How to read a weather forecast
Start with the place and time
Select your destination before interpreting the numbers. The homepage initially shows Madrid; a city page shows the location named above its forecast. Search results use the coordinates of a populated place, so a forecast for a town centre is not a forecast for every surrounding hill or beach.
The clock uses the destination’s time zone. The forecast time identifies the model point being displayed, while “Updated model” identifies the source update. Neither label means a weather station has just measured those conditions.
Read rainfall together with its interval
The rainfall amount belongs to the interval printed beside it. For example, 2 mm / 1 h and 2 mm / 6 h cover different periods. Do not interpret the six-hour value as six separate hourly amounts.
This site does not derive a chance of rain from millimetres. A missing value is displayed as a dash or an unavailable message, not as dry weather. In the weekly cards, the amount and icon describe the indicated interval near midday; they are not totals or summaries for the whole day.
Compare the hours you will actually be outside
For a morning walk and an evening return, compare those forecast points instead of relying on the highest temperature shown in the daily card. The hourly panel lets you switch between temperature, precipitation and wind.
Temperatures are shown in °C. Wind speed is converted from the provider’s m/s to km/h by multiplying by 3.6. The displayed speed is not a gust forecast. Humidity is a separate percentage and should not be read as the probability of rain.
What to do if the forecast is unavailable
Check the selected city and retry. A missing forecast is an availability problem, not a forecast of calm or dry conditions. Our application rejects models older than 24 hours and data without a usable current point rather than presenting old information as current.
For decisions involving safety, consult the relevant official warnings. Clima Europa does not assess whether a mountain route, road journey or sailing trip is safe.
Source: MET Norway documentation · Sources
Worked example: equal amounts, different intervals
These invented numbers explain the display; they are not a forecast for a real city.
- Option A: 2 mm / 1 h from 10:00
- The amount covers the interval from 10:00 to 11:00.
- Option B: 2 mm / 6 h from 10:00
- The same amount covers the period until 16:00. It does not identify the rainy minutes within it.
Dividing the second value by six gives an arithmetic average, not six hourly forecasts. It does not establish the chance of rain either. We preserve the interval so that these different situations remain visible.
Reporting a confusing value
First check the place, date and interval. If something still looks inconsistent, email our contact address with the city, page URL, language, displayed local time and affected value. Your personal location is not required. Changing the interface language does not create a different weather model.