Read a forecast in the right order
Updated: September 22, 2026
A weather card is easier to use when you know the place, time and quantity it describes. This guide follows the fields on our dashboard; the weather library explores each subject in more depth.
1. Confirm the place and data time
Choose the matching city and region in search. Cities can share a name, so check the heading before reading the forecast. The time shown belongs to the selected location. “My Location” is optional, and a precise device fix does not make the weather model precise to your street.
2. Compare temperature with apparent temperature
The large number is the provider’s estimate of air temperature. The feels-like field describes a different quantity, influenced by conditions such as humidity and wind. Neither is a direct measurement of your body or a sunlit wall. Compare the hourly trend if your activity is later in the day.
3. Keep rain amount separate from probability
The current precipitation card has an amount in millimetres or inches. The forecast cards have a percentage. A 40% probability does not describe 40% of your afternoon, and a missing percentage does not mean a dry forecast. Read rain probability explained for the definition and its limits.
4. Check units, gusts and pressure type
Metric wind uses m/s. For example, 5 m/s is 18 km/h; comparing the number 5 with an app showing 18 km/h would suggest a difference that is only a unit conversion. Wind direction names where wind comes from. Gusts describe a separate, higher short-lived speed.
The pressure card uses surface pressure. Do not compare a hilltop value directly with a sea-level-pressure chart to decide whether a storm is approaching. This dashboard provides a current pressure value, not a measured pressure trend.
A worked comparison
Hypothetical example, not a live forecast: app A shows wind at 5 m/s and app B shows 18 km/h. They agree after conversion. If A shows a current rain amount of 0 mm while a daily card shows a 40% probability, those values can also coexist: one is a current amount and the other describes forecast uncertainty over a different period.
Before deciding two apps disagree, align the location, validity time, units and type of value. Only then compare the numbers.
5. Know when to use another source
The dashboard contains no live radar map or official warning feed. Use your local meteorological and emergency authorities for hazardous-weather decisions. A low rain percentage, a clear icon or a missing reading is not an all-clear signal. Sources can change as new information arrives, so check the latest official information before a weather-sensitive activity.