Weather Dictionary, Site Terminology References and Units of Measure

Weather Forecast Reference

The following are the possible weather forecasts used by this website and their respective icons. This site bases the forecast upon the current weather readings gathered from the station. Therefore the predicted forecast can change frequently and may not reflect what is happening now but what will happen in the coming hours or days.

Weather Forecasts and Icons

Forecast 0 Not available Forecast 2 Fine weather Forecast 4 Fine, becoming less settled Forecast 6 Fairly fine, improving Forecast 8 Fairly fine, showery later Forecast 10 Changeable, mending Forecast 12 Rather unsettled clearing later Forecast 14 Showery, bright intervals Forecast 16 Changeable, some precipitation Forecast 18 Unsettled, precipitation later Forecast 20 Mostly very unsettled Forecast 22 Precipitation at times, very unsettled Forecast 24 Precipitation, very unsettled Forecast 26 Stormy, much precipitation

Forecast 1 Settled fine Forecast 3 Becoming fine Forecast 5 Fine, possible showers Forecast 7 Fairly fine, possible showers early Forecast 9 Showery early, improving Forecast 11 Fairly fine, showers likely Forecast 13 Unsettled, probably improving Forecast 15 Showery, becoming less settled Forecast 17 Unsettled, short fine intervals Forecast 19 Unsettled, some precipitation Forecast 21 Occasional precipitation, worsening Forecast 23 Precipitation at frequent intervals Forecast 25 Stormy, may improve

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Icons For Weather Extremes / Weather Warnings

Tropical Cyclone Heavy Prolonged Rain    Thunder and Hail Snow Showers Snow Drizzle Fog/Low Cloud High Rain Rate High Temperatures Sub Zero Warning

Tornado Thunder Hail Sleet High Winds Frost Dust Haze Smoke

METSERVICE RED WEATHER WARNING EXAMPLE - "Take immediate action" Click here to read all the latest weather advisories from Metservice METSERVICE ORANGE WEATHER WARNING EXAMPLE - "Take action" Click here to read all the latest weather advisories from Metservice METSERVICE YELLOW WEATHER WATCH EXAMPLE - "Stay alert" Click here to read all the latest weather advisories from Metservice Read about MetService alert levels here. Note: Palmy Weather staff manually enter MetService data on our website, it is not automatic. There are delays in updating our MetService warnings. Always source official up to date warnings from MetService.com WEATHER STATION WARNING EXAMPLE - Based upon Palmy Weather automatic set values WEATHER STATION CAUTION EXAMPLE - Based upon Palmy Weather automatic set values No weather station warnings There are no weather warnings generated by the Palmy Weather weather station in place at this time. Weather warnings are generated by our weather station based upon preset values, not from official MetService.

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Moon Phases

New Moon Waning Crescent First Quarter Waxing Crescent

Full Moon Waning Gibbous Last Quarter Waxing Gibbous

Visit our moon phase page for more information regarding the moon

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Units of Measure

Units of Measure Used On This Site (Metric)

°C	Degrees Celsius/Centigrade	Temperature
km/h m/s F °	Kilometers Per Hour Meters Per Second Beaufort Scale Degrees of Angle	Wind Speed Wind Speed Wind Speed Wind Direction
hPa	Hectopascals	Barometric Pressure
% %	Percentage of Relative Humidity Percentage of a Value	Humidity Scale (0 to 100)
mm PoP CoR cB VWC	Millimeters Probability of Precipitation Chance of Rain Centibars Volumetric Water Content	Rainfall Rainfall Rainfall Soil Moisture Soil Moisture
AQI ug/m3 ppm PM2.5 PM10	Air Quality Index micrograms per cubic meter Parts Per Million Particles of 2.5 micrometres or less Particles of 10 micrometres or less	Air Quality Air Quality Air Quality Air Quality Air Quality
UVI W/m2 LUX hrs	UltraViolet Index Watt Per Square Metre Lumen of Light Per Square Metre Hours	Solar Light Solar Light Light Brightness Sun Hours
ft m	Feet Metres	Cloud Base Cloud Base
/hr NZST NZDT	Per Hour New Zealand Standard Time (Winter) New Zealand Daylight Time (Summer)	Change in value over one hour Time (UTC+12hours) Time (UTC+13hours)
	NZST: First Sunday in April to Last Sunday in September. NZDT: Last Sunday in September to First Sunday in April.
FWI FFDC DC CBI ISI BUI DMC FFMC SFDC GFDC	Fire Weather Index Forest Fire Danger Code Drought Code Chandler Burning Index Initial Spread Index Build Up Index Duff Moisture Code Fine Fuel Moisture Code Scrub Fire Danger Code Grass Fire Danger Code	Fire Danger Fire Danger Fire Danger Fire Danger Fire Danger Fire Danger Fire Danger Fire Danger Fire Danger Fire Danger

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Trends

Rising very rapidly
Rising quickly
Rising
Rising slowly
Steady
Falling slowly
Falling
Falling quickly
Falling very rapidly

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Wind Units of Measure and Definition - Beaufort Scale

Wind Force	Description	Wind Speed			Specifications	Wave Height		Sea State
		km/h	mp/h	knots		metres	Max
0	Calm	<1	<1	<1	Smoke rises vertically. Sea like a mirror	--	--	0
1	Light Air	1-5	1-3	1-3	Direction shown by smoke drift but not by wind vanes. Sea rippled	0.1	0.1	1
2	Light Breeze	6-11	4-7	4-6	Wind felt on face; leaves rustle; wind vane moved by wind. Small wavelets on sea	0.2	0.3	2
3	Gentle Breeze	12-19	8-12	7-10	Leaves and small twigs in constant motion; light flags extended. Large wavelets on sea	0.6	1.0	3
4	Moderate Breeze	20-28	13-18	11-16	Raises dust and loose paper; small branches moved. Small waves, fairly frequent white horses	1.0	1.5	3-4
5	Fresh Breeze	29-38	19-24	17-21	Small trees in leaf begin to sway; crested wavelets form on inland waters. Moderate waves, many white horses	2.0	2.5	4
6	Strong Breeze	38-49	25-31	22-27	Large branches in motion; whistling heard in telegraph wires; umbrellas used with difficulty. Large waves, extensive foam crests	3.0	4	5
7	Near Gale	50-61	32-38	28-33	Whole trees in motion; inconvenience felt when walking against the wind. Foam blown in streaks across the sea	4.0	5.5	5-6
8	Gale	62-74	39-46	34-40	Twigs break off trees, generally impedes progress. Wave crests begin to break into spindrift	5.5	7.5	6-7
9	Strong Gale	75-88	47-54	41-47	Slight structural damage (chimney pots and slates removed). Wave crests topple over, and spray affects visibility	7.0	10.0	7
10	Storm	89-102	55-63	48-55	Seldom experienced inland; trees uprooted; considerable structural damage. Sea surface is largely white	9.0	12.5	8
11	Violent Storm	103-117	64-72	56-63	Very rarely experienced, accompanied by widespread damage. Medium-sized ships lost to view behind waves. Sea covered in white foam, visibility seriously affected	11.5	16.0	8
12	Hurricane	118+	73+	64+	Devastation. Air filled with foam and spray, very poor visibility	14+	---	9

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Weather Data Accuracy

The weather data displayed on the website comes wirelessly from outside sensors before being processed by Sanday Soft's Cumulus software. The software bases weather forecasts upon current pressure readings. Usually pressure less than 1010hPa brings unsettled weather. Greater than 1010hPa brings settled weather. From 1020hPa, weather is generally sunny and calm. 1030hPa or more can bring changeable weather from fine sunny days to thunder storms.

Cumulus also bases the forecast upon how quickly the pressure is rising or falling. Static pressure usually brings settled weather. Rapidly falling or rising pressure usually brings bad, uneasy weather.

Occasionally some figures may not be displayed accurately on the site. This is usually caused by a transmission error. We try to fix these errors as quickly as we can however sometimes the days extremes may be compromised until we can fix this problem.

Our help page has more information about forecasting, units of measure and weather station warnings & alerts.

Disclaimer: The weather forecast on this site is only a prediction based the data gathered from the weather station. This data is not intended for protection or preservation of life or property. Use discretion when making weather based decisions.

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