Met Office

Mountain weather forecasts detailed documentation

This page contains detailed documentation on each of the data feeds associated specifically with mountain area forecasts.

API reference

Here we provide detailed descriptions of the following feeds:

Mountain area forecasts capabilities feed

Description of data feed

The mountain area forecast capabilities data feed provides a summary of which results are available from the get mountain area forecast by site ID data feed, specifying the creation dates, valid from and to dates, and the general risk for each mountain area.

Accessing the feed via its web service

Description of web service

The capabilities web service returns the output of the capabilities data feed in either XML or JSON format. It is recommended that you query the capabilities web service to check whether the forecasts have been updated when querying for new data from the mountain area forecasts web service rather than calling the mountain area forecasts web service repeatedly, as this reduces the amount of data that has to be transferred, enhancing the user experience.

Possible use cases for this web service with example URLs

Since the mountain area forecast capabilities web service concerns script forecast data, whenever this web service is used the data category field in the URL should be set to txt, and the resource category field should be set to wxfcs. You should also set the data format in the URL to specify whether the web service should return XML or JSON, and include your API key in the query string.

You would like to know which timesteps are available for the mountain area forecasts data feed in XML format. In this case you would set the data category to txt, the resource category to wxfcs, and the data type to xml:

Example: to obtain capabilities for the mountain area forecasts data feed in XML format:

http://datapoint.metoffice.gov.uk/public/data/txt/wxfcs/mountainarea/xml/capabilities?key=<APIkey>

The above example would return a file of approximately 3 kB in size
You would like to know which timesteps are available for the three mountain area forecasts data feed in JSON format In this case you would set the data category to txt, the resource category to wxfcs, and the data type to json:

Example: to obtain capabilities for the mountain area forecasts data feed in JSON format:

http://datapoint.metoffice.gov.uk/public/data/txt/wxfcs/mountainarea/json/capabilities?key=<APIkey>

The above example would return a file of approximately 2 kB in size

Example of XML and JSON responses

The following examples show a typical result of a call to the capabilities web service requesting a complete list of timesteps available from the mountain area forecasts web service for a given site ID.

XML

The XML that follows is a representative response to a call to the following URL, with a valid key:

http://datapoint.metoffice.gov.uk/public/data/txt/wxfcs/mountainarea/xml/capabilities?key=<APIkey>

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<MountainForecastList>
   <MountainForecast>
      <DataDate>2012-03-07T03:47:52Z</DataDate>
      <ValidFrom>2012-03-07T03:00:00Z</ValidFrom>
      <ValidTo>2012-03-11T03:00:00Z</ValidTo>
      <CreatedDate>2012-03-07T03:49:38Z</CreatedDate>
      <URI>http://datapoint.metoffice.gov.uk/public/data/txt/wxfcs/mountainarea/{format}/100</URI>
      <Area>Brecon Beacons</Area>
      <Risk>Medium</Risk>
   </MountainForecast>
   <MountainForecast>
      <DataDate>2012-03-07T02:22:32Z</DataDate>
      <ValidFrom>2012-03-07T02:00:00Z</ValidFrom>
      <ValidTo>2012-03-11T02:00:00Z</ValidTo>
      <CreatedDate>2012-03-07T02:23:51Z</CreatedDate>
      <URI>http://datapoint.metoffice.gov.uk/public/data/txt/wxfcs/mountainarea/{format}/101</URI>
      <Area>East Highland</Area>
      <Risk>High</Risk>
   </MountainForecast>
   <MountainForecast>
      <DataDate>2012-03-07T02:22:52Z</DataDate>
      <ValidFrom>2012-03-07T02:00:00Z</ValidFrom>
      <ValidTo>2012-03-11T02:00:00Z</ValidTo>
      <CreatedDate>2012-03-07T02:24:01Z</CreatedDate>
      <URI>http://datapoint.metoffice.gov.uk/public/data/txt/wxfcs/mountainarea/{format}/102</URI>
      <Area>Lake District</Area>
      <Risk>High</Risk>
   </MountainForecast>
   <MountainForecast>
      <DataDate>2012-03-07T04:02:07Z</DataDate>
      <ValidFrom>2012-03-07T04:00:00Z</ValidFrom>
      <ValidTo>2012-03-11T04:00:00Z</ValidTo>
      <CreatedDate>2012-03-07T04:07:42Z</CreatedDate>
      <URI>http://datapoint.metoffice.gov.uk/public/data/txt/wxfcs/mountainarea/{format}/103</URI>
      <Area>Peak District</Area>
      <Risk>Medium</Risk>
   </MountainForecast>
   <MountainForecast>
      <DataDate>2012-03-07T02:58:57Z</DataDate>
      <ValidFrom>2012-03-07T02:00:00Z</ValidFrom>
      <ValidTo>2012-03-11T02:00:00Z</ValidTo>
      <CreatedDate>2012-03-07T03:00:33Z</CreatedDate>
      <URI>http://datapoint.metoffice.gov.uk/public/data/txt/wxfcs/mountainarea/{format}/104</URI>
      <Area>Snowdonia</Area>
      <Risk>Medium</Risk>
   </MountainForecast>
   <MountainForecast>
      <DataDate>2012-03-07T02:23:15Z</DataDate>
      <ValidFrom>2012-03-07T02:00:00Z</ValidFrom>
      <ValidTo>2012-03-11T02:00:00Z</ValidTo>
      <CreatedDate>2012-03-07T02:24:32Z</CreatedDate>
      <URI>http://datapoint.metoffice.gov.uk/public/data/txt/wxfcs/mountainarea/{format}/105</URI>
      <Area>West Highland</Area>
      <Risk>High</Risk>
   </MountainForecast>
   <MountainForecast>
      <DataDate>2012-03-07T04:15:10Z</DataDate>
      <ValidFrom>2012-03-07T04:00:00Z</ValidFrom>
      <ValidTo>2012-03-11T04:00:00Z</ValidTo>
      <CreatedDate>2012-03-07T04:16:22Z</CreatedDate>
      <URI>http://datapoint.metoffice.gov.uk/public/data/txt/wxfcs/mountainarea/{format}/106</URI>
      <Area>Yorkshire Dales</Area>
      <Risk>Medium</Risk>
   </MountainForecast>
</MountainForecastList>

JSON

The JSON that follows shows the structure of a representative response to a call to the following URL, with a valid key:

http://datapoint.metoffice.gov.uk/public/data/txt/wxfcs/mountainarea/json/capabilities?key=<APIkey>

{
    "MountainForecastList": {
        "MountainForecast": [{
            "DataDate": "2012-03-07T03:47:52Z",
            "ValidFrom": "2012-03-07T03:00:00Z",
            "ValidTo": "2012-03-11T03:00:00Z",
            "CreatedDate": "2012-03-07T03:49:38Z",
            "URI": "http:\/\/datapoint.metoffice.gov.uk\/public\/data\/txt\/wxfcs\/mountainarea\/{format}\/100",
            "Area": "Brecon Beacons",
            "Risk": "Medium"
        }, {
            "DataDate": "2012-03-07T02:22:32Z",
            "ValidFrom": "2012-03-07T02:00:00Z",
            "ValidTo": "2012-03-11T02:00:00Z",
            "CreatedDate": "2012-03-07T02:23:51Z",
            "URI": "http:\/\/datapoint.metoffice.gov.uk\/public\/data\/txt\/wxfcs\/mountainarea\/{format}\/101",
            "Area": "East Highland",
            "Risk": "High"
        }, {
            "DataDate": "2012-03-07T02:22:52Z",
            "ValidFrom": "2012-03-07T02:00:00Z",
            "ValidTo": "2012-03-11T02:00:00Z",
            "CreatedDate": "2012-03-07T02:24:01Z",
            "URI": "http:\/\/datapoint.metoffice.gov.uk\/public\/data\/txt\/wxfcs\/mountainarea\/{format}\/102",
            "Area": "Lake District",
            "Risk": "High"
        }, {
            "DataDate": "2012-03-07T04:02:07Z",
            "ValidFrom": "2012-03-07T04:00:00Z",
            "ValidTo": "2012-03-11T04:00:00Z",
            "CreatedDate": "2012-03-07T04:07:42Z",
            "URI": "http:\/\/datapoint.metoffice.gov.uk\/public\/data\/txt\/wxfcs\/mountainarea\/{format}\/103",
            "Area": "Peak District",
            "Risk": "Medium"
        }, {
            "DataDate": "2012-03-07T02:58:57Z",
            "ValidFrom": "2012-03-07T02:00:00Z",
            "ValidTo": "2012-03-11T02:00:00Z",
            "CreatedDate": "2012-03-07T03:00:33Z",
            "URI": "http:\/\/datapoint.metoffice.gov.uk\/public\/data\/txt\/wxfcs\/mountainarea\/{format}\/104",
            "Area": "Snowdonia",
            "Risk": "Medium"
        }, {
            "DataDate": "2012-03-07T02:23:15Z",
            "ValidFrom": "2012-03-07T02:00:00Z",
            "ValidTo": "2012-03-11T02:00:00Z",
            "CreatedDate": "2012-03-07T02:24:32Z",
            "URI": "http:\/\/datapoint.metoffice.gov.uk\/public\/data\/txt\/wxfcs\/mountainarea\/{format}\/105",
            "Area": "West Highland",
            "Risk": "High"
        }, {
            "DataDate": "2012-03-07T04:15:10Z",
            "ValidFrom": "2012-03-07T04:00:00Z",
            "ValidTo": "2012-03-11T04:00:00Z",
            "CreatedDate": "2012-03-07T04:16:22Z",
            "URI": "http:\/\/datapoint.metoffice.gov.uk\/public\/data\/txt\/wxfcs\/mountainarea\/{format}\/106",
            "Area": "Yorkshire Dales",
            "Risk": "Medium"
        }]
    }
}

Anatomy of responses

The XML and JSON responses produced by this web service are identical in terms of their high level structure and the information they represent. Each contains a single MountainForecastList object (or node in XML), defined as follows:

MountainForecastList

The MountainForecastList object comprises a number of MountainForecast objects, defined below.

MountainForecast

A MountainForecast object defines a single mountain forecast, and contains the following elements:

DataDate: This describes The Issued Date of the forecast
ValidFrom: This is the same as the Data Date
ValidTo: This is the end of the validity period for the forecast, four days after the Data Date
CreatedDate: This is the time that this bulletin was entered into the system
URI: This describes the URI that will retrieve the actual mountain forecast
Area: This refers to area for the forecast
Risk: This refers to the general level of risk in this area

Mountain area forecasts site list data feed

Description of data feed

The mountain area forecast site list data feed provides a list of the locations (also known as sites) for which results are available for the mountain area forecast data feed. You can use this data feed to find details such as the ID of the site that you are interested in finding data for.

Accessing the feed via its web service

Description of web service

The mountain area forecast site list web service is used to check which locations the mountain area forecast data feed provides data for. You should set the data format in the URL to specify whether the web service should return XML or JSON, and include your API key in the query string.

Possible use cases for this web service with example URLs

You would like to know which sites are available for the mountain area forecast web service in XML format. In this case you would set the data type to xml.

Example: to obtain sites for the mountain area forecast web service:

http://datapoint.metoffice.gov.uk/public/data/txt/wxfcs/mountainarea/xml/sitelist?key=<API key>

The above example would return a file of approximately 1 kB in size
You would like to know which sites are available for the mountain area forecast web service in JSON format. In this case you would set the data type to json.

Example: to obtain sites for the mountain area forecast web service:

http://datapoint.metoffice.gov.uk/public/data/txt/wxfcs/mountainarea/json/sitelist?key=<API key>

The above example would return a file of approximately 1 kB in size

Example of XML and JSON responses

The following examples show a typical result of a call to the mountain area forecast site list web service requesting a complete list of sites for which mountain area forecasts are available.

XML

The XML that follows is a representative response to a call to the following URL, with a valid key:

http://datapoint.metoffice.gov.uk/public/data/txt/wxfcs/mountainarea/sitelist?res=daily&key=<API key>

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<Locations>
   <Location id="100" name="Brecon Beacons" />
   <Location id="101" name="East Highland" />
   <Location id="102" name="Lake District" />
   <Location id="103" name="Peak District" />
   <Location id="104" name="Snowdonia" />
   <Location id="105" name="West Highland" />
   <Location id="106" name="Yorkshire Dales" />
</Locations>

JSON

The JSON that follows shows the structure of a representative response to a call to the following URL, with a valid key:

http://datapoint.metoffice.gov.uk/public/data/txt/wxfcs/mountainarea/sitelist?res=daily&key=<API key>

{
    "Locations": {
        "Location": [{
            "@id": "100",
            "@name": "Brecon Beacons"
        }, {
            "@id": "101",
            "@name": "East Highland"
        }, {
            "@id": "102",
            "@name": "Lake District"
        }, {
            "@id": "103",
            "@name": "Peak District"
        }, {
            "@id": "104",
            "@name": "Snowdonia"
        }, {
            "@id": "105",
            "@name": "West Highland"
        }, {
            "@id": "106",
            "@name": "Yorkshire Dales"
        }]
    }
}

Anatomy of responses

The response produced by this web service contains a single Locations element, which in turn contains a set of Location elements, defined as follows:

Location

A Location element defines a single site, and contains the following attributes:

id: This provides the ID of the mountain area
name: This provides the name of the mountain area

Mountain area forecasts data feed

Accessing the feed via its web service

Description of web service

This provides access to mountain area forecasts covering the four day period after their issue date. The data provided by the web service is updated once a day at least, but may be updated more often. For a full list of the sites, call the mountain area forecasts site list data feed [HL].

Possible use cases for this web service with example URLs

Since this web service supplies forecast data, whenever this web service is used the resource category field in the URL should be set to wxfcs. You should also set the data format in the URL to specify whether the web service should return XML or JSON, and include your API key in the query string.

You would like the mountain area forecast for a single mountain area in XML format. In this case you specify the location ID explicitly in the location field.

Example: to obtain forecasts for a specified location at all available times in XML format:

http://datapoint.metoffice.gov.uk/public/data/txt/wxfcs/mountainarea/xml/100

The above example would return a file of approximately 5 kB in size
You would like the mountain area forecast for a single mountain area in JSON format. In this case you specify the location ID explicitly in the location field.

Example: to obtain forecasts for a specified location at all available times in JSON format:

http://datapoint.metoffice.gov.uk/public/data/txt/wxfcs/mountainarea/xml/100

The above example would return a file of approximately 5 kB in size

Example of XML and JSON responses

The following examples show a typical result of a call to the mountain area forecasts web service requesting the mountain area forecast for Brecon Beacons. The following section provides a detailed description of the structure and content of the responses.

XML

The XML that follows is a representative response to a call to the following URL, with a valid key:

http://datapoint.metoffice.gov.uk/public/data/txt/wxfcs/mountainarea/xml/100

<?xml version="1.0" encoding="UTF-8"?>
<report xmlns:xsi="http://www.w3.org/2001/XMLSchema-instance" creating-authority="Met Office" creation-time="2012-03-07T03:47:52">
   <title>Mountain Forecasts</title>
   <location>Brecon Beacons</location>
   <issue date="2012-03-07" time="0347" />
   <ValidFrom>2012-03-07T03:00:00Z</ValidFrom>
   <ValidTo>2012-03-11T03:00:00Z</ValidTo>
   <Validity>Wednesday and Thursday</Validity>
   <IssuedDate>Wednesday, 07 March 2012</IssuedDate>
   <Hazards>
      <Hazard no="1">
         <Element>Blizzards</Element>
         <Risk>No Risk</Risk>
         <Comments />
      </Hazard>
      <Hazard no="2">
         <Element>Heavy snow</Element>
         <Risk>No Risk</Risk>
         <Comments />
      </Hazard>
      <Hazard no="3">
         <Element>Storm force winds</Element>
         <Risk>No Risk</Risk>
         <Comments />
      </Hazard>
      <Hazard no="4">
         <Element>Gales</Element>
         <Risk>Low</Risk>
         <Comments>Risk of isolated gusts 50 to 55 mph during the morning, particularly around exposed ridges.</Comments>
      </Hazard>
      <Hazard no="5">
         <Element>Severe chill effect</Element>
         <Risk>Medium</Risk>
         <Comments>Risk of severe wind chill in strong winds, particularly at height.</Comments>
      </Hazard>
      <Hazard no="6">
         <Element>Persistent extensive hill fog</Element>
         <Risk>Low</Risk>
         <Comments>Extensive hill fog above 300 metres should lift through the morning.</Comments>
      </Hazard>
      <Hazard no="7">
         <Element>Thunderstorms</Element>
         <Risk>No Risk</Risk>
         <Comments />
      </Hazard>
      <Hazard no="8">
         <Element>Heavy persistent rain</Element>
         <Risk>Low</Risk>
         <Comments>Persistent rain through the morning should quickly clear.</Comments>
      </Hazard>
      <Hazard no="9">
         <Element>Strong sunlight</Element>
         <Risk>No Risk</Risk>
         <Comments />
      </Hazard>
   </Hazards>
   <Overview>A cloudy and wet start, although sunny spells will soon develop with scattered showers through the day. Strong winds throughout.</Overview>
   <Forecast_Day0>
      <Weather>Persistent rain, with extensive hill fog early in the morning should soon clear to sunny spells and scattered, blustery showers through the day. Some showers may turn to sleet or wet snow above around 500 metres later in the afternoon.</Weather>
      <Visibility>Moderate or poor early in the morning, becoming very good by the afternoon, although falling to moderate in any showers. Very poor in hill fog.</Visibility>
      <HillFog>Extensive hill fog above 300 metres in the morning, with periods in the west down to 100 metres. This lifting and breaking through the morning, with just a few patches around the summits during the afternoon in association with showers.</HillFog>
      <MaxWindLevel>400m</MaxWindLevel>
      <MaxWind>West or southwesterly 50 to 55 mph.</MaxWind>
      <TempLowLevel>Plus 10 Celsius.</TempLowLevel>
      <TempHighLevel>Plus 3 Celsius falling to zero Celsius.</TempHighLevel>
      <FreezingLevel>Well above the summits, falling to 600 metres in the afternoon.</FreezingLevel>
      <WeatherPPN>
         <WxPeriod period="1">
            <Period>Dawn to 0900</Period>
            <Weather>12</Weather>
            <Probability>80%</Probability>
            <Ppn_type />
         </WxPeriod>
         <WxPeriod period="2">
            <Period>0900 to 1200</Period>
            <Weather>14</Weather>
            <Probability>60%</Probability>
            <Ppn_type />
         </WxPeriod>
         <WxPeriod period="3">
            <Period>1200 to 1500</Period>
            <Weather>10</Weather>
            <Probability>60%</Probability>
            <Ppn_type />
         </WxPeriod>
         <WxPeriod period="4">
            <Period>1500 to Dusk</Period>
            <Weather>10</Weather>
            <Probability>60%</Probability>
            <Ppn_type />
         </WxPeriod>
      </WeatherPPN>
   </Forecast_Day0>
   <Forecast_Day1>
      <Weather>A largely fine and dry start, with sunny spells through the morning. Becoming cloudier through the afternoon, with a risk of some light rain in the west.</Weather>
      <Visibility>Generally very good, although moderate in any light rain and poor in hill fog.</Visibility>
      <HillFog>Nil to start, although occasional hill fog developing above 700 m by late afternoon.</HillFog>
      <MaxWindLevel>400m</MaxWindLevel>
      <MaxWind>Northwesterly 25 mph.</MaxWind>
      <TempLowLevel>Plus 2 Celsius rising to plus 11 Celsius.</TempLowLevel>
      <TempHighLevel>Plus 2 Celsius.</TempHighLevel>
      <FreezingLevel>600 metres rising to well above the summits.</FreezingLevel>
   </Forecast_Day1>
   <Outlook_Day2>A rather cloudy day, with some outbreaks of light rain possible in the west and areas of hill fog. Brighter and largely dry in the east. Breezy westerly winds, especially at height. Freezing levels well above the summits.</Outlook_Day2>
   <Outlook_Day3>A rather cloudy but largely dry day, although there may be some light outbreaks of rain in the west, with periods of hill fog here. Best of the bright spells in the east. Light winds with freezing levels well above the summits.</Outlook_Day3>
   <Outlook_Day4>Another rather cloudy day but it should be dry with more bright spells than previous days, particularly in the east. Light winds, with freezing levels well above the summits.</Outlook_Day4>
   <GroundConditions>
      <Text />
   </GroundConditions>
   <RainGauges>
      <RainGauge measurementDate="2012-03-07T03:00:00" type="primary">
         <Site>Neuadd Rain</Site>
         <Altitude>353</Altitude>
         <Location>(near Pontsticill)</Location>
         <WMO>99695</WMO>
         <Text hours="24">1.8</Text>
         <Text hours="48">2.0</Text>
         <Text hours="72">8.2</Text>
      </RainGauge>
   </RainGauges>
</report>

JSON

The JSON that follows shows the structure of a representative response to a call to the following URL, with a valid key:

http://datapoint.metoffice.gov.uk/public/data/txt/wxfcs/mountainarea/json/100

{
    "report": {
        "creating-authority": "Met Office",
        "creation-time": "2012-03-07T03:47:52",
        "title": "Mountain Forecasts",
        "location": "Brecon Beacons",
        "issue": {
            "date": "2012-03-07",
            "time": "0347"
        },
        "ValidFrom": "2012-03-07T03:00:00Z",
        "ValidTo": "2012-03-11T03:00:00Z",
        "Validity": "Wednesday and Thursday",
        "IssuedDate": "Wednesday, 07 March 2012",
        "Hazards": {
            "Hazard": [{
                "no": "1",
                "Element": "Blizzards",
                "Risk": "No Risk",
                "Comments": ""
            }, {
                "no": "2",
                "Element": "Heavy snow",
                "Risk": "No Risk",
                "Comments": ""
            }, {
                "no": "3",
                "Element": "Storm force winds",
                "Risk": "No Risk",
                "Comments": ""
            }, {
                "no": "4",
                "Element": "Gales",
                "Risk": "Low",
                "Comments": "Risk of isolated gusts 50 to 55 mph during the morning, particularly around exposed ridges. "
            }, {
                "no": "5",
                "Element": "Severe chill effect",
                "Risk": "Medium",
                "Comments": "Risk of severe wind chill in strong winds, particularly at height. "
            }, {
                "no": "6",
                "Element": "Persistent extensive hill fog",
                "Risk": "Low",
                "Comments": "Extensive hill fog above 300 metres should lift through the morning. "
            }, {
                "no": "7",
                "Element": "Thunderstorms",
                "Risk": "No Risk",
                "Comments": ""
            }, {
                "no": "8",
                "Element": "Heavy persistent rain",
                "Risk": "Low",
                "Comments": "Persistent rain through the morning should quickly clear. "
            }, {
                "no": "9",
                "Element": "Strong sunlight",
                "Risk": "No Risk",
                "Comments": ""
            }]
        },
        "Overview": "A cloudy and wet start, although sunny spells will soon develop with scattered showers through the day. Strong winds throughout.",
        "Forecast_Day0": {
            "Weather": "Persistent rain, with extensive hill fog early in the morning should soon clear to sunny spells and scattered, blustery showers through the day. Some showers may turn to sleet or wet snow above around 500 metres later in the afternoon. ",
            "Visibility": "Moderate or poor early in the morning, becoming very good by the afternoon, although falling to moderate in any showers. Very poor in hill fog. ",
            "HillFog": "Extensive hill fog above 300 metres in the morning, with periods in the west down to 100 metres. This lifting and breaking through the morning, with just a few patches around the summits during the afternoon in association with showers.",
            "MaxWindLevel": "400m",
            "MaxWind": "West or southwesterly 50 to 55 mph.",
            "TempLowLevel": "Plus 10 Celsius.",
            "TempHighLevel": "Plus 3 Celsius falling to zero Celsius. ",
            "FreezingLevel": "Well above the summits, falling to 600 metres in the afternoon. ",
            "WeatherPPN": {
                "WxPeriod": [{
                    "period": "1",
                    "Period": "Dawn to 0900",
                    "Weather": 12,
                    "Probability": "80%",
                    "Ppn_type": ""
                }, {
                    "period": "2",
                    "Period": "0900 to 1200",
                    "Weather": 14,
                    "Probability": "60%",
                    "Ppn_type": ""
                }, {
                    "period": "3",
                    "Period": "1200 to 1500",
                    "Weather": 10,
                    "Probability": "60%",
                    "Ppn_type": ""
                }, {
                    "period": "4",
                    "Period": "1500 to Dusk",
                    "Weather": 10,
                    "Probability": "60%",
                    "Ppn_type": ""
                }]
            }
        },
        "Forecast_Day1": {
            "Weather": "A largely fine and dry start, with sunny spells through the morning. Becoming cloudier through the afternoon, with a risk of some light rain in the west. ",
            "Visibility": "Generally very good, although moderate in any light rain and poor in hill fog. ",
            "HillFog": "Nil to start, although occasional hill fog developing above 700 m by late afternoon. ",
            "MaxWindLevel": "400m",
            "MaxWind": "Northwesterly 25 mph. ",
            "TempLowLevel": "Plus 2 Celsius rising to plus 11 Celsius. ",
            "TempHighLevel": "Plus 2 Celsius.",
            "FreezingLevel": "600 metres rising to well above the summits."
        },
        "Outlook_Day2": "A rather cloudy day, with some outbreaks of light rain possible in the west and areas of hill fog. Brighter and largely dry in the east. Breezy westerly winds, especially at height. Freezing levels well above the summits. ",
        "Outlook_Day3": "A rather cloudy but largely dry day, although there may be some light outbreaks of rain in the west, with periods of hill fog here. Best of the bright spells in the east. Light winds with freezing levels well above the summits. ",
        "Outlook_Day4": "Another rather cloudy day but it should be dry with more bright spells than previous days, particularly in the east. Light winds, with freezing levels well above the summits.",
        "GroundConditions": {
            "Text": ""
        },
        "RainGauges": {
            "RainGauge": {
                "measurementDate": "2012-03-07T03:00:00",
                "type": "primary",
                "Site": "Neuadd Rain",
                "Altitude": 353,
                "Location": "(near Pontsticill)",
                "WMO": 99695,
                "Text": [{
                    "hours": "24",
                    "$": "1.8"
                }, {
                    "hours": "48",
                    "$": "2.0"
                }, {
                    "hours": "72",
                    "$": "8.2"
                }]
            }
        }
    }
}

Anatomy of responses

The XML and JSON responses produced by this web service are identical in terms of their high level structure and the information they represent. Each contains a single report object (or node in XML), defined as follows:

report

The report object comprises contains the following attributes:

creating-authority: This is always the Met Office
creation-time: This specifies the creation time of the report in ISO8601 format

It also contains the following elements:

title: This is always Mountain Forecasts

location: This is the name of the location to which the report refers

issue: This is a user friendly representation of the issue date. It has two attributes, date [B], which represents the date of issue, and time, which represents the time of issue

ValidFrom: This is the start of the validity period

ValidTo: This is the end of the validity period

Validity: This is a textual representation of the validity period

IssuedDate: This is a textual representation of the issue date

Hazards: This is a summary of the hazards that may be encountered and the current level of risk presented by each. The structure of the Hazards object is described below

Overview: This is an overview of the weather in the relevant area

Forecast_Day0: This is a detailed forecast for day 0. The structure of the Forecast_Day0 object is described below

Forecast_Day1: This is a detailed forecast for day 1. The structure of the Forecast_Day1 object is described below

Outlook_Day2: This is a short paragraph giving the general outlook for day 2

Outlook_Day3: This is a short paragraph giving the general outlook for day 3

Outlook_Day4: This is a short paragraph giving the general outlook for day 4

Hazards

The Hazards object comprises a number of Hazard objects, defined below.

Hazard

A Hazard object comprises contains the following attribute:

no: This gives the number of the Hazard

It also contains the following elements:

element: This describes the type of Hazard

risk: This gives the level of risk

comments: This gives additional comments

Forecast_Day0

The Forecast_Day0 object represents the forecast for day 0, and contains the elements listed below.

Weather: This is a summary of the weather on day 0
Visibility: This is a summary of the visibility on day 0
HillFog: This is a summary of the hill fog on day 0
MaxWindLevel: This is a description of the maximum wind level on day 0
MaxWind: This is a description of the maximum wind on day 0
TempLowLevel: This describes the low level temperature
TempHighLevel: This describes the high level temperature
FreezingLevel: This describes the freezing level
WeatherPPN: This gives the weather per period. The structure of the WeatherPPN object is described below

WeatherPPN

The WeatherPPN object represents the weather per period, and contains a number of WxPeriod elements, whose structure is defined below.

WxPeriod

Each WxPeriod object represents a single period. A WxPeriod object contains a period attribute, which gives the number of the period. It also contains the following elements:

Period This is a textual description of the period
- Weather: This gives a number corresponding to the weather symbol
- Probability: This gives the precipitation probability
Forecast_Day1
The Forecast_Day1 object represents the forecast for day 1, and is identical in structure to the Forecast_Day0 object, except that there is no WeatherPPN element.
Outlook_Day2
The Outlook_Day2 object gives a textual description of the outlook for the weather on day 2.
Outlook_Day3
The Outlook_Day3 object gives a textual description of the outlook for the weather on day 2.
Outlook_Day4
The Outlook_Day4 object gives a textual description of the outlook for the weather on day 2.

Return to the Mountain weather forecasts product

Last Updated: 7 December 2012

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