Weather Forecast Comparison App

A web application that compares weather forecasts from multiple sources against actual data from a personal weather station, enabling accuracy analysis and trend tracking over time.

🎯 Project Goals

• Compare forecast accuracy between different weather services (Met Office, OpenWeatherMap)
• Track forecast performance over time with interactive visualizations
• Provide data-driven insights for choosing the most reliable forecast sources
• Mobile-optimized interface for quick weather accuracy checks

📋 Features

MVP Features

• ✅ Personal Weather Station data ingestion via webhook
• ✅ Met Office and OpenWeatherMap API integration
• ✅ Interactive timeline charts with mobile touch controls
• ✅ Real-time accuracy metrics for temperature, wind, and rainfall
• ✅ Configurable location and API settings
• ✅ Responsive design optimized for mobile devices

Future Enhancements

• 🔄 Additional weather service integrations
• 🔄 Home Assistant custom component
• 🔄 User-defined accuracy thresholds
• 🔄 Lead-time performance analysis (1h, 6h, 24h forecast buckets)
• 🔄 Advanced data archiving and retention policies

🏗️ Architecture

Backend

• Framework: FastAPI (Python)
• Database: PostgreSQL with TimescaleDB
• Caching: Redis
• APIs: Met Office DataHub, OpenWeatherMap

Frontend

• Framework: React
• Charts: Recharts + D3.js for timeline interactions
• Styling: Tailwind CSS
• PWA: Workbox for offline functionality

Infrastructure

• Containerization: Docker
• CI/CD: GitHub Actions
• Deployment: Docker Compose on Proxmox

📚 Documentation

• 📖 Product Requirements Document
• 🛠️ Technology Stack
• 🔌 API Design
• 🗄️ Database Schema

🚀 Quick Start

Prerequisites

• Docker and Docker Compose
• API keys for Met Office and OpenWeatherMap
• Personal Weather Station with Home Assistant integration

Local Development

1. Clone the repository

   git clone https://github.com/m90att/weather-forecast-comparison.git
   cd weather-forecast-comparison

2. Set up environment variables

   cp .env.example .env
   # Edit .env with your API keys and configuration

3. Start the development environment

   docker-compose up -d

4. Access the application

   • Frontend: http://localhost:3000
   • Backend API: http://localhost:8000
   • API Documentation: http://localhost:8000/docs

Weather Station Setup

Configure your Home Assistant to send weather data to the webhook endpoint:

# configuration.yaml
rest_command:
  local_weather_webhook:
    url: "http://your-app-server:8000/api/v1/webhook/weather-data"
    method: POST
    content_type: "application/json"
    payload: >
      {
        "PASSKEY": "{{ passkey }}",
        "stationtype": "{{ stationtype }}",
        "dateutc": "{{ dateutc }}",
        "tempf": "{{ tempf }}",
        "humidity": "{{ humidity }}",
        "winddir": "{{ winddir }}",
        "windspeedmph": "{{ windspeedmph }}",
        "rainratein": "{{ rainratein }}",
        "dailyrainin": "{{ dailyrainin }}",
        "baromrelin": "{{ baromrelin }}"
      }

🧪 Testing

Run Tests

# Backend tests
cd backend
pytest

# Frontend tests
cd frontend
npm test

# End-to-end tests
npm run test:e2e

Mobile Testing

# Test responsive design
npm run test:mobile

# Performance testing
npm run test:lighthouse

📱 Mobile Optimization

The app is designed mobile-first with:

• Touch-friendly timeline scrubbing
• Responsive chart layouts
• Progressive Web App capabilities
• Optimized for iOS and Android devices

📊 Data Management

Data Retention

• Active Data: 3 months of detailed hourly readings
• Archived Data: 1+ years of aggregated summaries
• Automatic Cleanup: Configurable retention policies

Supported Weather Parameters

• Temperature (°C)
• Humidity (%)
• Wind Speed/Direction (mph/degrees)
• Rainfall (mm)
• Pressure (hPa)
• Solar Radiation (W/m²)
• UV Index

🔧 Configuration

Environment Variables

# Database
DATABASE_URL=postgresql://user:password@localhost:5432/weather_app
REDIS_URL=redis://localhost:6379

# API Keys
MET_OFFICE_API_KEY=your_met_office_key
OPENWEATHERMAP_API_KEY=your_openweather_key

# Weather Station
WEATHER_STATION_PASSKEY=your_passkey
WEATHER_STATION_LAT=51.5074
WEATHER_STATION_LON=-0.1278

# Application
APP_DEBUG=false
APP_LOG_LEVEL=info

🤝 Contributing

We welcome contributions! Please see our Contributing Guide for details.

Development Workflow

1. Fork the repository
2. Create a feature branch
3. Make your changes
4. Add tests
5. Submit a pull request

📈 Roadmap

Phase 1: MVP (Current)

• Core functionality implementation
• Mobile optimization
• Basic accuracy metrics
• Deployment automation

Phase 2: Enhanced Features

• Additional weather service integrations
• User-defined accuracy thresholds
• Advanced visualization options
• Data export capabilities

Phase 3: Community Features

• Home Assistant integration
• Public API development
• Multi-user support
• Community weather station network

📄 License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE file for details.

🙋‍♂️ Support

For questions and support:

• Create an issue for bugs or feature requests
• Check existing documentation
• Review the API documentation at /docs when running locally