xc weather website
Thread Starter
Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 96
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From: uk
xc weather website
The 2nd time now that on a night that i was meant to fly xc weather was
giving vis 9999 when infact its down to 100m in the northwest.
This website is unreliable and a reminder that the only actual wx reports for aviators should come from the met office website or links.
giving vis 9999 when infact its down to 100m in the northwest.
This website is unreliable and a reminder that the only actual wx reports for aviators should come from the met office website or links.
Joined: Aug 2008
Posts: 145
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From: Middle England
I've been using xcweather for about 8 years and I think it is a very useful tool indeed. IO's advice is good. Set your preferences so you see the raw data and you can see how old the report is.
Met office, xcweather and meteox are pretty good websites to start your weather planning in my opinion.
Met office, xcweather and meteox are pretty good websites to start your weather planning in my opinion.
Joined: May 2006
Posts: 779
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From: Londonish
I just hope student pilots arnt relying on this website as an actual report for weather.
Firstly weather forcasts are not a contract, they're an informed WAG (wild a** guess).
Secondly why on earth wouldn't you examine the full data, properly obtained? XCW is a convenience. The responsibility is yours, NOT theirs. If it's too hard to do it properly, then don't do it.
Sorry, that was uncharacteristically rant-like.. the OP probably meant a public-service announcement, not a complaint. But seriously, when looking at *any* data, one should always consider the veracity of the source, doubly so when it might be 'operationally' significant. Or to put it another way, never rely on something unless you know it's reliable!
Joined: Apr 2008
Posts: 158
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From: Near the end of a long, long road
This website is unreliable and a reminder that the only actual wx reports for aviators should come from the met office website or links.
I've found that XC generally gives a better forecast than the met office. Just depends when you are looking I suppose.............
Joined: May 2005
Posts: 1,170
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From: Abroad
You need to define "reliable".
Do you mean to say that it can give you information which is not current?, information which is current but not the latest? current but not based on a recent forecast run? current and recently produced but not reflective of actual conditions? to what extent? what are your needs and demands in that respect?
Weather forecasting is a science which produces results which require a certain background knowledge and analysis on the part of the consumer to interpret. There just isn't anybody sat there staring into a crystal ball (much as it may seem like it sometimes).
Do you mean to say that it can give you information which is not current?, information which is current but not the latest? current but not based on a recent forecast run? current and recently produced but not reflective of actual conditions? to what extent? what are your needs and demands in that respect?
Weather forecasting is a science which produces results which require a certain background knowledge and analysis on the part of the consumer to interpret. There just isn't anybody sat there staring into a crystal ball (much as it may seem like it sometimes
).
Joined: Jun 2003
Posts: 13,787
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From: EuroGA.org
There are many "amateur" weather sites, and some of them do carry out of date data.
A good example is this one which carries the genuine UKMO MSLP charts but if you look closely on the age of each one, you will see that some of them are older than the "same" ones on say Avbrief (or perhaps the UKMO's own site, but I don't have the pay subscription to check).
This is not unusual because nobody wants to pay money to the UKMO, so they often carry older charts, which amounts to a forecast which is further-out. It isn't wrong as such; it's just that a later forecast for a given date/time will be more accurate.
There are also sites which carry out of date tafs/metars, which is inexcusable since these are free. Most sites get them from here, for free, anyway. Some more difficult TAFs (e.g. LGST) can be found here (as well as historical TAFs, which are rare).
Nobody should rely on interpreted forecasts like "tomorrow will be a fine day"...
A good example is this one which carries the genuine UKMO MSLP charts but if you look closely on the age of each one, you will see that some of them are older than the "same" ones on say Avbrief (or perhaps the UKMO's own site, but I don't have the pay subscription to check).
This is not unusual because nobody wants to pay money to the UKMO, so they often carry older charts, which amounts to a forecast which is further-out. It isn't wrong as such; it's just that a later forecast for a given date/time will be more accurate.
There are also sites which carry out of date tafs/metars, which is inexcusable since these are free. Most sites get them from here, for free, anyway. Some more difficult TAFs (e.g. LGST) can be found here (as well as historical TAFs, which are rare).
Nobody should rely on interpreted forecasts like "tomorrow will be a fine day"...
Thread Starter
Joined: Jan 2010
Posts: 96
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From: uk
Everybody gets the forcast wrong obviously but the point im making is,
xc weather gets the observation wrong.
Surely an observation should be something they know is fact rather than something they're guessing at..
xc weather gets the observation wrong.
Surely an observation should be something they know is fact rather than something they're guessing at..
Joined: May 2006
Posts: 779
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From: Londonish
Perhaps read the FAQ - which specifically mentions such things. XCWeather Frequently Asked Questions
It's free, it uses free sources - you get what you pay for, and considering that, it's rather good. Personally I find it great for knowing when to pack the kitesurfing gear and head for the coast; if I'm flying - not so much!
It's free, it uses free sources - you get what you pay for, and considering that, it's rather good. Personally I find it great for knowing when to pack the kitesurfing gear and head for the coast; if I'm flying - not so much!
