a "smart" umbrella hook https://github.com/jareklupinski/umbrella-hook

I'm updating the code now to parse your weathercode for predicting umbrella necessity, and has been an accurate meter in my area for the past week.

Re: Show HN: Weather API for non-commercial use

#75
the non commercial use is interesting, because facts aren't copyrightable, in fact, weather data is often the exemplar case used for non copyrightable facts. It seems to me really easy to strip the data of this of this limitation through a proxy. Or is there a legal way to ripple the non commercial limitation?

Re: Show HN: Weather API for non-commercial use

#76
post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Nice app! Could you please include Celsius as option?

If you're referring to https://uw.leftium.com/ , tap the temperature in landscape mode ;) The app defaults to F because it gives the more "human" temperature range.

This doesn't seem to work on desktop?

I've never heard of F as the more 'human' temperature range. Don't you either use C or F. Since I've never used F it doesn't seem more human to me.

Re: Show HN: Weather API for non-commercial use

#77
post #76
post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you're referring to https://uw.leftium.com/ , tap the temperature in landscape mode ;) The app defaults to F because it gives the more "human" temperature range.

This doesn't seem to work on desktop? I've never heard of F as the more 'human' temperature range. Don't you either use C or F. Since I've never used F it doesn't seem more human to me.

Temperatures in °F always feel to me like climate change is donne for good and the atmosphere is now able to boil water in summer.

Re: Show HN: Weather API for non-commercial use

#78
post #76
post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

If you're referring to https://uw.leftium.com/ , tap the temperature in landscape mode ;) The app defaults to F because it gives the more "human" temperature range.

This doesn't seem to work on desktop? I've never heard of F as the more 'human' temperature range. Don't you either use C or F. Since I've never used F it doesn't seem more human to me.

On desktop you may need to adjust the browser window size until it's portrait aspect ratio. On windows I snap it to half the screen. In landscape the app shows the extended forecast.

Sorry I'm on mobile and can't link directly to the relevant part of the video: https://youtu.be/BMGrsOawKac

Basically F gives more precise info/digit for the temperature ranges humans experience. 99F is near the top of the range, while 99C is unheard of for weather on Earth. So F gives approximately twice the precision. To get the same precision in C you have to add decimals

Re: Show HN: Weather API for non-commercial use

#79
post #39

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Nice app! Could you please include Celsius as option?

If you're referring to https://uw.leftium.com/ , tap the temperature in landscape mode ;) The app defaults to F because it gives the more "human" temperature range.

Is it possible to pass a query string parameter, for choosing either C or F? That would be fantastic for bookmarking, to save that extra click. :)

... and I'll add, awesome work. I love simple sites like this that are built well and are actually useful. Well done.

Re: Show HN: Weather API for non-commercial use

#80
One thing I'm missing from virtually every weather service is access to ensemble forecasts. Meteorologists internally deal in ensemble forecasts, but never, as far as I know, publish them. All public data has been condensed down to a single forecast.

The ensemble forecast would -- I imagine -- give me an idea of the internal variability of the forecast for a single hour/day, which I could feed into my personal loss function and determine more accurately how to prepare to minimise discomfort.

As a concrete example, a single forecast of 17 °C can correspond to many ensemble forecasts, including

- 90 % range 11--20 °C

- 90 % range 18--22 °C

and these two mean very different things for how I'd dress and what extra clothes I'd bring.

It's even more important e.g. when planning a long drive. If the 90 % range includes heavy downpour, it might be worth rescheduling or adding buffer time to the trip, even if the most likely single forecast only predicts drizzle.

What would it take to get access to this data?

Post reply on HN