FAQ

Topics

  1. General

    1. Can I install the openmeteo.org software on a server of mine instead of using openmeteo.org/db?
    2. I see that your application supports surface charts, time-series graphs, etc. I would be interested in this for my station or groups of stations in my area. How can I do this?
    3. I have an automatic station and I want my measurements to be updated in your database at regular intervals. How can this be done?
    4. Too many names and terms, openmeteo.org, enhydris, hydrognomon, I am confused!
    5. In what language should I enter the information?
    6. You also host measurements by amateurs, but how can I know they are reliable?

  2. User accounts - getting started

    1. I cannot create stations and upload data!
    2. Will my email and other personal data be disclosed to anyone?
    3. I created an account. Can I upload data?
    4. I want to change my password. Can I do this?
    5. If I do not logout, I am still logged in after I restart my browser. Why?

  3. Data ownership, licenses

    1. Do I lose ownership of the data I upload?
    2. I download data from openmeteo.org. Can I use them for another project, study or anything else?

  4. Technical and time series data related issues

    1. As I can see, openmeteo.org mainly hosts raw measurements. Can I upload processed time series?
    2. What is the difference between 'Creator', 'Maintainers', 'Owner' and 'Overseer'?
    3. Why should I enter a time zone for the time series I create and upload?
    4. What are the fields that have the _alt suffix?
    5. How should I treat Daylight Saving Time?
    6. How can I display my station on the map? How do I enter co-ordinates for my station? What is "abscissa", "ordinate", and "SRID"?
    7. Can I upload photos, manuals, maps, etc?
    8. Can I have a log for my station, where I can register malfunctions, special weather events, etc?
    9. I created a time series file. How can I upload it?
    10. Should I upload the full length time series each time? My time series has more than a million records. Isn't it stupid to upload the full series for just a few new records?
    11. What is the format of the time series file? How can I create such a file?
    12. What is the nominal offset, the actual offset, and so on?

  5. Hydrognomon

    1. I tried Hydrognomon and like its features. Can I use it for works outside openmeteo.org?
    2. Does Hydrognomon run in Apple or Linux?
    3. When I download time series from openmeteo.org to my computer, files have an “.hts” file extension. What is this?
    4. I created a timeseries using Hydrognomon. I defined the name, time-step, offsets, etc. After uploading to openmeteo.org, this information seems to have been ignored.
    5. How can I copy and paste from Excel?

  6. Contributions

    1. I have several ideas for improving your service, or I have some features that I'd like to have added.
    2. I am a programmer and I wish to help, how can I do this?
    3. I am not a programmer; can I help?
    4. I represent an Organization / University / Entrepreneur and I am interested in working with you. Can I?

Answers

  1. General

    1. Can I install the openmeteo.org software on a server of mine instead of using openmeteo.org?

      Yes. The software that is run by openmeteo.org is Enhydris, which is free software (AGPLv3). You can download it and install it. It is documented and supported.

    2. I see that your application supports surface charts, time-series graphs, etc. I would be interested in this for my station or groups of stations in my area. How can I do this?

      Contact us and we will help to set them up.

    3. I have an automatic station and I want my measurements to be updated in your database at regular intervals. How can this be done?

      You need to contact us by e-mail at: openmeteo@itia.ntua.gr so that we discuss this.

    4. Too many names and terms, openmeteo.org, enhydris, hydrognomon, I am confused!

      Enhydris is server software. openmeteo.org is a public installation of Enhydris, much like Wikipedia is a public installation of MediaWiki. Hydrognomon is desktop software, which you can download and run on your computer, and does analysis and processing of time series.

    5. In what language should I enter the information?

      The official language of the service is English. This is because it addresses an international audience. It is in our plans to develop optional localization features in the future.

    6. You also host measurements by amateurs, but how can I know they are reliable?

      Do you know that the measurements of reputable organizations are reliable? Some research shows otherwise. You must approach any measurements critically, regardless of who provides them.

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  2. User accounts - getting started

    1. I cannot create stations and upload data!

      Have you created an account? If so, have you logged on?

    2. Will my email and other personal data be disclosed to anyone?

      Your email will not be published unless you choose to publish it. Any other personal information you enter will be published at http://openmeteo.org/profile/your_username/.

      You can access your profile preferences after you login, by clicking on your username at the top of the page. There, you can enter your name, location, and company (only if you agree that they be published), and you can also select to publish your email address (unselected by default).

      If you choose not to publish your email, we will not disclose it to anyone.

    3. I created an account. Can I upload data?

      Yes. First create a station, by choosing "Add a new station" from the menu.

    4. I want to change my password. Can I do this?

      Yes. After you login, access your profile preferences by clicking on your username at the top of the page.

    5. If I do not logout, I am still logged in after I restart my browser. Why?

      We have set the system to remember logins for 4 weeks. If you do not want another user of the same computer to use your account, logout. If this is a problem for you, please contact us so that we see what we can do.

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  3. Data ownership, licenses

    1. Do I lose ownership of the data I upload?

      No. You are still the copyright holder of your data, and you can use the data in any way you like. However, you license the data to us under a free license, which means that you irrevocably permit us to publish them, and to also transfer the right of publication to third parties (to anyone who receives the data).

      For more information, please read our Terms of service.

    2. I download data from openmeteo.org. Can I use them for another project, study or anything else?

      Yes. You can do whatever you want, including republication. You have to comply with the license, however, which usually means that you need to mention the copyright holder and the license. Please contact us if you need help with this.

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  4. Technical and time series data related issues

    1. As I can see, openmeteo.org mainly hosts raw measurements. Can I upload processed time series?

      Yes. In this case it is better to write a comment in the "Remarks" field, briefly describing the methodology you followed for the processing, and the raw measurements from which the data are derived from.

    2. What is the difference between 'Creator', 'Maintainers', 'Owner' and 'Overseer'?

      “Creator” is the account (username) used in station creation. The Creator account has full rights to the station, e.g. can create time-series, modify the meta info, delete information, etc.

      The “Maintainers” of a station are trustworthy users (user accounts to be more specific) which are specified by the Creator of a station in the specific station. Maintainers have full rights on the station, like Creator, apart from the deletion of the station.

      The “Owner” is the organization that has the legal ownership of the station. If the station does not belong to an organization or group, use “Private/Independent user”.

      When an organization maintains stations, the “Overseers” are employees whose job is to oversee the station. For non-automatic stations, overseers also have the job of writing down measurements.

      For stations managed by individuals rather than organizations, the creator, owner and overseer are usually the same person. The Maintainers and Overseer fields are optional.

    3. Why should I enter a time zone for the time series I create and upload?

      Time stamps do not have a meaning unless the time zone they refer to is known. The time zone field is informational and does not otherwise affect the time series or any processing. The time zone field is of the form EET(+0200), where EET is a three letter code and +0200 is an offset from UTC. See http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Time_Zone for more information.

    4. What are the fields that have the _alt suffix?

      They are alternative fields where you can enter data in a language other than English i.e. your local language. This is currently only for the station owner, but it is in our plans to provide localized web pages in the future.

    5. How should I treat Daylight Saving Time?

      Using Daylight Saving Time is asking for trouble. It results in duplicate time stamps, spurious gaps in the time series, and problems that are extremely complicated to fix with software. Therefore, our design decision is to never use Daylight Saving Time. So you should adjust your stations to stay at a fixed time zone and to not switch automatically to DST.

      It is in our plans to provide features of displaying time stamps in DST when applicable in some reports (e.g. in reports showing recent measurements). However, the actual storage of the data, and the viewing of the entire time series, should always be without DST.

    6. How can I display my station on the map? How do I enter co-ordinates for my station? What is "abscissa", "ordinate", and "SRID"?

      In order to display your station on the map you should enter co-ordinates and SRID. Geographical co-ordinates are meaningless unless the frame of reference is specified. If you have the co-ordinates in latitude and longitude, then the latitude is the ordinate, the longitude is the abscissa, and the SRID (the frame of reference specifier) is usually 4326 (this is the code for the WGS84 frame of reference, which is used by Open Street Map, Google Maps, and GPS). If you have Cartesian co-ordinates, then x is the abscissa, y is the ordinate, and the engineer who provided these co-ordinates to you should be able to tell you the SRID.

      For more information, read this introduction.

    7. Can I upload photos, manuals, maps, etc?

      Yes. In the station editing page, click "Add new File".

    8. Can I have a log for my station, where I can register malfunctions, special weather events, etc?

      Yes. We call individual log entries "events", so, at the station page select "Add new event" at the top.

    9. I created a time series file. How can I upload it?

      You first have to create a time series entry in the database. Then press “Edit” on that series, and you'll see an “upload” button.

    10. Should I upload the full length time series each time? My time series has more than a million records. Isn't it stupid to upload the full series for just a few new records?

      In the time series edit page, you can choose “Append to existing” under “New data policy”. In that case, uploaded data should not overlap existing data stored in the database, or an error message will appear.

    11. What is the format of the time series file? How can I create such a file?

      The easiest way to create a time series file is to use Hydrogomon.

      However, the time series file is a simple case of text file, and therefore you can create it with a text editor or with a simple program. For more information, see http://pthelma.readthedocs.org/en/latest/timeseries.html#file-format.

    12. What is the nominal offset, the actual offset, and so on?

      It is in our plans to improve the user interface in the future, so that this, which is by nature quite complicated, is more readily understood. Ideas are welcome. Until then, please read the developer documentation at http://pthelma.readthedocs.org/en/latest/timeseries.html#timestep-objects (check interval_type, nominal_offset, and actual_offset).

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  5. Hydrognomon

    1. I tried Hydrognomon and like its features. Can I use it for works outside openmeteo.org?

      Why not?

    2. Does Hydrognomon run in Apple or Linux?

      We support running Hydrognomon in GNU/Unix/Linux systems with WINE. We do not currently support Mac OS X, but if you can help us do something about it, please tell us.

    3. When I download time series from openmeteo.org to my computer, files have an “.hts” file extension. What is this?

      Time series files are Plain Text files, and can be opened with any text editor like Notepad, Wordpad, vim, emacs etc. The 'hts' file extension is used to enable the operating system associate such files with Hydrognomon.

    4. I created a timeseries using Hydrognomon. I defined the name, time-step, offsets, etc. After uploading to openmeteo.org, this information seems to have been ignored.

      When uploading, this information is indeed ignored. You should, instead, specify this information in the time series editing page. When you download a time series, however, the information you have entered in the time series editing page is included in the downloaded file.

    5. How can I copy and paste from Excel?

      Case 1: Data is in two columns, timestamp and value. The date must be in yyyy-mm-dd format (Hydrognomon understands many date formats, but because some formats are ambiguous it's best to help it). In Excel, select the column with the dates, Format cells, and select custom format, yyyy-mm-dd, or, if you also want time, yyyy-mm-dd HH:mm. Then, in Excel, select the time series and copy it (to do it fast, select the first timestamp cell, and then press Shift+Left, Ctrl+Shift+Down, Ctrl+C). In Hydrognomon, press Ctrl+V (you must have already created the time series).

      Case 2: Suitable table. You have a monthly time series in a 12-column table, or a daily time series in a 31-row, 12-column table, or an hourly time series in a 24-column, 31-row table. (Note: It's better to not have such stuff in Excel because it's very inconvenient; it's much easier to use Hydrognomon for that.) In Excel, select only the internal part of the table (without the column and row headings) and copy. Go to Hydrognomon and select Edit, Paste monthly table or Paste daily table, depending on the case. If you are going to do this many times you need to learn the keyboard shortcuts that are written on the menu.

      Case 3: Unsuitable table. You have a daily time series in a 31-column table, but Hydrognomon needs it in 31 rows. You need to copy it in Excel, and then, again in Excel, in a different area or sheet, Edit, Paste Special, Transpose. In addition, Hydrognomon needs a separate paste for each year; you can't paste a long table.

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  6. Contributions

    1. I have several ideas for improving your service, or I have some features that I'd like to have added.

      We are interested in your ideas. However, we do not guarantee we will implement them. However, if you are a programmer you can implement them yourself; or you can provide funding to us; or you can employ programmers and ask them to develop the features you need. In any case, please consult with us.

    2. I am a programmer and I wish to help, how can I do this?

      https://github.com/openmeteo/.

    3. I am not a programmer; can I help?

      Using the service and becoming part of the community is what you should do, and soon you will be providing lots of help.

    4. I represent an Organization / University / Entrepreneur and I am interested in working with you. Can I?

      Certainly, please contact us.

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