Understanding Flowx

To get the most out of Flowx, it is helpful to understand its unique strengths and how it differs from other weather apps.

Where Flowx Excels

Flowx is a weather visualization tool designed for planning activities by tracking the movement of large-scale weather systems. It gives you the "big picture" view of the forecast. It's perfect for situations like:

• Tracking a band of rain across the country to find the perfect time for a bike ride.
• Monitoring an incoming storm system before planning a hike.
• Watching a high-pressure system move in to plan a BBQ for the weekend.
• Seeing a swell build and travel, so you know exactly when to plan a surf trip.

Flowx Limitations

Flowx is less precise for current, hyperlocal conditions, especially temperatures in microclimates (like sheltered valleys or dense urban areas). You might notice a consistent temperature offset, for example, the app might always show a temperature 5 deg cooler than your local reading. While the absolute temperature may be off, the trend (warming up or cooling down) is generally reliable. Improving hyperlocal accuracy is a key focus for our team. For this reason, we recommend using Flowx alongside a traditional icon-based weather app to get the most complete forecast.

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The Why

The difference between Flowx and other weather apps comes down to the type of forecast data used.

Raw Simulation Data

Flowx uses raw data directly from global weather simulations.

• Advantage: This data covers the entire globe, allowing you to visualize and track the progression of large weather systems on our fluid, interactive map.
• Disadvantage: These simulations use a wide grid (e.g. data points every 25 km). This means they can't capture fine details at the surface, like small valleys or urban heat islands, which can lead to inaccuracies in local temperature forecasts.

Post-Processed Data

Most other weather apps use data that has been statistically corrected using a method called Model Output Statistics (MOS).

• Advantage: This method uses historical data from local weather stations (e.g. at airports and in cities) to correct the simulation's output. This results in highly accurate forecasts for those specific locations.
• Disadvantage: This accuracy is limited to the fixed points where measurement stations exist. It doesn't provide the comprehensive, map-based view needed to see how weather systems evolve and move over a region.

In short, Flowx gives you the big picture, while other apps give you the hyperlocal snapshot. Using both gives you the best of both worlds.

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