Observations delayed 1+ hours or more lately

[ghmpi]

FYI to the general public who may be using this API.

Over the last few months the delay from when a weather observation is made and when it gets updated on the API has been taking longer and longer, it used to be 5-10 minutes not too long ago, but now routinely takes an hour or sometimes as much as 3 hours to update. This is terrible in my opinion for data that is usually updated every hour.

We call these METAR reports in the aviation community. It stands for Meteorological Aerodrome Report, basically the weather at the airport. Sample here:

https://api.weather.gov/stations/KVNY/observations/latest

I've contacted [email protected] several weeks ago and so far they have just pointed out that data may be delayed 20 minutes, ignoring that it usually takes a lot longer. I've emailed them again several times with no response.

I hope they resolve whatever the delay is. Maybe posting here will help.

FYI, the API at aviationweather.gov is updated usually within minutes and I'm transitioning my equipment to be able to use both APIs.

Post your comments I would like to hear if this is bothering anyone else!

Regards,
-Moses

[dtraft]

I noticed this issue as well! Showing updates on their website within the last hour, but the API data is > 3 hours old.

[ghmpi]

I've still have no response from their support division. Their site still says.. "Observations may be delayed up to 20 minutes".. which is incorrect.

I have transferred most of my equipment to use aviationweather.gov api

I've seen other reports of folks complaining that the weather is "wrong"... but they don't notice that it's not wrong.. it's just OUTDATED!

Wonder when they will get around to fixing it, maybe when more people complain.

You would think the richest country in the word would have a better handle on some servers that disseminate national weather data. Disappointing.

Regards,
-Moses

[ghmpi]

A good portion of the time I check, the data is still hours old. Wish someone from NWS would even acknowledged the issue, they have been ignoring it for months.

:(

Regards,
-Moses

[wonx]

I just checked, and the issue is still present. There's a 2 hour delay in the API values. However, on their https://forecast.weather.gov website, the values are much more recent.

[klier]

The Tech control/sec at NOAA informed me that they opened a ticket on this issue as of this morning, after I e-mailed them (and before I saw this thread). Here is what I wrote. I'm sure it's what many of you are seeing:

Good morning! I hope you enjoyed a nice 4th of July weekend.

I've been experiencing a recurring problem with the api.weather.gov service. It appears that the current observations for an airport such as KFBL are accurate when looking directly at forecast.weather.gov, but they are delayed in upwards of a half hour or more when viewing the same current conditions on the api.weather.gov service.

Let me provide some detail.

On 7/5/25 at 8:51 a.m., here's a view of the current conditions/weather condition icon directly from forecast.weather.gov for KFBL:

Here is the same detail when viewing the information at https://api.weather.gov/stations/KFBL/observations/latest?require_qc=true (with relevant highlights below):

==================================================================

{
    "@context": [
        "https://geojson.org/geojson-ld/geojson-context.jsonld",
        {
            "@version": "1.1",
            "wx": "https://api.weather.gov/ontology#",
            "s": "https://schema.org/",
            "geo": "http://www.opengis.net/ont/geosparql#",
            "unit": "http://codes.wmo.int/common/unit/",
            "@vocab": "https://api.weather.gov/ontology#",
            "geometry": {
                "@id": "s:GeoCoordinates",
                "@type": "geo:wktLiteral"
            },
            "city": "s:addressLocality",
            "state": "s:addressRegion",
            "distance": {
                "@id": "s:Distance",
                "@type": "s:QuantitativeValue"
            },
            "bearing": {
                "@type": "s:QuantitativeValue"
            },
            "value": {
                "@id": "s:value"
            },
            "unitCode": {
                "@id": "s:unitCode",
                "@type": "@id"
            },
            "forecastOffice": {
                "@type": "@id"
            },
            "forecastGridData": {
                "@type": "@id"
            },
            "publicZone": {
                "@type": "@id"
            },
            "county": {
                "@type": "@id"
            }
        }
    ],
    "id": "https://api.weather.gov/stations/KFBL/observations/2025-07-05T12:35:00+00:00",
    "type": "Feature",
    "geometry": {
        "type": "Point",
        "coordinates": [
            -93.3199999,
            44.33
        ]
    },
    "properties": {
        "@id": "https://api.weather.gov/stations/KFBL/observations/2025-07-05T12:35:00+00:00",
        "@type": "wx:ObservationStation",
        "elevation": {
            "unitCode": "wmoUnit:m",
            "value": 322
        },
        "station": "https://api.weather.gov/stations/KFBL",
        "stationId": "KFBL",
        "stationName": "Faribault, Faribault Municipal Airport",
        "timestamp": "2025-07-05T12:35:00+00:00",
        "rawMessage": "KFBL 051235Z AUTO 18004KT 5SM **RA** BKN011 BKN041 OVC060 23/22 A2985 RMK AO2 LTG DSNT S",
        **"textDescription": "Rain",**
        **"icon": "https://api.weather.gov/icons/land/day/rain?size=medium",**
        "presentWeather": [
            {
                "intensity": null,
                "modifier": null,
                "weather": "rain",
                "rawString": "RA"
            }
        ],
        "temperature": {
            "unitCode": "wmoUnit:degC",
            "value": 23,
            "qualityControl": "V"
        },
        "dewpoint": {
            "unitCode": "wmoUnit:degC",
            "value": 22,
            "qualityControl": "V"
        },
        "windDirection": {
            "unitCode": "wmoUnit:degree_(angle)",
            "value": 180,
            "qualityControl": "V"
        },
        "windSpeed": {
            "unitCode": "wmoUnit:km_h-1",
            "value": 7.56,
            "qualityControl": "V"
        },
        "windGust": {
            "unitCode": "wmoUnit:km_h-1",
            "value": null,
            "qualityControl": "Z"
        },
        "barometricPressure": {
            "unitCode": "wmoUnit:Pa",
            "value": 101080,
            "qualityControl": "V"
        },
        "seaLevelPressure": {
            "unitCode": "wmoUnit:Pa",
            "value": null,
            "qualityControl": "Z"
        },
        "visibility": {
            "unitCode": "wmoUnit:m",
            "value": 8050,
            "qualityControl": "C"
        },
        "maxTemperatureLast24Hours": {
            "unitCode": "wmoUnit:degC",
            "value": null
        },
        "minTemperatureLast24Hours": {
            "unitCode": "wmoUnit:degC",
            "value": null
        },
        "precipitationLastHour": {
            "unitCode": "wmoUnit:mm",
            "value": null,
            "qualityControl": "Z"
        },
        "precipitationLast3Hours": {
            "unitCode": "wmoUnit:mm",
            "value": null,
            "qualityControl": "Z"
        },
        "precipitationLast6Hours": {
            "unitCode": "wmoUnit:mm",
            "value": null,
            "qualityControl": "Z"
        },
        "relativeHumidity": {
            "unitCode": "wmoUnit:percent",
            "value": 94.105818040075,
            "qualityControl": "V"
        },
        "windChill": {
            "unitCode": "wmoUnit:degC",
            "value": null,
            "qualityControl": "V"
        },
        "heatIndex": {
            "unitCode": "wmoUnit:degC",
            "value": 23.812763026602223,
            "qualityControl": "V"
        },
        "cloudLayers": [
            {
                "base": {
                    "unitCode": "wmoUnit:m",
                    "value": 340
                },
                "amount": "BKN"
            },
            {
                "base": {
                    "unitCode": "wmoUnit:m",
                    "value": 1250
                },
                "amount": "BKN"
            },
            {
                "base": {
                    "unitCode": "wmoUnit:m",
                    "value": 1830
                },
                "amount": "OVC"
            }
        ]
    }
}

===============================================================

I guess my question is twofold:

1. Why the discrepancy in the current conditions between the two sources?
2. If the discrepancy is solely that the data is ingested slower in the API, is there a different data source to receive the current condition information from the source where forecast.weather.gov gets it?

I appreciate any insight into the situation, as there must be some explanation why the data appears differently in each source. Obviously, I'd like to get the most updated information that I can.

Brian Klier

[klier]

By the way, if anybody is looking to use the aviationweather.gov API and not have to change their code very much to make it work with their existing code that uses api.weather.gov, here's somewhat of a converter written in PowerShell that outputs a txt file with a response like you'd get from api.weather.gov, except with updated aviationweather.gov data. Do not use for critical life and safety functions, use at your own risk, etc., etc., common disclaimers apply:

# Fetches weather data from aviationweather.gov and formats it to be
# somewhat compatible with the api.weather.gov/stations/{id}/observations/latest JSON structure.

param (
    [string]$Station = "KFBL"
)

try {
    Write-Host "--- Script Start ---" -ForegroundColor Green
    Write-Host "[DEBUG] Station parameter set to: $Station" -ForegroundColor Yellow

    #region 1. Fetch Data from APIs
    Write-Host "`n--- Region 1: Fetching Data from APIs ---" -ForegroundColor Green
    
    # Get primary weather data from AviationWeather.gov
    $aviationApiUrl = "https://aviationweather.gov/api/data/metar?ids=$($Station)&format=json"
    Write-Host "[DEBUG] Fetching weather data from: $aviationApiUrl" -ForegroundColor Yellow
    $aviationApiResponse = Invoke-RestMethod -Uri $aviationApiUrl
    
    if (-not $aviationApiResponse) {
        Write-Error "No data returned from AviationWeather.gov for station $Station."
        exit
    }
    Write-Host "[DEBUG] Successfully received response from AviationWeather.gov." -ForegroundColor Cyan
    $latestOb = $aviationApiResponse[0]
    Write-Host "[DEBUG] Latest Observation Object:" -ForegroundColor Yellow
    Write-Host ($latestOb | Out-String) -ForegroundColor Cyan

    # Get station metadata (like coordinates and elevation) from api.weather.gov
    $stationApiUrl = "https://api.weather.gov/stations/$($Station)"
    Write-Host "[DEBUG] Fetching station metadata from: $stationApiUrl" -ForegroundColor Yellow
    $stationMetadata = Invoke-RestMethod -Uri $stationApiUrl
    Write-Host "[DEBUG] Successfully received response from api.weather.gov." -ForegroundColor Cyan
    #endregion

    #region 2. Parse Raw METAR String
    Write-Host "`n--- Region 2: Parsing Raw METAR String ---" -ForegroundColor Green
    $rawMetar = $latestOb.rawOb
    Write-Host "[DEBUG] Raw METAR string to be parsed: '$rawMetar'" -ForegroundColor Yellow
    
    # Initialize variables with default null values
    $windDirection, $windSpeed, $windGust, $temperature, $dewpoint = $null
    $barometricPressure, $visibility, $textDescription, $iconName = $null
    $cloudLayers = [System.Collections.ArrayList]@()
    $presentWeather = [System.Collections.ArrayList]@()
    Write-Host "[DEBUG] Initialized variables for parsed data." -ForegroundColor Yellow

    # Temperature/Dewpoint (e.g., 23/22)
    if ($rawMetar -match '(\sM?(\d{2}))/(M?(\d{2}))?\s') {
        Write-Host "[DEBUG] Found Temperature/Dewpoint match." -ForegroundColor Cyan
        $temperature = $(if ($matches[2]) { [int]$matches[2] * $(if ($matches[1].StartsWith("M")) { -1 } else { 1 }) } else { $null })
        $dewpoint = $(if ($matches[4]) { [int]$matches[4] * $(if ($matches[3].StartsWith("M")) { -1 } else { 1 }) } else { $null })
        Write-Host "[DEBUG] Parsed Temperature: $($temperature) C" -ForegroundColor Cyan
        Write-Host "[DEBUG] Parsed Dewpoint: $($dewpoint) C" -ForegroundColor Cyan
    }

    # Wind (e.g., 18004KT or 24015G25KT)
    if ($rawMetar -match '(\d{3}|VRB)(\d{2,3})G?(\d{2,3})?KT') {
        Write-Host "[DEBUG] Found Wind match." -ForegroundColor Cyan
        $windDirection = $(if ($matches[1] -ne 'VRB') { [int]$matches[1] } else { $null })
        $windSpeed = [math]::Round(([int]$matches[2] * 1.852), 2) # Convert knots to km/h
        if ($matches[3]) { $windGust = [math]::Round(([int]$matches[3] * 1.852), 2) }
        Write-Host "[DEBUG] Parsed Wind Direction: $windDirection degrees" -ForegroundColor Cyan
        Write-Host "[DEBUG] Parsed Wind Speed: $windSpeed km/h" -ForegroundColor Cyan
        Write-Host "[DEBUG] Parsed Wind Gust: $windGust km/h" -ForegroundColor Cyan
    }

    # Pressure (e.g., A2985)
    if ($rawMetar -match 'A(\d{4})') {
        Write-Host "[DEBUG] Found Pressure match." -ForegroundColor Cyan
        $barometricPressure = [math]::Round(([double]$matches[1] / 100) * 3386.39) # Inches of Mercury to Pascals
        Write-Host "[DEBUG] Parsed Barometric Pressure: $barometricPressure Pa" -ForegroundColor Cyan
    }

    # Visibility (e.g., 10SM, 5SM, 1/2SM)
    if ($rawMetar -match '(\d{1,2})?/?(\d)?SM') {
        Write-Host "[DEBUG] Found Visibility match: $($matches[0])" -ForegroundColor Cyan
        if ($matches[1] -eq '10') {
            $visibility = 16090
        }
        elseif ($matches[0] -match '(\d)/(\d)SM') {
            $visValue = [double]$matches[1] / [double]$matches[2]
            $visibility = [math]::Round($visValue * 1609.34)
        }
        elseif ($matches[0] -match '(\d+)SM') {
            $visibility = [int]$matches[1] * 1609
        }
        Write-Host "[DEBUG] Parsed Visibility: $visibility meters" -ForegroundColor Cyan
    }

    # Cloud Layers (e.g., BKN011 OVC060)
    Write-Host "[DEBUG] Searching for Cloud Layers..." -ForegroundColor Yellow
    foreach ($match in [regex]::Matches($rawMetar, '(FEW|SCT|BKN|OVC)(\d{3})')) {
        $layerAmount = $match.Groups[1].Value
        $layerBaseFeet = [int]$match.Groups[2].Value * 100
        $layerBaseMeters = [math]::Round($layerBaseFeet * 0.3048)
        Write-Host "[DEBUG] Found Cloud Layer: $layerAmount at $($layerBaseFeet)ft / $($layerBaseMeters)m" -ForegroundColor Cyan
        $cloudLayers.Add(
            [ordered]@{
                base = @{ unitCode = "wmoUnit:m"; value = $layerBaseMeters }
                amount = $layerAmount
            }
        ) | Out-Null
    }
    #endregion

    #region 3. Calculations and Mappings
    Write-Host "`n--- Region 3: Performing Calculations and Mappings ---" -ForegroundColor Green

    # Relative Humidity Calculation
    $relativeHumidity = $null
    if ($temperature -ne $null -and $dewpoint -ne $null) {
        $e = 6.11 * [math]::Pow(10, (7.5 * $dewpoint) / (237.7 + $dewpoint))
        $es = 6.11 * [math]::Pow(10, (7.5 * $temperature) / (237.7 + $temperature))
        $relativeHumidity = [math]::Round(($e / $es) * 100, 2)
        Write-Host "[DEBUG] Calculated Relative Humidity: $relativeHumidity %" -ForegroundColor Cyan
    }

    # Heat Index Calculation
    $heatIndex = $null
    if ($temperature -ge 26.67 -and $relativeHumidity -ge 40) {
        $tempF = ($temperature * 9/5) + 32
        $hi = -42.379 + 2.04901523*$tempF + 10.14333127*$relativeHumidity - 0.22475541*$tempF*$relativeHumidity - 0.00683783*$tempF*$tempF - 0.05481717*$relativeHumidity*$relativeHumidity + 0.00122874*$tempF*$tempF*$relativeHumidity + 0.00085282*$tempF*$relativeHumidity*$relativeHumidity - 0.00000199*$tempF*$tempF*$relativeHumidity*$relativeHumidity
        $heatIndex = [math]::Round((($hi - 32) * 5/9), 2) # Convert back to Celsius
        Write-Host "[DEBUG] Calculated Heat Index: $heatIndex C" -ForegroundColor Cyan
    }

    # --- NEW: Weather Description and Icon Mapping ---
    # --- FINAL SOLUTION: Using a reliable public API ---
    Write-Host "[DEBUG] Fetching sunrise/sunset data from public API..." -ForegroundColor Yellow

    $latitude = $stationMetadata.geometry.coordinates[1]
    $longitude = $stationMetadata.geometry.coordinates[0]

    # Call the API using the correct local date
    $localDate = (Get-Date).ToString('yyyy-MM-dd')
    $apiUrl = "https://api.sunrise-sunset.org/json?lat=$latitude&lng=$longitude&date=$localDate&formatted=0"
    $apiResponse = Invoke-RestMethod -Uri $apiUrl

    # Get the sunrise/sunset times and convert them to local time
    $sunrise = ([DateTime]$apiResponse.results.sunrise).ToLocalTime()
    $sunset = ([DateTime]$apiResponse.results.sunset).ToLocalTime()
    $now = Get-Date

    # Determine if it's day or night
    $timeOfDay = if ($now -ge $sunrise -and $now -lt $sunset) { "day" } else { "night" }

    # Display the results
    Write-Host "[DEBUG] Sunrise: $($sunrise.ToString('G'))" -ForegroundColor Cyan
    Write-Host "[DEBUG] Sunset:  $($sunset.ToString('G'))" -ForegroundColor Cyan

    $isWindy = ($windSpeed -and $windSpeed -ge 48.28)
    Write-Host "[DEBUG] Time of day: $timeOfDay" -ForegroundColor Cyan
    Write-Host "[DEBUG] Is it windy?: $isWindy" -ForegroundColor Cyan

    $skyCondition = $null
    if ($rawMetar -match '(SKC|CLR|FEW|SCT|BKN|OVC)') {
        $skyCondition = $matches[0]
    }
    Write-Host "[DEBUG] Base Sky Condition from METAR: $skyCondition" -ForegroundColor Cyan
    
    # --- NEW: Define weather phenomena with priority (lower number is more significant) ---
    $weatherPhenomena = @(
        [ordered]@{ regex = '^\+FC|TORNADO|WATERSPOUT$'; desc = 'Tornado/Waterspout';  icon = 'tornado';      priority = 1; weather = 'tornado' },
        [ordered]@{ regex = '^FC$';                       desc = 'Funnel Cloud';         icon = 'tornado';      priority = 1; weather = 'funnel_cloud' },
        [ordered]@{ regex = '^TSRA$';                    desc = 'Thunderstorm with Rain'; icon = 'tsra';         priority = 2; weather = 'rain_thunderstorms' },
        [ordered]@{ regex = '^TS$';                      desc = 'Thunderstorm';         icon = 'tsra';         priority = 2; weather = 'thunderstorms' },
        [ordered]@{ regex = '^VCTS$';                    desc = 'Thunderstorm in Vicinity'; icon = 'tsra';     priority = 2; weather = 'thunderstorms' },
        [ordered]@{ regex = '^FZDZ$';                    desc = 'Freezing Drizzle';     icon = 'fzra';         priority = 3; weather = 'freezing_drizzle' },
        [ordered]@{ regex = '^FZRA$';                    desc = 'Freezing Rain';        icon = 'fzra';         priority = 3; weather = 'freezing_rain' },
        [ordered]@{ regex = '^BLSN$';                    desc = 'Blizzard';             icon = 'blizzard';     priority = 4; weather = 'blizzard' },
        [ordered]@{ regex = '^BLDU$';                    desc = 'Blowing Dust';         icon = 'dust';         priority = 4; weather = 'blowing_dust' },
        [ordered]@{ regex = '^BLSA$';                    desc = 'Blowing Sand';         icon = 'dust';         priority = 4; weather = 'blowing_sand' },
        [ordered]@{ regex = '^RASN$';                    desc = 'Rain and Snow';        icon = 'rain_snow';    priority = 5; weather = 'rain_snow' },
        [ordered]@{ regex = '^SNPL|PLSN$';               desc = 'Snow and Sleet';       icon = 'snow_sleet';   priority = 5; weather = 'snow_sleet' },
        [ordered]@{ regex = '^RAPL|PLRA$';               desc = 'Rain and Sleet';       icon = 'rain_sleet';   priority = 5; weather = 'rain_sleet' },
        [ordered]@{ regex = '^SHSN$';                    desc = 'Snow Showers';         icon = 'rain_snow';    priority = 5; weather = 'snow_showers' },
        [ordered]@{ regex = '^SN$';                      desc = 'Snow';                 icon = 'snow';         priority = 5; weather = 'snow' },
        [ordered]@{ regex = '^SG$';                      desc = 'Snow Grains';          icon = 'snow';         priority = 5; weather = 'snow_grains' },
        [ordered]@{ regex = '^IC$';                      desc = 'Ice Crystals';         icon = 'sleet';        priority = 5; weather = 'ice_crystals' },
        [ordered]@{ regex = '^PL|PE$';                   desc = 'Ice Pellets';          icon = 'sleet';        priority = 5; weather = 'ice_pellets' },
        [ordered]@{ regex = '^GS$';                      desc = 'Small Hail';           icon = 'sleet';        priority = 5; weather = 'hail' },
        [ordered]@{ regex = '^UP$';                      desc = 'Unknown Precipitation'; icon = 'sleet';       priority = 5; weather = 'unknown_precipitation' },
        [ordered]@{ regex = '^SHRA$';                    desc = 'Rain Showers';         icon = 'rain_showers'; priority = 6; weather = 'rain_showers' },
        [ordered]@{ regex = '^RA$';                      desc = 'Rain';                 icon = 'rain';         priority = 6; weather = 'rain' },
        [ordered]@{ regex = '^DZ$';                      desc = 'Drizzle';              icon = 'rain';         priority = 6; weather = 'drizzle' },
        [ordered]@{ regex = '^VCSH$';                    desc = 'Showers in Vicinity';  icon = 'rain_showers'; priority = 6; weather = 'showers' },
        [ordered]@{ regex = '^FG$';                      desc = 'Fog';                  icon = 'fog';          priority = 7; weather = 'fog' },
        [ordered]@{ regex = '^BR$';                      desc = 'Mist';                 icon = 'fog';          priority = 7; weather = 'mist' },
        [ordered]@{ regex = '^MIFG$';                    desc = 'Shallow Fog';          icon = 'fog';          priority = 7; weather = 'fog' },
        [ordered]@{ regex = '^BCFG$';                    desc = 'Patches of Fog';       icon = 'fog';          priority = 7; weather = 'fog' },
        [ordered]@{ regex = '^PRFG$';                    desc = 'Partial Fog';          icon = 'fog';          priority = 7; weather = 'fog' },
        [ordered]@{ regex = '^HZ$';                      desc = 'Haze';                 icon = 'haze';         priority = 8; weather = 'haze' },
        [ordered]@{ regex = '^FU$';                      desc = 'Smoke';                icon = 'smoke';        priority = 8; weather = 'smoke' },
        [ordered]@{ regex = '^VA$';                      desc = 'Volcanic Ash';         icon = 'smoke';        priority = 8; weather = 'volcanic_ash' },
        [ordered]@{ regex = '^DU$';                      desc = 'Widespread Dust';      icon = 'dust';         priority = 8; weather = 'dust' },
        [ordered]@{ regex = '^SA$';                      desc = 'Sand';                 icon = 'dust';         priority = 8; weather = 'sand' },
        [ordered]@{ regex = '^DS$';                      desc = 'Dust Storm';           icon = 'dust';         priority = 8; weather = 'dust_storm' },
        [ordered]@{ regex = '^SS$';                      desc = 'Sand Storm';           icon = 'dust';         priority = 8; weather = 'sand_storm' },
        [ordered]@{ regex = '^PO$';                      desc = 'Dust/Sand Whirls';     icon = 'dust';         priority = 8; weather = 'dust_whirls' },
        [ordered]@{ regex = '^SQ$';                      desc = 'Squalls';              icon = 'wind_bkn';     priority = 9; weather = 'squalls' }
    )

    $foundDescriptions = [System.Collections.ArrayList]@()
    $highestPriority = 999
    $highestPriorityIcon = $null
    
    Write-Host "[DEBUG] Evaluating Weather String (wxString): '$($latestOb.wxString)'" -ForegroundColor Yellow
    if (-not [string]::IsNullOrEmpty($latestOb.wxString)) {
        $weatherCodes = $latestOb.wxString -split ' '
        
        foreach ($code in $weatherCodes) {
            $intensity = $null
            $modifier = $null
            $baseCode = $code
            
            # Parse intensity
            if ($baseCode.StartsWith("+")) {
                $intensity = "Heavy"
                $baseCode = $baseCode.Substring(1)
            } elseif ($baseCode.StartsWith("-")) {
                $intensity = "Light"
                $baseCode = $baseCode.Substring(1)
            }
            
            $matched = $false
            foreach ($phenomenon in $weatherPhenomena) {
                if ($baseCode -match $phenomenon.regex) {
                    $desc = $phenomenon.desc
                    if ($intensity) {
                        $desc = "$intensity $desc"
                    }
                    $foundDescriptions.Add($desc) | Out-Null
                    
                    # Add to presentWeather array
                    $presentWeather.Add(@{
                        intensity = $intensity
                        modifier = $null # Modifiers like SH, TS, etc. are part of the description now
                        weather = $phenomenon.weather
                        rawString = $code
                    }) | Out-Null

                    if ($phenomenon.priority -lt $highestPriority) {
                        $highestPriority = $phenomenon.priority
                        $highestPriorityIcon = $phenomenon.icon
                    }
                    $matched = $true
                    break # Exit inner loop once matched
                }
            }
            if (-not $matched) {
                Write-Host "[DEBUG] Unmatched weather code: $code" -ForegroundColor Magenta
            }
        }
    }

    # --- NEW: Build final description and icon, with fallback logic ---
    if ($foundDescriptions.Count -gt 0) {
        $textDescription = $foundDescriptions -join " and "
        $iconName = $highestPriorityIcon
        Write-Host "[DEBUG] Found $($foundDescriptions.Count) weather condition(s)." -ForegroundColor Cyan
    } else {
        Write-Host "[DEBUG] No specific weather phenomena matched. Checking for temp/sky conditions." -ForegroundColor Yellow
        # Fallback to temperature-based and sky-condition-based descriptions
        $tempF = if ($temperature -ne $null) { ($temperature * 9/5) + 32 } else { $null }
        Write-Host "[DEBUG] Temperature in Fahrenheit for icon check: $tempF" -ForegroundColor Cyan

        if ($tempF -ne $null -and $tempF -ge 95) {
            Write-Host "[DEBUG] Temperature is >= 95F. Setting condition to 'Hot'." -ForegroundColor Cyan
            $textDescription = "Hot"
            $iconName = "hot"
        } elseif ($tempF -ne $null -and $tempF -le 15) {
            Write-Host "[DEBUG] Temperature is <= 15F. Setting condition to 'Cold'." -ForegroundColor Cyan
            $textDescription = "Cold"
            $iconName = "cold"
        } else {
            # Fallback to original sky condition logic if not hot or cold
            Write-Host "[DEBUG] Temperature not in hot/cold range. Using sky condition." -ForegroundColor Yellow
            switch ($skyCondition) {
                "SKC" { $textDescription = "Clear"; $iconName = $(if ($isWindy) { "wind_skc" } else { "skc" }) }
                "CLR" { $textDescription = "Clear"; $iconName = $(if ($isWindy) { "wind_skc" } else { "skc" }) }
                "FEW" { $textDescription = "A Few Clouds"; $iconName = $(if ($isWindy) { "wind_few" } else { "few" }) }
                "SCT" { $textDescription = "Partly Cloudy"; $iconName = $(if ($isWindy) { "wind_sct" } else { "sct" }) }
                "BKN" { $textDescription = "Mostly Cloudy"; $iconName = $(if ($isWindy) { "wind_bkn" } else { "bkn" }) }
                "OVC" { $textDescription = "Cloudy"; $iconName = $(if ($isWindy) { "wind_ovc" } else { "ovc" }) }
            }
        }
    }

    Write-Host "[DEBUG] Mapped Text Description: '$textDescription'" -ForegroundColor Cyan
    Write-Host "[DEBUG] Mapped Icon Name: '$iconName'" -ForegroundColor Cyan
    
    $iconUrl = "https://api.weather.gov/icons/land/$($timeOfDay)/$($iconName)?size=medium"
    Write-Host "[DEBUG] Generated Icon URL: $iconUrl" -ForegroundColor Cyan
    #endregion

    #region 4. Construct the Final JSON Object
    Write-Host "`n--- Region 4: Constructing Final JSON Object ---" -ForegroundColor Green
    $timestamp = Get-Date($latestOb.obsTime) -Format "yyyy-MM-ddTHH:mm:ssZ"
    Write-Host "[DEBUG] Using timestamp: $timestamp" -ForegroundColor Cyan

    $finalJson = [ordered]@{
        "@context" = @(
            "https://geojson.org/geojson-ld/geojson-context.jsonld",
            [ordered]@{
                "@version" = "1.1"; wx = "https://api.weather.gov/ontology#"; s = "https://schema.org/"; geo = "http://www.opengis.net/ont/geosparql#"; unit = "http://codes.wmo.int/common/unit/"; "@vocab" = "https://api.weather.gov/ontology#"
                geometry = @{ "@id" = "s:GeoCoordinates"; "@type" = "geo:wktLiteral" }
                city = "s:addressLocality"; state = "s:addressRegion"; distance = @{ "@id" = "s:Distance"; "@type" = "s:QuantitativeValue" }
                bearing = @{ "@type" = "s:QuantitativeValue" }; value = @{ "@id" = "s:value" }; unitCode = @{ "@id" = "s:unitCode"; "@type" = "@id" }
                forecastOffice = @{ "@type" = "@id" }; forecastGridData = @{ "@type" = "@id" }; publicZone = @{ "@type" = "@id" }; county = @{ "@type" = "@id" }
            }
        )
        id = "$($stationApiUrl)/observations/$timestamp"
        type = "Feature"
        geometry = $stationMetadata.geometry
        properties = [ordered]@{
            "@id" = "$($stationApiUrl)/observations/$timestamp"
            "@type" = "wx:ObservationStation"
            elevation = $stationMetadata.properties.elevation
            station = $stationApiUrl
            timestamp = $timestamp
            rawMessage = $rawMetar
            textDescription = $textDescription
            icon = $iconUrl
            presentWeather = $presentWeather # This is now populated by the new logic
            temperature = @{ unitCode = "wmoUnit:degC"; value = $temperature; qualityControl = "V" }
            dewpoint = @{ unitCode = "wmoUnit:degC"; value = $dewpoint; qualityControl = "V" }
            windDirection = @{ unitCode = "wmoUnit:degree_(angle)"; value = $windDirection; qualityControl = "V" }
            windSpeed = @{ unitCode = "wmoUnit:km_h-1"; value = $windSpeed; qualityControl = "V" }
            windGust = @{ unitCode = "wmoUnit:km_h-1"; value = $windGust; qualityControl = "Z" }
            barometricPressure = @{ unitCode = "wmoUnit:Pa"; value = $barometricPressure; qualityControl = "V" }
            seaLevelPressure = @{ unitCode = "wmoUnit:Pa"; value = $null; qualityControl = "Z" } # Not available in basic METAR
            visibility = @{ unitCode = "wmoUnit:m"; value = $visibility; qualityControl = "C" }
            relativeHumidity = @{ unitCode = "wmoUnit:percent"; value = $relativeHumidity; qualityControl = "V" }
            windChill = @{ unitCode = "wmoUnit:degC"; value = $null; qualityControl = "V" } # Requires more complex calculation
            heatIndex = @{ unitCode = "wmoUnit:degC"; value = $heatIndex; qualityControl = "V" }
            cloudLayers = $cloudLayers
        }
    } | ConvertTo-Json -Depth 10

    Write-Host "[DEBUG] Final JSON object constructed successfully." -ForegroundColor Cyan
    #endregion

    #region 5. Create the output files
    Write-Host "`n--- Region 5: Creating Output Files ---" -ForegroundColor Green
    $finalJson | Out-File -FilePath "currcond.txt" -Encoding ascii
    Write-Host "[DEBUG] Wrote main JSON to currcond.txt" -ForegroundColor Cyan
    
    Write-Host "`nSuccessfully generated fully compatible weather data for $Station." -ForegroundColor Green
    Write-Host "--- Script End ---" -ForegroundColor Green
    #endregion
}
catch {
    Write-Host "[ERROR] An unhandled error occurred in the script." -ForegroundColor Red
    Write-Error "An error occurred: $_"
}

[rr0ss0rr]

I know this is still active, but have there been any updates? For the past month, I've been seeing delays on Station KROC of up to 3 hours. Today I noticed that it hasn't updated in over 7 hours.
forecast.weather.gov shows that KROC was Last update 15 Jul 11:54 am EDT, but the api shows "timestamp": "2025-07-15T09:14:00+00:00". Grid information for the surrounding area has been less than 2 hours.

For the station, I'm using the following curl

curl_url=("https://api.weather.gov/stations/KROC/observations/latest?require_qc=false" -H "accept: application/geo+json")

Thanks

Well .. it just updated with a "timestamp": "2025-07-15T15:54:00+00:00" which is 1h:21m ago.

[jah1007]

We have exciting news on this. We have been working on this behind the scenes and believe we have ironed a lot of the issues that have been reported. The code update is now publicly available and ready for testing on preview-api.weather.gov

[rr0ss0rr]

I just ran a KROC Observation Latest

api.weather.gov - Updated 1h:55m ago
preview-api.weather.gov - Updated 24m ago

My Grid Hourly forecast hasn't changed between the 2 - both showing Updated 2h:13m ago.

I appreciate you and your team fixing (hopefully) the Station Observation as this is what I use to feed into some other apps

edit: just checked again 6 hours later

api.weather.gov - Updated 2h:2m ago
preview-api.weather.gov - Updated 16m ago

[jah1007]

The update was made live this morning. One more thing of note. For larger airports the API is now making the high-frequency METARs available. Example:

https://api.weather.gov/stations/KBWI/observations

[akrherz]

To those unaware of the horrors with the "high-frequency METAR" data, the temperature data is in integer Celsius and most generally can not be converted back to whole degree Fahrenheit. Another issue is that the raw data is not in METAR format, so it does not always used "METAR standards" for variable reporting. Of note on the MADIS website

Although originally referred to as HF-METAR data, the observations are now referred to as 1-minute ASOS data to differentiate them from METAR observations. 1-minute ASOS, also known as One Minute Observations (OMO), are binary messages that do not conform to the METAR data standard (FMH1) and should not be considered to be METAR observations.

Additionally, I have a suspicion that this data comes from the 5 minute internal table and not the 1 minute table, but could be wrong about that.

[netbymatt]

Thank you so much for resolving this and providing higher frequency updates!

To save everyone a little exploration time I did some checking on the data and it's now updating every 5 minutes as of approximately 8:00 UTC this morning (8/4).

Below is a visualization of the change in frequency. Note the "noisier" trend lines under the Monday heading. Top to bottom these are temperature, feels like, dewpoint (green), barometer (grey) and wind.

Edit: clarity in chart legend

[rr0ss0rr]

Thanks for the update. I'm currently not seeing the METAR info for KROC nor KBWI from the post above (Is "rawMessage" the correct tag for METAR?). I use the METAR codes to fill in any missing info (dewpoint, windDirection and windSpeed) from KROC/observations/latest.
For the Station, I'm now seeing 15-30 minute delays, but for Grid (BUF,81,60), I'm still seeing 2.5-5 hour delays.

    "station": "https://api.weather.gov/stations/KROC",
    "stationId": "KROC",
    "stationName": "Rochester, Greater Rochester International Airport",
    "timestamp": "2025-08-04T19:25:00+00:00",
    "rawMessage": "",
    "textDescription": "Clear",
    "icon": "https://api.weather.gov/icons/land/day/skc?size=medium",
    "presentWeather": [],

[jah1007]

That will only appear on the normal hourly full observation in the last ten minutes of the hour. As for grid data are you talking about:

https://api.weather.gov/gridpoints/BUF/81,60

If so, that data is updated asynchronously by each individual office.

[pilot51]

Here's what I have from Home Assistant, which plots everything at the time received rather than the timestamp in the data.

• Red: My back yard climate sensor.
• Yellow: Nearest large airport, 20 miles west. Updates every 5 minutes.
• Blue: Nearest GA airport, 5 miles north. Updates every 20 minutes (15, 35, 55).

From my few manual tests, it looks like the API is somewhere around 15 minutes delayed while https://www.cnrfc.noaa.gov/metar.php is about 8-13 minutes delayed (I saw two 5-minute observations appear in 1 minute). I'll give it a few days, but so far it looks improved enough that I would no longer consider it woefully unreliable for the current weather. Thanks!

There's still room for improvement, but that's my idealist talking. I suspect most of the delay now is upstream of the API and most of the discrepancy with my sensor may be the local environment.

[rr0ss0rr]

Do you know where you can find the 5 minute Metar records via api?

[pilot51]

I don't think the API provides 5 minute METAR records.

https://api.weather.gov has a web interface documenting each API and lets you test them.

It looks like /products/types/{typeId}/locations/{locationId} (optionally with /latest) is the only one with METAR, but they're all hourly as far as I can tell and instead of containing the METAR it provides a URL to JSON data that contains the METAR.

/products/types/MTR/locations provides a list of location IDs (without the leading K) that support METAR.
/products/locations/{locationId}/types provides a list of types supported by a location.

[rr0ss0rr]

Thanks for the pointers

[netbymatt]

Now that this has been running for about a week I've noticed that the /stations/<station id>/observations endpoint only returns about 4 days worth of data. Previously it was at least 7 days. For the record: I did explore the start= parameter and could not get more than 4 days of history.

I guess this is a double edged sword. With the 5-minute updates, 4 days of history takes up just under 5mb of data to transfer which fortunately gzip takes down to under 100k. I don't have the exact data on the old data sizes but I would estimate they're 20x smaller.

Was the intention to also reduce the length of the observations history with the recent latency and frequency update?

[jah1007]

Please contact [email protected] with this issue if you haven't already.