To use this service, send a message with a few key words from your InReach to wx2inreach@gmail.com. You should get a response if you wait about 15-20 minutes and then check for messages.
The script that processes incoming requests is easily confused by typos. Be careful about spelling and punctuation, otherwise you’ll get an error message or a forecast for the wrong location.
You have to send your request from an InReach. You won’t get a forecast if you try to use a regular email account.
The script that processes incoming requests is easily confused by typos. Be careful about spelling and punctuation, otherwise you’ll get an error message or a forecast for the wrong location.
You have to send your request from an InReach. You won’t get a forecast if you try to use a regular email account.
To get an immediate forecast
Send the message “wx now”. Leave out the quotation marks, but don’t leave out the space. It doesn’t matter if it’s upper or lower case.
The forecast will be based on your current GPS location. For US locations the forecast will come from the US National Weather Service, and for all other locations from Forecast.io. The forecast will cover as many days as can fit into a 160-character message, usually 4 or 5 days. It varies because forecasts aren’t a fixed number of characters. See below for some examples and translations.
If you make “wx now” one of your InReach’s three preset messages then there’s no charge to send your outgoing request. The incoming forecast is subject to your plan’s normal messaging rates.
The forecast will be based on your current GPS location. For US locations the forecast will come from the US National Weather Service, and for all other locations from Forecast.io. The forecast will cover as many days as can fit into a 160-character message, usually 4 or 5 days. It varies because forecasts aren’t a fixed number of characters. See below for some examples and translations.
If you make “wx now” one of your InReach’s three preset messages then there’s no charge to send your outgoing request. The incoming forecast is subject to your plan’s normal messaging rates.
To override the default forecast type
If you prefer, you can choose a different type of forecast. There are four alternatives.
NWS 12-hourly summary forecast: This is the default for US locations. These forecasts don’t include wind speed or direction. You don’t have to add anything to your request if you want this type of forecast.
NWS 6-hourly detailed forecast: These forecasts include wind speed and direction, and wave heights for US coastal waters. If there’s a hazardous weather warning that will also be included. To get this type of forecast, add the keyword “nws6”. For example, “wx now nws6”. The forecast will usually cover the next 36-48 hours. If you want a 72-hour forecast, add “nws6 all”. In that case you’ll get two or three forecast messages.
If you add “nws6” but you’re outside the US or US coastal waters you’ll get a forecast from Darksky.net (formerly Forecast.io).
Darksky.net (formerly Forecast.io): This is the default for non-US locations. These forecasts include wind speeds and directions, but not wave heights. Forecasts are at 6am, 2pm and 10pm for the current day and the following day, and daily for the next 3 or 4 days. To get this type of forecast for US locations, add “io”. For example, “wx now io”.
You can get a forecast in SI (metric) units by adding “io si”. For example, “wx now io si”. In this case wind speed is reported in km/h (not m/s), temperature in °C and snowfall in cm.
Mountain-forecast.com: This service provides forecasts for over 11,000 major peaks world-wide, at up to 5 different elevations. To use this, add “loc {peak} {elevation}”, where {peak} is the peak name and {elevation} the forecast elevation in meters. You’ll have to visit mountain-forecast.com in advance to look up available peaks and elevations. Once you’ve selected a peak and an elevation, take a careful look at the URL. Make a note of the exact peak name (including hyphens) and the elevation as shown in the URL.
NWS 12-hourly summary forecast: This is the default for US locations. These forecasts don’t include wind speed or direction. You don’t have to add anything to your request if you want this type of forecast.
NWS 6-hourly detailed forecast: These forecasts include wind speed and direction, and wave heights for US coastal waters. If there’s a hazardous weather warning that will also be included. To get this type of forecast, add the keyword “nws6”. For example, “wx now nws6”. The forecast will usually cover the next 36-48 hours. If you want a 72-hour forecast, add “nws6 all”. In that case you’ll get two or three forecast messages.
If you add “nws6” but you’re outside the US or US coastal waters you’ll get a forecast from Darksky.net (formerly Forecast.io).
Darksky.net (formerly Forecast.io): This is the default for non-US locations. These forecasts include wind speeds and directions, but not wave heights. Forecasts are at 6am, 2pm and 10pm for the current day and the following day, and daily for the next 3 or 4 days. To get this type of forecast for US locations, add “io”. For example, “wx now io”.
You can get a forecast in SI (metric) units by adding “io si”. For example, “wx now io si”. In this case wind speed is reported in km/h (not m/s), temperature in °C and snowfall in cm.
Mountain-forecast.com: This service provides forecasts for over 11,000 major peaks world-wide, at up to 5 different elevations. To use this, add “loc {peak} {elevation}”, where {peak} is the peak name and {elevation} the forecast elevation in meters. You’ll have to visit mountain-forecast.com in advance to look up available peaks and elevations. Once you’ve selected a peak and an elevation, take a careful look at the URL. Make a note of the exact peak name (including hyphens) and the elevation as shown in the URL.
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For example, Mt. Robson in the Canadian Rockies is “mount-robson” (capitals don’t matter) and its summit elevation in meters is 3954. See the yellow highlighted text in the screenshot opposite. So for an immediate summit forecast you would send the message “wx now loc mount-robson 3954”. You could also select a lower elevation.
You always have to provide a peak name and an elevation if you want a forecast from mountain-forecast.com. They aren’t deduced automatically from your GPS location. |
To override the InReach’s current GPS location
Add “loc {lat} {lon}”, where {lat} and {lon} are the latitude and longitude in decimal degrees. For example, for an immediate NWS forecast for Mt. Whitney, CA send the message “wx now loc 36.58 -118.29”. More than two decimal places won't make a difference. Longitude is negative for the western hemisphere. Latitude is negative for the southern hemisphere.
Be careful when entering latitudes and longitudes with the InReach’s virtual keyboard. It automatically inserts a space after a period, even if it's meant to be a decimal point. You should delete these spaces. But make sure to leave spaces between loc, {lat} and {lon}.
Be careful when entering latitudes and longitudes with the InReach’s virtual keyboard. It automatically inserts a space after a period, even if it's meant to be a decimal point. You should delete these spaces. But make sure to leave spaces between loc, {lat} and {lon}.
To get a recurring daily forecast
You can set up a recurring forecast at the same time each day. The forecast can be based on your location at the time you set up the request, or some other location. You can also set future start and stop dates.
To set up a daily forecast: Send the message “wx daily {hour}{am/pm} {timezone}”.
You can combine this with other keywords. For example, you can add “loc {lat} {lon}” or “loc {peak} {elevation}” if you want to override your current GPS location. You can also add “io” or “io si” if you want to use Darksky.net (Forecast.io), or “nws6” or “nws6 all” if you want NWS 6-hourly forecasts.
You’ll get an immediate acknowledgement when you request a daily forecast. You can only have one daily request in effect at a time. Your request will expire after 30 days, unless you specify a different end date.
To get a daily forecast starting at a future date: Send the message “wx daily {hour}{am/pm} {timezone} start {yyyy-mm-dd}”.
Example: To get a daily forecast at 7pm MDT starting on May 20, 2015, say “wx daily 7pm mdt start 2015-05-20”. Or say “wx daily 1 start 2015-05-21”, since 7pm MDT is the same as 1:00 UTC the next day.
If you’re requesting a daily forecast starting at a future date you might also want to provide a location that’s different from your current GPS location.
To get a daily forecast for a fixed number of days: Send the message “wx daily {hour}{am/pm} {timezone} days {n}” or “wx daily {hour}{am/pm} {timezone} end {yyyy-mm-dd}”.
To stop receiving daily forecasts: Send the message “wx stop”. You’ll get an acknowledgement next time you check for messages.
To combine requests for an immediate forecast and a daily forecast: Send the message “wx now daily {hour}”. You can also add {am/pm}, {timezone}, start, end, days, etc.
To set up a daily forecast: Send the message “wx daily {hour}{am/pm} {timezone}”.
- {hour}{am/pm} is the time at which you want to receive the forecast, in 24- or 12-hour format. To use 12-hour format include am or pm. Don’t put a space in front of am or pm.
- {timezone} is the US time zone, i.e. AST, PST, MST, CST, EST or ADT, PDT, etc. If {timezone} is omitted times are assumed to be in UTC (Greenwich time).
You can combine this with other keywords. For example, you can add “loc {lat} {lon}” or “loc {peak} {elevation}” if you want to override your current GPS location. You can also add “io” or “io si” if you want to use Darksky.net (Forecast.io), or “nws6” or “nws6 all” if you want NWS 6-hourly forecasts.
You’ll get an immediate acknowledgement when you request a daily forecast. You can only have one daily request in effect at a time. Your request will expire after 30 days, unless you specify a different end date.
To get a daily forecast starting at a future date: Send the message “wx daily {hour}{am/pm} {timezone} start {yyyy-mm-dd}”.
Example: To get a daily forecast at 7pm MDT starting on May 20, 2015, say “wx daily 7pm mdt start 2015-05-20”. Or say “wx daily 1 start 2015-05-21”, since 7pm MDT is the same as 1:00 UTC the next day.
If you’re requesting a daily forecast starting at a future date you might also want to provide a location that’s different from your current GPS location.
To get a daily forecast for a fixed number of days: Send the message “wx daily {hour}{am/pm} {timezone} days {n}” or “wx daily {hour}{am/pm} {timezone} end {yyyy-mm-dd}”.
- days {n} is the number of daily forecasts that you want.
- Alternatively, end {yyyy-mm-dd} is the last day that you want a forecast.
To stop receiving daily forecasts: Send the message “wx stop”. You’ll get an acknowledgement next time you check for messages.
To combine requests for an immediate forecast and a daily forecast: Send the message “wx now daily {hour}”. You can also add {am/pm}, {timezone}, start, end, days, etc.
Examples and translations
Example of an NWS 12-hourly summary forecast:
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Sa PtSun 8% 46
SaN Clr 6% 27 Su Brz 50 SuN Brz 28 Mo Brz 51 MoN Brz 28 Tu SlChTstm 17% 43 |
Saturday: Partly sunny, PoP 8%, high 46°F
Saturday night: Clear, PoP 6%, low 27°F Sunday: Breezy, high 50°F Sunday night: Breezy, low 28°F Monday: Breezy, high 51°F Monday night: Breezy, low 28°F Tuesday: Slight chance thunderstorms, PoP 17%, high 43°F |
Example of an NWS 6-hourly detailed forecast:
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Gale Wrnng
Mo 1a 44 SSW13-16 3' SlChTstms 7a 42 N24-33 4' ChRn 1p 43 N28-35 10' SlChRn 7p 44 N26-33 10' Cld Tu 1a 43 N7 3' Clr |
Gale Warning
Monday 1am: 44°F, wind SSW 13-16kt, 3’ waves, slight chance of thunderstorms Monday 7am: 42°F, wind N 24-33kt, 4’ waves, chance rain Monday 1pm: 43°F, wind N 28-35kt, 10’ waves, slight chance rain Monday 7pm: 44°F, wind N 26-33kt, 10’ waves, cloudy Tuesday 1am: 43°F, wind N 7kt, 3’ waves, clear |
Example from Darksky.net:
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Th 10pPtCldW10mi51F
Fr 6aClrSW16mi42F 2pLtRn70%NE18mi59F 10pCldW19mi48F Sa Sno2in87%14/23F Su HvyRn83%N9mi41/50F |
Thursday 10pm: Partly cloudy, west wind 10 mph, 51°F
Friday 6am: Clear, southwest wind 16 mph, 42°F Friday 2pm: Light rain, PoP 70%, northeast wind 18 mph, 59°F Friday 10pm: Cloudy, west wind 19 mph, 48°F Saturday: Snow 2", PoP 87%, no wind, low 14°F, high 23°F Sunday: Heavy rain, PoP 83%, north wind 9 mph, low 41°F, high 50°F |
Example from mountain-forecast.com (their forecasts are always in metric):
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We aCld-15 pSn1cm-14 nSn15cm-13
Th aSn8cmS20k-11 pSn11cmS25k-12 nSn16cm-17 Fr aSuN30k-25 pSuN20k-23 nClrW20k-22 |
Wednesday am: Cloudy, high -15°C
Wednesday pm: Snow 1cm, high -14°C Wednesday night: Snow 15cm, high -13°C Thursday am: Snow 8cm, wind S 20km/h, high -11°C Thursday pm: Snow 11cm, wind S 25km/h, high -12°C Thursday night: Snow 16cm, high -17°C Friday am: Sunny, wind N 30km/h, high -25°C Friday pm: Sunny, wind N 20km/h, high -23°C Friday night: Clear, wind W 20km/h, low -22°C |