Extremely high solar radiation values (20,000+ W/m²) reported by Tempest

Developers
, ,
1

Hi all,

I’m investigating an occasional issue where my Tempest reports physically impossible solar radiation values.

I use both the local UDP obs_st broadcast and the WeatherFlow REST API, and I wanted to determine whether the problem was in my software or originated from the station.

Here’s what I’ve verified:

  • The local UDP obs_st packet contains the solar radiation value reported by the station.
  • The Tempest mobile app displays the same value.
  • The historical REST API returns the same value.
  • My software stores the values exactly as reported and does not calculate or modify solar radiation.

For example, during a normal observation, all four sources agree exactly:

Illuminance: 125,685 lux
UV Index: 9.79
Solar Radiation: 1,047 W/m²

However, on Several occasions yesterday the station reported:

Illuminance: approximately 2,528,937 lux
Solar Radiation: approximately 21,074 W/m²

The Tempest app displayed these values as well, so they were not generated by my software.

Has anyone else observed occasional extreme spikes in illuminance or solar radiation like this?

Firmware: 185

I’m mainly trying to determine whether this is a known firmware issue, a cloud processing issue, a sensor anomaly, or expected behavior under some rare conditions.

Thanks!

2

correct this device was installed recently ? It indeed showed rather impossible values but calibration kicked in yesterday after a few days of analyzing. Your Tempest is having shadow moments in the afternoon, hence calibration was hesitant.

Keep an eye on it the coming days and if it starts to go wonky again, contact support for deeper checks.

3

Yes, that’s correct. This Tempest is a recently installed replacement unit.

That explanation makes sense. The very high solar radiation values caught my attention because they were physically impossible, so I wanted to verify whether they originated from my software or from the station itself. I captured the same values in the local UDP broadcast, the Tempest app, and the historical REST API, which confirmed they were coming directly from the station.

I’ll keep an eye on it over the next several days while the calibration settles in. If I see the issue return after calibration has completed, I’ll contact support with the timestamps and observations for further investigation.

Thanks for the explanation.