Data sources

Each condition keeps its own source and precision.

We do not pretend that mixed environmental datasets describe one perfectly precise backyard point.

Source families
5
Precision
Kept separate
Freshness
Checked independently
Forecasts + alerts

Weather and official alerts

National Weather Service / NOAA hourly forecasts, forecast grids, and point-relevant active alerts. Forecast grids are roughly 2.5 km and are rechecked as their validity and cache guidance allow.

Observed + modeled

Air quality

Flagship public pages prefer normalized AirNow current conditions and outlooks. Where no sufficiently fresh reporting area is close enough, the page uses a clearly labeled modeled US AQI outlook from Open-Meteo and the Copernicus Atmosphere Monitoring Service global forecast. EPA AirData supports history, monitor normals, and seasonality. Google Air Quality may enrich an explicit planner request but is not the public-page source of record.

Satellite + model + incidents

Wildfire smoke and fire context

NOAA Hazard Mapping System identifies satellite-observed smoke aloft; HRRR-Smoke supplies modeled movement; NIFC WFIGS supplies fire context. These signals remain separate from ground-level AQI and durable smoke climatology.

Measured + calculated

UV and daylight

EPA Envirofacts supplies current-day ZIP-associated UV where available. Open-Meteo supplies clearly labeled modeled gaps and later periods under CC BY 4.0. Daylight is calculated from the selected coordinates and time.

Explicit searches only

Place search

OpenStreetMap Nominatim is used only after an explicit search or location action—never for autocomplete or bulk generation.

Stored conditions and freshness

Public place pages read normalized records produced by signed scheduled ingestion; rendering does not fan out to providers. Each weather, alert, air-quality, and smoke record ages independently. Last-verified values remain labeled only until their hard or legal expiry, after which they are withheld.

Freshness and failure

If a required source cannot be checked, the integrated recommendation is withheld. Source attribution, retrieved times, forecast timezone, ruleset version, and material limitations remain visible with each result.