Precipitation API Parameters

Accumulated Precipitation

Gives the amount of precipitation in millimeters that has fallen during the indicated interval. Here, precipitation is the sum of liquid (rain, freezing rain), mix (sleet), and solid (hail, graupel, snow) precipitation.

precip_<interval>:mm

Available accumulation intervals: 5min, 10min, 15min, 30min, 1h, 3h, 6h, 12h, 24h

Note: Precipitation interval parameters are right-aligned see Appendix

Examples

Show a three-day forecast oaf the expected precipitation accumulation with five minute resolution.

https://api.meteomatics.com/2023-12-07T00:00:00Z--2023-12-10T00:00:00Z:PT5M/precip_5min:mm/47.412164,9.340652/html

Mean Accumulated Precipitation over the Last 10 Years

Gives the mean amount of precipitation over the last 10 years on a certain date at a specific location.

precip_<interval>_10y_mean:mm

Available intervals: 1h, 2h, 3h, 6h, 12h, 24h

Examples:

Compare the mean amount of precipitation of the last ten years with the amount of precipitation of 2022 with a resolution of 6 hour.

Current situation:
https://api.meteomatics.com/2023-12-07T12:00:00ZP100D:P2D/precip_6h_10y_mean:mm,precip_6h:mm/50,10/html

The amount of precipitation in winter compared to the 10 years mean:

validdate;precip_6h_10y_mean:mm;precip_6h:mm
2021-10-01T12:00:00Z;0.02;0.00
2021-11-01T12:00:00Z;0.79;4.39
2021-12-01T12:00:00Z;0.05;0.14
2022-01-01T12:00:00Z;0.17;0.00
2022-02-01T12:00:00Z;0.10;0.36

Current situation:
https://api.meteomatics.com/2023-12-07T12:00:00ZP4M:P1M/precip_6h_10y_mean:mm,precip_6h:mm/50,10/csv

Precipitation Type

You can query an integer indicating the precipitation type with the parameter

precip_type:idx

The values correspond to the type as given in the following table:

Index	Precipitation Type
0	None
1	Rain
2	Rain and snow mixed
3	Snow
4	Sleet
5	Freezing rain
6	Hail

It is based on the precipitation during the last 5 minutes, where very small amounts are ignored. For hail please refer to the dedicated section below.

Examples

A three-day forecast of the expected precipitation type on Mount Säntis:
https://api.meteomatics.com/2023-12-07T00:00:00Z--2023-12-10T00:00:00Z:PT5M/precip_type:idx/47.2494,9.34363/html
Freezing rain (corresponding to red) over parts of the United States during a Nor'Easter storm on February 16th, 2021:

For visualization purposes you may query an image for the parameter

precip_type_intensity_5min:idx

together with the colormap png_precip_type_segmented (the use of other colormaps is highly discouraged). It combines the precipitation type above with the water equivalent of precipitation fallen during the last 5 minutes.

For the interpretation of the image please refer to the following legend graphic:

Example

Areas of rain and snow across Europe in February, 2021:

Precipitation Probability

prob_precip_<interval>:p

Available intervals: 1h, 3h, 6h, 12h, 24h

Note: Please note that since this parameter is based on multiple models, it does not fulfill all mathematical requirements of a probability.

Note: Precipitation interval parameters are right-aligned see Appendix

Examples

Make a three-days precipitation probability forecast with one hour resolution.

https://api.meteomatics.com/2023-12-07T00:00:00Z--2023-12-10T00:00:00Z:PT1H/prob_precip_1h:p/47.412164,9.340652/html

https://api.meteomatics.com/2023-12-07T00:00:00Z/precip_12h:mm/47.412164,9.340652/json

{"version":"3.0","user":"api-test“,“dateGenerated":"2018-02-21T14:46:57Z","status":"OK","data": [{"parameter":"precip_12h:mm","coordinates":[{"lat":47.4122,"lon":9.34065,"dates": [{"date":"2018-02-01T00:00:00Z","value":0.92}]}]}]}

Hail

The API features a hail parameter which gives the maximum hailstone diameter for a time period.

hail_<interval>:cm

Available intervals: 10min, 20min, 30min, 1h, 3h, 6h, 12h, 24h

Examples

Time series of hail diameter and precipitation during series of thunderstorms in late June, 2021: Current:
https://api.meteomatics.com/2023-12-06T00:00:00Z--2023-12-07T00:00:00Z:PT15M/hail_10min:cm,precip_10min:mm/48.38988,9.01763/html
Spatial view of the same series of thunderstorms: Current:
https://api.meteomatics.com/2023-12-07T00:00:00Z/hail_1h:cm/48.84106,6.67225_46.21383,9.96186:0.005,0.005/html_map

The API also provides well known text formats as e.g. XML. These facilitate the simple integration of hail warnings into your web application, warning system or smart city setup:
https://api.meteomatics.com/2023-12-06T00:00:00Z--2023-12-07T00:00:00Z:PT5M/hail:cm/47.4065777,9.1768305/xml

Response:

<meteomatics-api-response version="3.0">
<user>meteomatics-admin</user>
<dateGenerated>2018-06-06T19:02:48Z</dateGenerated>
<status>OK</status>
<data>
<parameter name="hail:cm">
<location lat="47.4066" lon="9.17683">
<value date="2018-05-31T16:00:00Z">0.00000</value>
<value date="2018-05-31T16:05:00Z">0.00000</value>
<value date="2018-05-31T16:10:00Z">1.00000</value>
<value date="2018-05-31T16:15:00Z">5.00000</value>
<value date="2018-05-31T16:20:00Z">5.00000</value>
<value date="2018-05-31T16:25:00Z">5.00000</value>
<value date="2018-05-31T16:30:00Z">0.00000</value>
<value date="2018-05-31T16:35:00Z">0.00000</value>
<value date="2018-05-31T16:40:00Z">0.00000</value>
<value date="2018-05-31T16:45:00Z">0.00000</value>
<value date="2018-05-31T16:50:00Z">0.00000</value>
<value date="2018-05-31T16:55:00Z">0.00000</value>
<value date="2018-05-31T17:00:00Z">0.00000</value>
</location>
</parameter>
</data>
</meteomatics-api-response>

Freezing Rain

Freezing rain occurs when raindrops freeze on contact with the surface. This leads to a coating of ice on everything that the raindrops contact. Thus, freezing rain can be dangerous e.g. for motorists as the ice can create slick spots on roadways. Furthermore, the ice formed by freezing rain can cause tree branches and power lines to break leading to damage and/or power outages.

freezing_rain_1h:idx

The parameter goes from 0 (no freezing rain) to 1 (freezing rain).

Example

A timeseries of freezing rain from 2022/12/08 to 2022/12/10:

Current situation:
https://api.meteomatics.com/2023-12-07T00:00:00Z--2023-12-09T00:00:00Z:PT15M/freezing_rain_1h:idx/47.4245,9.3767/html?model=mix

Supercooled Liquid Water

Supercooled liquid water refers to water droplets that remain liquid below their normal freezing point. While this parameter describes the vertically integrated supercooled liquid water content, our API also offers bottom/top altitudes (in meters) where supercooled liquid water is present. If no supercooled liquid water is present, bottom/top altitudes are not defined.

super_cooled_liquid_water:kgm2 
super_cooled_liquid_water_layer_bottom:m 
super_cooled_liquid_water_layer_top:m

Examples

The supercooled liquid water content from 2021/11/23 to 2021/11/26:
https://api.meteomatics.com/2023-12-07T00:00:00Z--2023-12-10T00:00:00Z:PT1H/super_cooled_liquid_water:kgm2/47.4245,9.3767/html?model=mix
The corresponding supercooled liquid water bottom/top altitudes from 2021/11/23 to 2021/11/26:
https://api.meteomatics.com/2023-12-07T00:00:00Z--2023-12-10T00:00:00Z:PT1H/super_cooled_liquid_water_layer_bottom:m,super_cooled_liquid_water_layer_top:m/47.4245,9.3767/html?model=mix

Rainfall

Check if there was any rain within the last 30 minutes or last hour. 0: no rain, 1: rain event

is_rain_<interval>:idx

Available intervals: 30min, 1h

Examples

Show if there is rain in the next two days along with the temperature and expected amount of precipitation within 30 minutes: https://api.meteomatics.com/2023-12-07T00:00:00Z--2023-12-10T00:00:00Z:PT30M/is_rain_30min:idx,t_2m:C,precip_30min:mm/47.412164,9.340652/html

A part of the corresponding csv file: https://api.meteomatics.com/2023-12-07T00:00:00Z--2023-12-10T00:00:00Z:PT30M/is_rain_30min:idx,t_2m:C,precip_30min:mm/47.412164,9.340652/csv

validdate;is_rain_30min:idx;t_2m:C;precip_30min:mm
 2017-03-08T12:00:00Z;0;8.3;0.02
 2017-03-08T12:30:00Z;1;8.3;0.04
 2017-03-08T13:00:00Z;0;8.3;0.02
 2017-03-08T13:30:00Z;1;8.2;0.21
 2017-03-08T14:00:00Z;1;8.2;0.23
 2017-03-08T14:30:00Z;1;6.7;0.42
 2017-03-08T15:00:00Z;1;5.3;0.64
 2017-03-08T15:30:00Z;1;4.8;0.6
 2017-03-08T16:00:00Z;1;4.3;0.88
 2017-03-08T16:30:00Z;1;4.9;0.56

Snowfall

Check if there was any snowfall within the last hour or last 30 minutes. 0: no snowfall, 1: snowfall event

is_snow_<interval>:idx

Available intervals: 30min, 1h

Example

Show if there is any snow expected in the next four days. The temperature and precipitation are also shown for this period as the snow event depends on them: https://api.meteomatics.com/2023-12-07T00:00:00Z--2023-12-10T00:00:00Z:PT1H/is_snow_1h:idx,t_2m:C,precip_1h:mm/47.412164,9.340652/html

Sleet

Check if there was any sleet within the last hour or last 30 minutes. 0: no sleet, 1: sleet event

is_sleet_<interval>:idx

Available intervals: 30min, 1h

Example

Show if there is any sleet expected during the next four days. The expected temperature and precipitation are also shown on the same plot as these parameters depend on each other: https://api.meteomatics.com/2023-12-07T00:00:00Z--2023-12-10T00:00:00Z:PT1H/is_sleet_1h:idx,t_2m:C,precip_1h:mm/47.412164,9.340652/html