It seems that every update is always and only about “Tempest”.
I’m one of those people who purchased a Weatherflow station before Tempest was ever released.
Do the “Tempest” updates get applied to Weatherflow as well, or has the Weatherflow station been totally abandoned? Is my station running on orphan software?
If these updates are applied to both Tempest and Weatherflow hardware, why isn’t this made clear? And, if these are for Tempest hardware only, are there any plans to update the software on my Weatherflow machine? Or am I stuck with an increasingly outdated machine just because I purchased it a few months before Tempest (and with zero warning that the Weatherflow would be abandoned in a few months). I had NO idea about Tempest when I purchased several months before its release.
This post is referring specifically to Tempest firmware, so this firmware is not going to be applied to the older Sky/Air modules. In fact, it is not even possible for these older modules to receive a firmware update remotely.
That being said, all the AI improvements and backend server improvements that have come with the new Tempest system are being applied to data coming from the older Air/Sky modules. Your machine is definitely not outdated, and has definitely not been abandoned! Indeed your hub likely received an update earlier this month to v143 (New Hub Firmware v143).
Also, in terms of the Tempest name I think it can be confusing as it is both the name of the new hardware, and the overall brand name for WeatherFlow weather stations.
As @peter suggested, I see that your hub did get the firmware update to v143.
Furthermore, your Air an SKY have the latest firmware which has changed little since the first production. My first production Air is on v20 and yours is on v23. My first production SKY had a sensor failure and recently was replaced and we are on the same version, v43.
I wouldn’t be able to put my hand on it, but it seems to me that I read (before Tempest was shipped) that the only difference between Tempest and Weatherflow stations would be that the Air module would be an integral part of the station instead of a separate unit. Obviously, that was far from accurate.
Very. Far.
If I had understood that there was a MAJOR updating difference between the two units I would have given more thought to getting the pre-ship price on Tempest and basically doubling the cost of weather system that can be made more accurate. The algorhythm flaws on Rain Check continue to make it so bad that I have had to turn it off – ludicrous rain check revisions that have wiped out actual, observed, measurable rain over a broad local area. I just had no idea that my station is but a beta version for a real product (Tempest).
“it is both the name of the new hardware, and the overall brand name for WeatherFlow weather stations”
If I understand correctly, you are saying that Tempest is the name of the hardware, which itself is a weather station brand called Tempest.
That is such a fine line of distinction and incredibly unclear.
So it sounds like you are saying that potentially, in the unknown future, there might be hardware called “Stormy” which would be a “Tempest” weather station? Having the same name for two separate things that are, in fact, currently ONE thing is … really messed up.
I wouldn’t say that is fair. The Air/Sky system (which is the system I have as well by the way) was a complete product that works excellently. However, this doesn’t mean that WeatherFlow cannot learn from what they have done in the past and continue to innovate and bring out new products. If that was the case, we would never have had anything other than the first iPhone. WeatherFlow are continuing to support Air/Sky owners, and the firmware on these devices is sufficiently mature that it doesn’t need updating.
The RainCheck system is actually a server side system - it is applied equally to data from Tempest and Sky modules so you are not missing out here. Changes to the Tempest firmware are not going to bring improvements to the performance of RainCheck at the expense of Sky units.
It can be confusing, and WeatherFlow have acknowledged as much. Essentially “Tempest Hardware” refers to the actual Tempest device. The “Tempest System”, however, refers to the backend processing system that all the data from Air/Sky/Tempest devices is fed through. As a Sky/Air owner (like me) you are benefiting from the improvements that this system has brought.
I guess that depends on your perspective. I have both stations running at my home. I could say that they are way different from each other because I only have to site one unit and it has a radiation shield whereas with the SKY+AIR I don’t have that luxury. On the other hand, some want to place the temperature measuring near ground level to get that value rather than possibly on their roof.
The RainCheck issues plague both units. Again I have both here and can see the difference. I also have a CoCoRaHS and have been reporting precipitation measurements and had my SKY well within reason to actual measurements, then a sensor died and I had to start all over again. Right now, my SKY is more accurate with rain measurements than my newest field test Tempest. The production Tempest hasn’t been up long enough to get it calibrated.
Due to advancements in technology, WeatherFlow has figured out how to reliably push a firmware update to the Tempest sensor device. This was too risky when the SKY and AIR were released. As such, the firmware had to be really good on the SKY and AIR before shipment so there weren’t a whole ton of devices that had to be replaced in the field. Given that the AIR firmware only went from v20 to v23 in two years is a testament to that. The Tempest, with the field updateable firmware, could be sent out to customers a little earlier knowing that if things were found wrong in the firmware that it could be updated in situ. That is why you are seeing this topic. There were bugs found in the firmware and they are now working on an update. In fact, as stated in post 23, v133 deployment was halted and a new firmware is being worked on and is in beta. All of this type of thing was done before shipment of the SKY, which you have, a rock solid piece of kit.
Why did I purchase a production version of the Tempest when I already had two SKY+Air stations? I like to live on the bleeding edge and love new tech, especially different ways of doing things. For my mobile station, I have to figure each time I get to my destination where I can place an Air unit for my outside measurements, with the Tempest I only have the one device. At home, I’m curious so I can now have wind measurements in more than one location, just pair the devices to the same hub or have two independent stations.
Hi Carl. Sorry for the confusion. What some of the helpful folks on this forum have said above is all accurate. Further, your AIR & SKY devices are still fully supported by WeatherFlow and will give you the same information as the new Tempest device would. If you’re not fully satisfied with your AIR & SKY, please reach out to our amazing customer support team.
Here’s a little more clarity (hopefully) on the confusing naming issue. The original AIR & SKY that you own was launched in 2016 and is collectively called the “Smart Weather Station”. The “Tempest Weather System” is the next generation of that original product. You are correct that it is, other than some minor hardware improvements, the AIR & SKY combined. You could also retroactively call what you own the “Original Tempest Weather System.” Finally, both the first & the second generation products are designed and manufactured by WeatherFlow, though the original product is no longer being sold.
Why the change? Well, changed the name from “Smart Weather” to “Tempest” because it’s a more identifiable brand (and it just sounds cooler, don’t you think?). And we went with “System” rather than “Station” because both products are “more than hardware” - they are a hybrid of hardware (sensor device, hub), software, and data science.
Another reason we’re using the brand “Tempest” more than WeatherFlow is to distinguish our home weather station products from our professional weather offerings. So, right now there’s the “Tempest Device” (the sensor hardware itself), the “Tempest Weather System” (the sensor hardware plus the Hub and the apps and all the back-end software & data science stuff), and then there’s “Tempest” the brand…
Ok, I think that’s it. Is that more clear? or less?
Hmmmm… We don’t have a name for the “third generation” yet, but the Tempest’s code name was “Storm” during development. And while I’m not sure the marketing folks will go for “Stormy” or “Tempest Stormy,” I kind of like the sound of it!
PS: We have started calling all the “backend stuff” collectively the “Tempest Cloud” but that hasn’t been approved by the marketing folks yet!
Also don’t forget. . .the play called “The Tempest” by that famous 16th Century English Playwright William Shakespeare. My “adopted” middle name is Stormy.
that is not completely true (at least not yet), as the lightning data shown by the tempest graphs is filled with data from third parties. Not only showing the strikes closest to you, but all strikes in range. I’m not sure if I like that (as I think I would like to see a distinction between what my weather stations measures, and data from other systems), but the for sure that data is filled by the backend servers, but only for the Tempest and not for the Air.
