Press release archive: 2018
Report your observations of the summer weather using your Weather app
11.7.2018 10:14
Are you interested in beach water temperatures? Make an observation of your own and tell others about it! Your weather observations can be saved and reported to the Finnish Meteorological Institute using the Weather app on your smartphone. This summer we collect information on two new variables: water surface temperature and fogs. You can now also attach a photo to your observation.
It is now possible to also attach a photo of your own to your observations and, for example, share it in the social media. The photo attached to the observation will be saved in the application data and will not be automatically sent to the Finnish Meteorological Institute (FMI).
You should mark the photos with the hashtag #omathavainnot ('my observations') when you share them. This will enable the meteorologists at the FMI to also monitor the public photos shared in the social media.
We collect observations of the following summer weather phenomena:
Wind damage - did severe weather bring down trees?
Flood - has heavy rain cut the road off or is the cellar/basement full of water?
Hail - how large were the hailstones you saw?
Tornado - was the vortex over land or water?
Water surface temperature - where do you find the best temperatures for swimming?
Fog - does fog disrupt boating and other activities?
Is there precipitation or not? - is there precipitation where you are right now?
Thunder and lightning - did you see lighting or hear thunder?
Your observations benefit both the meteorologists and other people
The Weather app can be used to monitor your own weather observations and those reported by other users. Through a map view in the application, each user can monitor observations made by the others over the past 7 days.
The reported weather observations will also be immediately available to meteorologists making weather forecasts. The meteorologists on duty monitor the observations made by users and may take them into account when nowcasting and issuing warnings. The observations also help in research carried out on weather effects.
A promising start to the trial
The section collecting users' observations was linked to the Weather app in summer 2017. During the first twelve months, about 40,000 observations have been sent in the pilot trial. There have been a total of 12,000 observers. The most active observers have reported their weather observations every day.
A decision has been made to continue the trial until the end of October 2018.
Further information:
Website of the project on users' own observations (in Finnish) (http://ilmatieteenlaitos.fi/omat-havainnot)
Weather app download links to Android and iOS smartphones http://en.ilmatieteenlaitos.fi/smartphones
Information on warnings and procedures in the event of extreme weather http://en.ilmatieteenlaitos.fi/information-on-warnings
Ismo Karjalainen, Project Manager
tel. +358 29 539 2106
ismo.karjalainen@fmi.fi
