Weather Intelligence
Real-time weather conditions, forecasts, and historical data for your course location
TurfWise pulls real-time weather data specific to your course location. The weather page shows current conditions, a 24-hour hourly forecast, a 7-day daily forecast, and historical weather records you can review and export.
Weather Intelligence page
This article refers to a live TurfWise screen. Media is omitted here so the written steps stay current across releases.
What this page does
The weather page gives you one place to check conditions before making operational decisions. It shows what the weather is doing right now, what it's expected to do over the next 24 hours (hour by hour), and what's coming over the next 7 days.
It also stores historical weather data so you can look back at what actually happened -- useful for reports, audits, and spotting patterns over time.
You don't enter any data here. Everything is pulled automatically from the weather provider configured in your settings.
When would you use this?
- First thing in the morning, to decide what work is realistic today
- Before committing to a spray application, to check wind, rain, and temperature
- When planning the week ahead, to spot days that are likely to be write-offs
- After unexpected weather, to see the actual recorded data
- When writing weekly or committee reports that reference weather conditions
- To check whether conditions are trending towards disease pressure (feeds into the Disease Prediction models)
What's shown on the page
Current conditions
The top section shows a live snapshot of conditions at your course location:
- Temperature -- current reading in degrees Celsius
- Precipitation -- current rainfall in millimetres
- Humidity -- relative humidity percentage
- Wind -- current speed in km/h
The weather icon changes based on conditions (sunny, drizzle, rain, snow, fog).
24-hour hourly forecast
A scrollable row of cards showing the next 24 hours, one card per hour. Each shows temperature, a weather icon, and precipitation amount. Use this for same-day timing decisions -- for example, finding a dry window for spraying or mowing.
7-day forecast
A grid of daily cards showing temperature range (high/low), total precipitation, and humidity for each day. The first 4 days are visible on mobile; all 7 show on larger screens.
Beta badge on 7-day forecast
You'll see a beta badge next to the 7-day forecast heading. Predictions beyond 3 days are less reliable. Treat days 4--7 as a rough guide, not a firm plan.
Historical weather
Below the forecasts, there's a historical weather section where you can view past weather data for your course. You can select a period (7, 30, or 90 days), see temperature charts, and review the raw data in a table. You can also sync historical data from your weather provider and export it.
Related tools
At the bottom of the page, you'll find links to two related tools:
- Rainfall Tracker at
/rainfall-- for daily rainfall records, trends, and exportable data - GDD Tracker at
/management/gdd-tracker-- for monitoring growing degree days and growth potential
How to use this page
Check current conditions
Open the weather page and look at the top section. Note temperature, wind speed, and whether it's raining. These are your immediate constraints.
Scan the hourly forecast for today
Scroll through the 24-hour cards. Look for dry windows if you need to spray, or check if rain is expected before you plan outdoor work.
Review the 7-day outlook
Check the daily forecast cards. Identify which days look suitable for weather-sensitive work and which days are likely to be wet or windy. Plan your week around this.
Check historical data when needed
Scroll down to the historical section. Select your period (7, 30, or 90 days). Use the sync button to pull the latest data from your weather provider. The chart shows temperature trends, and the table gives you the raw numbers.
Export for reports
Use the download button in the historical section to export weather data. This is useful for committee packs, agronomist visits, and compliance records.
How weather data feeds the rest of TurfWise
The weather page is not just for browsing. Weather data is used automatically by other parts of the system:
- Disease prediction -- Temperature, humidity, leaf wetness, and rainfall feed directly into the disease risk models. If weather data stops updating, disease scores will become stale.
- Spray Decision Calculator -- Uses wind speed, rainfall forecast, temperature, and humidity to assess whether spray conditions are suitable.
- Today page -- The morning conditions briefing pulls from the same weather data source.
- Turf Intelligence dashboard -- Uses weather data for growth potential, ET0 calculations, and overall conditions assessment.
If your weather integration is not configured or the API key has expired, all of these features will show incomplete or missing data.
Weather setup is essential
If you're seeing blank weather cards or "Unable to load weather data", your weather provider needs to be configured. Go to Settings > Weather at /settings/weather to set up your API provider, enter your API key, and confirm your course location coordinates.
What goes into weather settings?
The weather settings page (at Settings > Weather) controls:
- API key -- Your key for WeatherAPI.com (you can test the connection from the settings page)
- Course location -- Name, timezone, and GPS coordinates (use the geolocation button to auto-detect)
- Safety thresholds -- Maximum wind speed, rain amount, temperature range, and humidity limits for chemical applications
- Units -- Metric or imperial
- Auto-logging -- Whether to automatically log weather conditions
These thresholds are used by the Spray Decision Calculator and the AI Advisor to determine spray window viability.
A practical morning routine
This is how most greenkeepers use the weather page day to day:
- Check current constraints -- Is it raining? Is it too windy? Is it below freezing? These decide what can start immediately.
- Look at the next 24 hours -- Find the best windows for weather-sensitive work. If a dry spell is coming at 10am, plan spray work for then.
- Decide what can move -- If today looks bad, check tomorrow and the next day. Shift weather-dependent tasks to the best available day.
- Communicate the plan -- Once you've made weather-based decisions, update your work plan accordingly.
Don't plan the whole day from one reading
Weather changes. Check again before committing to weather-sensitive operations, especially spraying. A 7am reading doesn't tell you what 2pm will look like if the wind is picking up.
Common problems and fixes
- "Unable to load weather data" -- Your weather integration is not configured or the API key is invalid. Go to Settings > Weather and check the provider, API key, and coordinates. Use the "Test Connection" button.
- "The forecast doesn't match what I can see outside" -- Weather APIs use the nearest weather station to your GPS coordinates, which might be several miles away. Coastal, hillside, and valley courses often have microclimates that differ from the nearest station. The data is still useful for trends and planning.
- "Historical data is missing" -- You may need to sync it. Scroll to the historical section and click the sync button to pull data from your provider.
- "Wind speed looks wrong" -- Check whether your settings are metric (km/h) or imperial (mph). A mix-up between the two is the most common cause of confusion.
- "I can't see all 7 days on my phone" -- On mobile, only 4 days are shown in the 7-day grid. Switch to landscape or use a larger screen to see all 7.
Good habits
- Check weather before leaving the office in the morning. It takes 30 seconds and saves hours of wasted setup.
- Revisit the forecast before any spray application. Don't rely on a reading from earlier in the day.
- Use the historical data export for your monthly and committee reports. It gives you hard numbers instead of vague recollections.
- If the weather provider goes down, don't panic -- data will catch up when it reconnects. But be aware that disease scores may be stale in the meantime.
- Keep your GPS coordinates accurate. Even a small shift can point the weather API at a different station.
Where this fits in TurfWise
Weather data underpins most of the intelligence features in TurfWise. Without it:
- Disease prediction scores become unreliable
- Spray window assessments cannot calculate
- The Today page morning briefing is incomplete
- Growth potential and ET0 calculations fail
Keeping your weather integration healthy is one of the most important maintenance tasks in TurfWise. If weather data stops, check settings first.
Where to find it
- Weather page: Weather + Spraying > Weather Dashboard at
/weather - Weather settings: Settings > Weather at
/settings/weather - Rainfall tracking: Weather + Spraying > Rainfall & Wetness at
/rainfall - Weather also appears in: the Turf Intelligence navigation bar across all conditions pages