Tutorial

Here's what you need to know to be off and running!

Location and activity selection

We customize our forecasts to your lifestyle through your location and activity selection. If you don’t have a specific activity in mind, choose “A Good Weather Day” to color-code your forecast for what would be considered nice weather.

ActionCast - Colors

Look for green to find the best days and times of day for your activity.

ActionCast - Touch the yellow and red boxes

Tap the yellow and red boxes to see why conditions are yellow and red.

ActionCast - Get weather details for each day

You can touch any day in the ActionCast to expand the card for more details. In the expanded card you will see temperature, wind speed, cloud cover percentage, and precipitation intensity below the color-code at each time. Depends on the Weather Pro subscribers can customize this section by adding precipitation amount, chance of thunderstorms, relative humidity, dewpoint, heat index, wind chill, and forecast confidence. In the 10-day ActionCast, you get a green/yellow/red color-coded forecast at 3-hour time intervals. You can switch to the 2-day hourly ActionCast to get the color-code and forecast details at 1-hour time intervals for today and tomorrow.

ActionCast - Rain and snow symbols

Rain and snow intensity are represented by different symbols:

• Showers: off and on rain or drizzle during the period and typically lighter in intensity.
• Rain: more constant and moderate intensity.
• Heavy rain: strong intensity.
• Light snow: off and on snow or flurries, amounts to only a dusting of accumulation.
• Snow: moderate in intensity, accumulates less than 1 inch per hour.
• Heavy snow: accumulates 1 inch per hour or more.

ActionCast - Customize my display

Depends on the Weather Pro subscribers can customize the weather types shown on the expanded cards in the ActionCast. Go to Settings, Display Settings, and then select the weather types you would like to see in the expanded card.

ActionCast - Customize activities and add new ones

Depends on the Weather Pro subscribers can customize the weather thresholds on any activity, including the default activities and activities you create. Go to Settings, Activity Settings, then select the activity that you want to customize.

10-Day - See the timing of rain/snow/thunderstorms/winds

Think of the 10-day forecast like your own personal TV weather forecast! Use it to get a quick summary of the weather over the next 10 days. Tap or click any day to expand the card for details, including the timing and amount of rain and snow, the timing of thunderstorms, and the timing and speed of higher winds.

Settings - Change my homescreen

Of course! You can choose either the ActionCast or the 10-day Forecast as the default view that pops up when you open the app. In addition, you can choose to see the 2-day Hourly Actioncast or the full 10-day view as your default ActionCast display. This can be set by going to the Display Settings in the Settings menu.

Settings - Change hours displayed

Depends on the Weather Pro subscribers can customize the ActionCast to show only the hours of the day you are interested in. Go to Settings, Display Settings, then adjust the Start time and End time to your desired times.

Settings - Units

You can switch from English to metric units by going to settings and adjusting the units slider. The options are Fahrenheit, miles per hour, and inches, or Celsius, kilometers per hour, and millimeters.

Subscription - Get more awesome features!

Congratulations! You recognize the value of accurate weather forecasts and want to customize them to your lifestyle. Just click the "Upgrade" button at the bottom of the Settings page and follow the prompts. If you run into any issues, don't hesitate to reach out to us at support@dependsontheweather.org

Your monthly or annual subscription allows you to:

• Create your own activities
• Customize the conditions when an activity is green/yellow/red
• Get additional details on your ActionCast, like the rain/snow amounts, heat index, wind chill, humidity, dewpoint, and chance of thunderstorms
• Customize your ActionCast with the exact weather types you want to see
• Enhanced confidence -- see the probability that the forecast will be green/yellow/red
• No ads!

FAQ

What do the green/yellow/red colors on the ActionCast mean?

The green/yellow/red colors are like a stoplight.

• Green means go!
• Yellow means the weather is marginal (use caution and be prepared).
• Red means the weather is unfavorable (stop).

For example, let’s say you want to go golfing in Lake Placid, NY. Look for the green color to find the best days and times to be on the green (see what we did there? :) ).

What information in the ActionCast?

In the 10-day ActionCast, you get a green/yellow/red color-coded forecast at 3-hour time intervals. You can switch to the 2-day hourly ActionCast to get the color-code and forecast details at 1-hour time intervals for today and tomorrow. You can touch any day in the ActionCast to expand the card for more details. In the expanded card you will see temperature, wind speed, cloud cover percentage, and precipitation intensity below the color-code at each time. Depends on the Weather Pro subscribers can customize this section by adding precipitation amount, chance of thunderstorms, relative humidity, dewpoint, heat index, wind chill, and forecast confidence.

What's the deal with selecting an activity?

We customize your ActionCast based on the activity you select. When you select "Golf", green will let you know the best times to golf, yellow when conditions are marginal, and red when the weather is unfavorable. If you don't have an activty in mind and just want to color-code the forecast for nice weather, choose "A Good Weather Day."

What does each weather type and symbol mean?

Here are the definitions for each weather type available:

• Temperature: The air temperature at the indicated time.
• Wind speed: Presented as a range, the first number is the sustained wind speed and the second number is the wind gust at the indicated time (i.e. 20-25 means sustained winds at 20 mph gusting to 25 mph).
• Cloud cover percentage: The percentage of the sky covered by clouds (i.e. 80% means 80% of the sky is covered by clouds and 20% is clear, which would be mostly cloudy).
• Precipitation intensity: The intensity of the rain or snow during the period. Showers (a single rain drop symbol) are off and on during the period and typically lighter in intensity. Rain (2 rain drop symbols) is more constant and a moderate intensity. Heavy rain (3 rain drop symbols) is a strong intensity. Light snow (a single snowflake symbol) is off and on and amounts to only a dusting of accumulation. Snow (2 snowflake symbols) is moderate in intensity and accumulates less than 1 inch per hour. Heavy snow (3 snowflake symbols) accumulates 1 inch per hour or more. There is a legend at the bottom of the ActionCast.
• Precipitation amount: The amount of rain or snow (in inches or millimeters) that is expected to fall in a 3-hour period (on the 10-day ActionCast) or in a 1-hour period (on the 2-day hourly ActionCast).
• Chance of thunderstorms: The probability of seeing thunderstorms during the indicated time. A 20% chance of thunderstorms means that you could expect to see lightning during 20% of times with similar conditions (1 out of 5).
• Relative humidity: The relative humidity a ratio of how much moisture the air has in it relative to the maximum amount of moisture it could hold at that temperature.
• Dewpoint: Higher dewpoints make it feel more humid. Most people would say it is humid outside when the dewpoint temperature is above 65-70 degrees Fahrenheit.
• Heat index: The heat index is an approximation of how hot it feels at a certain temperature and humidity. For more information, visit the National Weather Service at https://www.weather.gov/ama/heatindex.
• Wind chill: The wind chill is an approximation of how cold it feels at a certain temperature and wind speed. For more information, visit the National Weather Service at https://www.weather.gov/safety/cold-wind-chill-chart.
• Other definitions
• Confidence: The probability of the weather being the displayed color. We run many weather models and the confidence is the percentage of forecasts matching the displayed color for your activity. For example, if you see the color is green at 11 am for going to the the beach in San Diego and the confidence is 80%, there is an 80% chance conditions will be good (green) for going to the beach in San Diego. Similarly, there is a 20% chance that conditions will not be good (green) for going to the beach, they may be orange or red. A higher percentage allows you to be more confident that the predicted color will be correct.
• High (H): The highest temperature of the day, between 12:00 am and 11:59 pm.
• Low (L): The lowest temperature of the day, between 12:00 am and 11:59 pm.
• Feels like: An approximation of what it feels like outside given the temperature, wind speed, and humidity. This is the same as wind chill at lower temperatures, and heat index at higher temperatures.

How do I cancel my subscription?

If you would like to cancel your subscription, please go to Settings, Manage my account, Delete my subscription. If you have any problems with this process, email us at support@dependsontheweather.org and we will be happy to cancel your subscription. Subscriptions canceled within 10 days of the date of purchase are eligible to receive a full refund if you email support@dependsontheweather.org requesting a refund. Subscriptions canceled 11 days or later from the date of purchase will maintain access to Pro features until the end of their monthly or annual billing cycle.

Where does the weather forecast come from?

We use a variety of weather models run by the National Weather Service to generate your forecast. We use a special blend of all the models and add a bias correction to ensure that your forecast is as accurate as possible for your location. For locations in the United States, watches and warnings are available as generated by the National Weather Service.

Where is weather forecast information available?

At present, we offer forecasts for the United States and Canada. We will be expanding to worldwide forecasts soon. Watches and warnings are only available in the United States.

I still have more questions!

Contact us at support@dependsontheweather.org and we will be happy to answer your questions and give you the help you need.