Pressure Forecast Map Layer
A map overlay showing mean sea level pressure in isobars also known as surface pressure for the UK. Single tile map layer images are provided three hourly from T+0 to T+36.
Precipitation Forecast Map Layer
A forecast map layer covering the UK showing precipitation. Precipitation is any product of the condensation of atmospheric water vapour that falls under gravity. The main forms of precipitation include drizzle, rain, sleet, snow and hail. Single tile map layer images are provided three hourly from T+0 to T+36. The map layer is provided without a map, the boundary box for this image is 48 to 61 degrees north and 12 degrees west to 5 degrees east. The image layers are currently made available in a Mercator projection, it is the same projection used by Bing maps, OpenStreetMap, Google maps, MapQuest, Yahoo maps, and others.
Weather Extremes
The tables provided show the national weather records. To ensure consistency, these weather records are only given for stations with standard instruments and exposure. Although some records have been broken by non-standard stations, these are not accepted as official records for this reason.
Records are provided as follows:
For temperature by country, by month and by district for the following:
Highest daily maximum temperature
Highest daily minimum temperature
Lowest daily maximum temperature
Lowest daily minimum temperature
For rainfall
by country, for highest 24-hour rainfall totals for a rainfall day (0900 - 0900 GMT)
by period, in days for UK rainfall records for consecutive rainfall days (0900 - 0900 GMT)
by period, in minutes for UK rainfall records for short durations (from 5 to 180 minutes)
For sunshine hours by country, for highest monthly sunshine records
For gust speed by country and district (for sites below 250m), for highest gust speed
Temperature Forecast Map Layer
A map overlay showing screen temperature in degrees centigrade for the UK.
Single tile map layer images are provided three hourly from T+0 to T+36.
The screen temperature is the ambient temperature without the effect of wind chill or heat from the sun. This allows a consistent measure of temperature without localised effects.
UK Daily Site Specific Forecast
A quality controlled datafeed of site specific, daily, 5-day forecasts for approximately 5,000 locations around the UK.
Total Cloud Cover Map Layer
A map overlay showing a forecast of total cloud cover for the UK.
Single tile map layer images are provided three hourly from T+0 to T+36.
Mountain Weather Forecasts
Mountain forecasts are provided for the main mountain areas and those which have the highest visitor figures. Forecasts are issued twice per day and cover the daylight hours.
Weather forecast information for the UK mountain areas of Peak District, Lake District, Snowdonia, Yorkshire Dales and Brecon Beacons and the West and East Highlands.
For each area the forecast should cover:
For day one: Overview; Risk of occurrence of a selection of hazards; Weather symbol summary for 3 hourly slots; Probability of precipitation
For day one and day two a detailed forecast provides:
Weather;
Visibility;
Hill Fog;
Maximum winds above 600m East and West Highlands, 500m Lake District and Snowdonia and 400m Brecon Beacons and Peak District (800m Brecon Beacons) Yorkshire Dales;
Temperature at valley and 900m levels (800m Brecon Beacons);
Freezing level;
The latest pressure chart;
A 'National Park Authority (NPA) information' freeform text box containing information added by the NPA, this content is optional for the NPA and therefore will not always be present.
For days three to five an outlook summary text is provided.
For Snowdonia the basic Public Weather Service forecast is currently enhanced by funding from the Welsh Assembly which is not available through DataPoint.
National Parks Weather Forecast
A daily short summary text forecast for the following National Parks:
Cairngorms National Park;
Dartmoor National Park;
Loch Lomond and The Trossachs National Park;
Mourne National Park;
New Forest National Park;
Norfolk Broads;
Northumberland National Park;
North York Moors National Park;
Peak District National Park;
Pembrokeshire Coast National Park;
Yorkshire Dales National Park;
Lake District; Snowdonia; Brecon Beacons;
Exmoor; South Downs
Precipitation Rate Layer
Met Office OGC WMTS 1.0 compliant Web Map Tiling Service
Last 24hrs Marine Observations
This data includes observations from buoys, light vessels and coastal stations around the UK and within UK waters.
Observation parameters reported include:
Present weather (code)
Air Temp (degrees C)
Dew Pt Temp (degrees C)
Sea Temp (degrees C)
Humidity (%)
Wind Speed (knots)
Wind direction (degrees)
Visibility (nautical miles)
Pressure (hPA)
Wave Height (metres)
Wave period (seconds)
Note: not all parameters are available for all locations.
UK 3-hourly Site-Specific Forecast
Site specific forecasts for over 5,000 sites in the UK, including airports, major landmarks and beaches.
Forecast weather data
Each site has the following weather forecast data available for it in 3 hourly intervals out to 5 days:
Wind direction (16 point compass)
Wind speed (mph)
Screen temperature (degrees Celsius)
Weather Type (weather ID)
Visibility (code)
Screen relative humidity (%)
Wind gust (mph)
Feels like temperature (degrees Celsius)
UV Index (code)
Precipitation Probability (%)
High Resolution Composite Rainfall Radar
Met Office OGC WMTS 1.0 compliant Web Map Tiling Service
UK Hourly Site Specific Observations
Hourly observations for the last 24 hours for approximately 140 locations across the UK.
It should be noted that not all sites provide all of the parameters that are shown below, where a parameter is not available no data is returned. Please see the tutorial for more information.
1.Wind direction (16 point compass)
2.Wind speed (mph)
3.Wind gust (mph)
4.Screen temperature (degrees celcius)
5.Weather Type ( code)
6.Visibility (m)
7.Pressure (hPa)
Hourly observation reports as recorded in real time by the Met Office UK Monitoring System. It should be noted that sites will only report parameters based on the instrumentation installed at each site and we only make available those parameters published on the Met Office website. Observations are subject to final quality control by the Met Office after publication by DataPoint. The QC process can take up to six months to be completed and therefore any changes made will not be retrospectively applied to this dataset.
Met Office View Service (WMTS)
Met Office OGC WMTS 1.0 compliant Web Map Tiling Service
UK Climate Averages
Site specific (293 individual stations) monthly average (1981 - 2010)
The data consists of:
Max Temp (degrees C)
Min Temp (degrees C)
Sunshine (hours)
Rainfall (mm)
Raindays >=1.0mm (days)
Days of Air Frost (days)
Monthly mean wind speeds at 10m (knots)
District and Region monthly average (1961-1990, 1971-2000, 1981-2010)
The data consists of:
Max Temp (degrees C)
Min Temp (degrees C)
Sunshine (hours)
Rainfall (mm)
Raindays >=1.0mm (days)
Days of Air Frost (days)
UK monthly average (1961-1990, 1971-2000, 1981-2010)
The data consists of:
Max Temp (degrees C)
Min Temp (degrees C)
Sunshine (hours)
Rainfall (mm)
Raindays >=1.0mm (days)
Days of Air Frost (days)
Regional Climate Anomalies
Monthly data is compared to 30 year averages (1961- 1990, 1971 - 2000, 1981-2010) for mean temperature, rainfall and sunshine hours.Anomalies are available from January 2001 to date.
Data is shown for UK, England, Northern Ireland, Scotland and Wales.
Historical Station Observations
Monthly data are available from 37 long-running historic stations, see the map for locations. The series typically range from 50 to more than 100 years in length.
The data consists of:
Mean daily maximum temperature (max)
Mean daily minimum temperature (min)
Days of air frost (af)
Total rainfall (rain)
Total sunshine duration (sun)
Radar Rainfall Map Layer
A set of single tile images in the form of map overlays to show recent rain rates in mm/hour over the UK.
Single tile map layer images are updated every 15 minutes with a 15 minute delay due to processing times.
Surface Pressure Charts
These charts show the surface pressure pattern using isobars (lines of equal pressure) and indicate areas of high (H) and low pressure (L) along with their central pressure value. Isobars are represented by solid lines. Fronts are also displayed.
An actual analysis chart is issued along with forecast charts out to five days ahead. These are updated every 12 hours around 0730 and 1930, with the exception of charts for days four and five which are only issued once per day at 0730.
Lightning Strikes Map Layer
An image showing lightning strike frequency, in strikes per minute, presented as a single tile map overlay. Images are updated every 15 minutes with a 15 minute delay due to processing times.
National & Regional Text Forecast
Text forecasts are provided for the each of the nations of England, Scotland, Wales and Northern Ireland along with six regional forecasts for Scotland and eight regions of England.
A detailed forecast is provided for the first two days of the forecast, followed by an outlook for days three to five.
A UK outlook is also provided out to 30 days ahead. This provides an indication of the main weather types and trends across the UK during the forecast period.
PWS Regions
1.Orkney and Shetland
2.Highland and Eilean Siar
3.Grampian
4.Tayside, Central and Fife
5.Strathclyde
6.Dumfries, Galloway, Lothian and Borders
7.Northern Ireland
8.Northeast England
9.Northwest England
10.Yorkshire and the Humber
11.East Midlands
12.West Midlands
13.East of England
14.London and Southeast England
15.Southwest England
16.Wales
Regional Extremes Observations
Extremes of temperature, rainfall and sunshine are provided for a chosen region along with the location at which the extreme occurred.
Based on observation sites split across:
Eight English regions;
Northern Ireland;
Six Scottish regions;
Wales.
The extremes may include observation sites which are not available though DataPoint.
The following information is provided:
Highest maximum temperature between 0900 UTC to 2100 UTC on the date shown;
Lowest maximum temperature between 0900 UTC to 2100 UTC on the date shown;
Lowest minimum temperature between 2100 UTC on the previous day to 2100 UTC on the date shown;
Highest rainfall between 2100 UTC on the previous day to 2100 UTC on the date shown;
Sunniest between 2100 UTC on the previous day to 2100 UTC on the date shown.
The information provided uses the initial data as it is received; observations are subject to a final quality control afterwards. This is particularly the case for rainfall totals during snow events.
Historical Regional Climate Data
Monthly and seasonal values of:
Max Temp
Min Temp
Mean Temp
Sunshine
Rainfall
Raindays >=1.0mm
Days of Air Frost
Available for the UK or by region
Met Office Discovery Service (WAF)
Met Office Discovery Service (WAF)
Met Office Download Service (Atom Feed)
Met Office INSPIRE Download Service (Atom Feed)