Real World Weather

[Sir Puma]

Is there any way to get it to work? I know Jepesen no longer supports it, but it sure would be nice to be able to use it. Right now we have a very unusual thunderstorm with high winds and buckets of rain, but the real world weather gives me light clouds and light winds. Is there a configuration that can be changed to get the system to pull it's data from another source?

[jgf]

It apparently still works for me;  in the past week I've had clear skies, heavy overcast, fog, and rain in different parts of the world.

You might try REX (Real Environment Xtreme);  in addition to many other features it has a real time weather engine, which updates based on distance traveled rather than time (it can also change textures based on weather).

[Sir Puma]

I recall seeing something about Jeppesen not supporting it anymore. but I wonder if it has something to do with the weather stations around me.

KSEA Light clouds - wind 210 at 14 -  Visibility 2mi
KPWT Light clouds - wind 165 at 13 - visibility 50mi
(actual Wind - 170 degrees at 9 MPH (8 KT) gusting to 18 MPH (16 KT) Visibility 10 mile(s)
Sky conditions      mostly cloudy )

KTIW Scattered clouds - wind 164 at 15 - visibility 10mi

KPAE Overcast - wind 174 at 21 - visibility 10mi

I generally fly out of KPWT when I'm just wanting a relaxing small GA flight. That is the same weather reported this morning when we had a massive thunderstorm roll through at 50 MPH.

I wonder if the system isn't getting the weather from KPWT now. It was several months ago when I was really paying attention to it.

[Capt.Propwash]

Jeppesen does work.  there might have been a temporary outage due to server malfunctions... but it is now back up and running.  as always, check your internet connection first, then try going to a different area in the sim to see if you can get weather for somewhere else.

[1olehippy]

Real World Weather works most of the time. Once in awhile I'll get an error message, usually cuz of local IP trouble.
I love testing my skills in adverse conditions, so I found
http://www.wunderground.com/
just scan the radar map for your favorite weather & go to it.
Nothing like trying to get into KDEN in a blizzard.

Dave

[Sir Puma]

[quote]Jeppesen does work.

[dave3cu]

The url for real world weather is in the FS9.cfg file>[weather] section 'WeatherServerAddress=fs2k.zone.com'.

This article may explain or help-http://support.microsoft.com/kb/841214

Dave

[Sir Puma]

The url for real world weather is in the FS9.cfg file>[weather] section 'WeatherServerAddress=fs2k.zone.com'.

This article may explain or help-http://support.microsoft.com/kb/841214

Dave

LOL, I was just reading that KB. My guess is that there is an issue between the KPWT weather station and the Jeppesen server that is supposed to get the info.

Also, I don't have a "fs9.cfg" just an "fs2000.cfg". Could that be a problem?

Never mind, found it. DER

[Capt.Propwash]

if you have WIN XP, the directory for the FS9.CFG is::

C:/Documents and Settings/(user)/Application Data/Microsoft/FS9/FS9.cfg


if you have VISTA, or WIN 7, this file path WILL be different. I do not have Win 7, I have WIN XP (sp3).  If someone that does have Win 7 would be so kind as to post the location to the FS9 / X folder, it would be greatly appreciated.  FS9 and FSX have their own folder (and config) but they reside in the same ..../MICROSOFT/.. folder.

[BrandonF]

Capt.Propwash, for Windows 7, the CFG locations are:

C:\Users\(USER)\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\FS9\FS9.cfg

C:\Users\(USER)\AppData\Roaming\Microsoft\FSX\FSX.cfg

8-)

[Sir Puma]

I really think the issue is between the servers and the weather stations. Sometimes it works just fine from KSEA or other areas, but when it comes to KPWT never. It's clear the weather station is there, I can check in on NOAA, but when I compare NOAA to what is in the game, it's not even close.

All the weather stations in this area update once an hour. So if it's right before the server gets updated the info could be an hour old which could account for some differences. But KPWT is always giving the same general weather. I've even cleared my cache and reconnected many times in case the issue was with my system.

It would be nice if we could contact the people who actually maintain the weather servers and let them know that there is an issue here.

[Sir Puma]

For example, right now Dec 9 2010 8:55 am pst the game says this for KPWT:
Broken clouds - wind 166 at 13 - visibility 50mi

NOAA says this:

Wind      from the S (180 degrees) at 13 MPH (11 KT) gusting to 23 MPH (20 KT)
Visibility      10 mile(s)
Sky conditions      overcast

It is currently overcast and raining lightly outside right now.

The winds are close enough, but the visibility is way off as is the cloud cover.

I wonder what stations they get their data from. :-/

[beaky]

One of the very few payware add-ons I have is ActiveSky... well worth every penny (although not expensive). It does a good job of depicting and updating real-world weather, and does not hurt framerates much, even with my antiquated rig.

[beaky]

For example, right now Dec 9 2010 8:55 am pst the game says this for KPWT:
Broken clouds - wind 166 at 13 - visibility 50mi

NOAA says this:

Wind      from the S (180 degrees) at 13 MPH (11 KT) gusting to 23 MPH (20 KT)
Visibility      10 mile(s)
Sky conditions      overcast

It is currently overcast and raining lightly outside right now.

The winds are close enough, but the visibility is way off as is the cloud cover.

I wonder what stations they get their data from. :-/

They are usually at airports, and cloud heights in particular are not always relevant to wider areas. The airport might be under a hole in the clouds, or under a lone cloud, at the time the reading is taken.

Winds and visibilty will vary somewhat as well... for flights in FS9 and real life, I look at several stations for a sort of average, and rely on winds aloft taken from balloon soundings or actual pilot reports.

Also bear in mind regarding visibility that "10 miles" doesn't mean the air looks clear for ten miles, it means you can make out objects at a distance of ten miles. But how that is determined by a ground station, I don't know... even on the open ocean, the horizon is only about 5 miles away!  :-?

[Sir Puma]

Well, I'm only a stones throw from KPWT. I drive by it to go to the dump. To be specific I am 9 miles as the crow flies. I can tell by looking over there that visibility at the time of the last reading wasn't no 50 miles. Solid clouds for as far as I could see with light rain. The report from KPWT weather on NOAA was accurate, it's just that the server isn't getting it or it's interpreting it wrong. I guess it's no real big deal. If I want it exact I'll set up the weather myself.