Why obs_time Lies: Understanding Observation Age in Real-Time Weather Responses
The current weather your API returns may be 90 minutes old. Here’s how obs_time works, when to trust it, and how to handle stale observations in production.
API
API
isDay, Sunrise, and Sunset: Why You Can’t Derive One from the Other
WeatherAPI returns isDay, sunrise, and sunset as separate fields. Here’s why they diverge, when each breaks down, and which to use for what.
Tutorial
How to Build a Reliable Snow Depth and Accumulation Tracker Using WeatherAPI Forecast Data
Snow depth fields in weather API responses are tricky. Here’s how to build a reliable accumulation tracker using WeatherAPI data, with real caveats.
API
Decoding air_quality in WeatherAPI Responses: What the Index Values Mean and When They Break Down
A deep dive into WeatherAPI’s air quality fields — what pm2_5, us-epa-index, and gb-defra-index actually measure, where they come from, and when not to trust them.
API
gust_kph vs. wind_kph: Why Peak Wind and Sustained Wind Are Different Problems
gust_kph and wind_kph measure fundamentally different things. Here’s what that means for thresholds, alerts, and real-world decisions in your app.
API
Precipitation Accumulation Windows: Why hourly_precip_mm Doesn’t Add Up to daily_precip_mm (And How to Work Around It)
hourly_precip_mm rarely sums to daily_precip_mm in weather API responses. Here’s why the windows don’t align and how to handle it in your code.
API
Visibility Distance Fields Are Deceptive: What vis_km Actually Measures and How to Use It Correctly
vis_km in WeatherAPI responses isn’t what most developers assume. Here’s what the field actually represents and how to avoid the common mistakes.
API
How to Handle time_zone Offsets, epoch Fields, and DST Gaps Without Getting Burned
WeatherAPI returns both local timestamps and epoch values — here’s how they interact with DST, which one to trust, and where UTC-naive code quietly breaks.
API
Moon Phase Data from WeatherAPI: What the Fields Mean and How to Build Accurate Rise/Set Logic
WeatherAPI returns moon phase, moonrise, and moonset — but using them correctly requires knowing what the fields actually represent. Here’s how to do it right.
API
Freezing Level in API Responses: What It Is, Why It’s Not in the Payload, and How to Derive It
WeatherAPI doesn’t return freezing level altitude directly. Here’s the exact method to derive it from temp, dew point, and lapse rate — with real code.