Frequently Asked Questions

New design - 2012

We have launched a new website design on 23. October 2012. Here are some answers to frequently asked questions.
First page, week overview:

  • The "drops" (for the precipitation) are only an indication of the type of precipitation. The amount is displayed as a number (in mm) and can be null.
  • .

Infrequently Asked Questions

When are the models updated?

meteoblue forecast have 3 update timings:
1.  The continental model update: at least twice per day;
2.  The regional model update: at least twice per day; follows the continental model update calculation;
3.  The local adaptation: at the time of the query after the place selection. 
MAPS are updated directly from the models, usually 2 times daily. The update timing given is the time of model initialization (when the calculation begins) in UTC.
POINT data is updated at least 4 times daily. For Picto-cast, Tables and SPOT, the update timing is given in local time (valid at the selected location), and shown at the lower edge of the (detail) forecast page. For Meteograms and other prefessional service tools, the update timing is given in UTC, to allow analysis and comparisons across time zones.

Does a new version of the meteoblue webpage not display correctly?

Simple solution: Press "shift" and click "reload page" simultaneously. If this does not solve the problem, it is caused by the proxy server of your Internet provider, that stores old CSS Files to reduce traffic. CSS files are responsible for display of the website, and old files can cause display problems occasionally. Proxy servers usually delete old CSS files in regular intervals, and that will allow the new page to be correctly loaded.
If you have display problems nevertheless, please contact us.

Why do the meteoMaps not cover my entire country?

We produce our own forecasts and make the meteoMaps using detailed weather forecast models. These models cover certain areas of interest (domains).
Some domains (like the NMM-03 for Central Europe and the NMM-18 for Subsaharan Africa) do not cover the entire continent, because some areas have less need for high Opens internal  link in current windowresolution weather forecast. Therefore, some areas will not be covered by detail maps.
We get many request for regional maps. We are planning on expanding our map range to cover more areas in detail, and will do that once we have a good solution for presenting more than the current meteoMaps in the navigation. Stay tuned for our News. In the meantime, you can make more regional maps for your area using   Opens internal  link in current windowmyMapServer .

myMapServer login does not work.

Here are tips that solve 99% of problems our users report:
  1. Make sure you enter your COMPLETE username and password. The username has to contain your complete email address, including provider name and country or global domain code.
    • Username Examples:
    CORRECT: user@provider.com.
    WRONG: user@provider
    WRONG: user
  2. Observe upper and lower case spelling. The myMapServer login system is case sensitive, that is "your.name" is different from "Your.Name".

  3. Make sure you have an up-to-date version of the Java Runtime Environment (JRE). You can download this from http://www.java.com/en/download/manual.jsp.

  4. Your browser may have cached an invalid user id or password. Delete  cached passwords and try again.

Please add a meteogram for my place

We have streamlined our map production system which was crucial as we produce several ten thousand maps each day. Meteograms are used unevenly, which in the past led us to produce a large number of meteograms that nobody looked at. At the same time we received numerous requests to add meteograms for many different and often very small places.


This was one of the reasons for us to create myMapServer. myMapServer allows you to produce meteograms for any place in Europe, Africa, and South America.

Can I have more than 50 credits per day in myMapServer?

myMapServer is limited to 50 credits per user per 24 hours to control server load and guarantee reasonable response times of this free service. However, we will give you 200 credits per day provided that you agree to the following beta tester conditions:
  • you send a request to info(at)meteoblue.com with the title "myMapServer BETATEST" stating that you agree to these conditions, including your contact details (first and last name, address, and telephone); we may use this data solely to contact you.
  • you do not use myMapServer for commercial purposes.
  • you complete and return questionnaires that we may send you from time to time within 7 days.
  • you agree to test myMapServer once in a while by following simple instructions.
  • you report bugs and other obervations that will help to improve myMapServer to info(at)meteoblue.com with the title "myMapServer BETATEST: Keyword". Keyword is a keyword summarizing your comment.

We appreciate your support!

Why was the temperature forecast wrong today?

Fog can affect temperatures locally and is not easy to predict. meteoblue weather models include fog but sometimes "miss" it: For example, in early January 2008 Swiss temperatures in the Mittelland (Fribourg - Bern - Olten) remained around freezing, whilst meteoblue forecast temperatures increasing to 4-8°C. What had happened? Persistent fog had been slow to dissipate, keeping the sun from warming the ground. The meteoblue weather models predicted rapid fog dissipation, and therefore rising temperatures. We are routinely fine-tuning our weather models and expect further improvements with local fog forecasting.

My place is at higher (lower) elevation than the forecast. How do I adjust the forecast temperature?

The meteoblue local forecast shows you the elevation of the region for which the temperature and wind forecasts are valid. To adapt the forecast to your own location, subtract 1°C for every 100 m of elevation, or 0.5°C per 100 m of elevation if the air is saturated (>99% humidity). Under temperature inversions (stable low hanging clouds with no wind for several days - typical for the winter), temperatures will rise with elevation, and be higher above the cloud layer than below.

What does this myMapServer error message mean?

If after clicking "make Map" you get a message of the form
%subscipt range values of the form low:high must be>=0,<size,with
low<=high:% execution halted at:ION_MAP_REQUEST

  1. Go back to the previous page (on which you have clicked "make Map") and refresh the page.
  2. Make sure you have an up-to-date version of the Java Runtime Environment (JRE). You can download this from http://www.java.com/en/download/manual.jsp.
  3. In rare cases this message reflects that the server is highly loaded. Try again a bit later.