Visual Crossing Weather Data FAQ

March 24, 2026

This FAQ answers common questions about Visual Crossing Weather Data and the Visual Crossing Weather API.

It covers topics including:

  • Accounts and plans
  • Historical weather availability
  • Forecast data
  • Locations and geocoding
  • Weather stations
  • Units and measurements
  • Data quality
  • Microsoft Excel
  • Weather API requests
  • Usage limits
  • Specialized weather data

For API-specific details, see the Timeline Weather API documentation.

If you are new to Visual Crossing, see Getting Started with the Weather API.

What is Visual Crossing Weather?

Visual Crossing provides historical weather, current conditions, forecasts, and other environmental data through:

  • The Visual Crossing Weather API
  • Visual Crossing Weather Data tools
  • Downloadable datasets
  • Spreadsheet integrations
  • Bulk and stored datasets
  • Specialized weather-data products

The Visual Crossing Weather API is designed for applications that need to retrieve weather programmatically.

The Visual Crossing Weather Data tools are useful for exploring and downloading weather without writing code.

How do I create an account?

You can sign up for a free Visual Crossing account.

After creating an account, you can obtain your API key and begin using the Weather API according to the limits of your account plan.

For a complete walkthrough, see Getting Started with the Weather API.

Is there a free Weather API plan?

Visual Crossing offers a Free Plan for evaluating the service and for smaller workloads.

Plan features, usage limits, and pricing can change, so see the current Visual Crossing Weather Data pricing for the latest information.

Applications should always operate within the usage, request-rate, and concurrency limits of the account plan being used.

What kinds of weather data can I retrieve?

Visual Crossing provides weather data including:

  • Historical weather
  • Current conditions
  • Forecast weather
  • Daily weather
  • Hourly weather
  • Sub-hourly weather
  • Temperature
  • Precipitation
  • Snow
  • Wind
  • Humidity
  • Pressure
  • Visibility
  • Cloud cover
  • Solar radiation
  • UV index
  • Weather alerts
  • Weather and environmental events
  • Astronomy data
  • Marine and other specialized weather data where available

Available elements can vary by location, date, source, and account plan.

For the complete list of Timeline Weather API fields, see the Timeline Weather API documentation.

How far back does historical weather data go?

Historical weather availability depends on:

  • Location
  • Date
  • Weather element
  • Observation source
  • Data resolution

Visual Crossing provides long-term historical weather coverage, but not every location or element has identical availability throughout the entire historical archive.

For current coverage information, see the Visual Crossing Weather Data Availability Guide.

How far into the future does forecast data go?

Forecast availability depends on the forecast models and sources available for the requested location.

Rather than relying on a fixed forecast-length value, use the available forecast period returned by the Timeline Weather API.

Forecast data may include:

  • Daily forecasts
  • Hourly forecasts
  • Sub-hourly forecasts where supported

For details, see the Timeline Weather API documentation.

Can I retrieve historical and forecast weather using the same API?

Yes.

The Timeline Weather API uses one consistent endpoint for historical weather, current conditions, and forecasts.

The basic structure is:

/timeline/[location]/[date1]/[date2]

For example:

/timeline/London,UK

returns the available forecast.

A historical request can specify a date:

/timeline/London,UK/2026-07-01

or a date range:

/timeline/London,UK/2026-07-01/2026-07-31

This makes it possible to use the same integration for many historical and forecast workflows.

What locations can I use?

The Timeline Weather API supports several location formats.

Examples include:

London, UK
New York, NY
20190
38.9697,-77.3850

Supported location types include:

  • City and country
  • City and state
  • Postal or ZIP code
  • Full or partial address
  • Latitude and longitude
  • Supported station identifiers

When using geographic coordinates, the format is:

latitude,longitude

For example:

38.9697,-77.3850

Latitude comes first.

Can I use an address instead of latitude and longitude?

Yes.

The Weather API can resolve textual locations such as:

1600 Pennsylvania Avenue NW, Washington, DC

as well as cities, postal codes, and coordinates.

If you already know the latitude and longitude, coordinates can provide more direct control over the requested location.

Why does the returned address differ from the location I entered?

The Weather API may geocode or normalize the requested location.

The returned:

resolvedAddress

field shows the location that the API resolved from your request.

For example:

London, UK

may resolve to a fuller address such as:

London, England, United Kingdom

This is normal.

What happens if I enter latitude and longitude backwards?

Coordinates should always be entered as:

latitude,longitude

If they are reversed, the resulting point may be in a completely different location or may be invalid.

For example:

38.9697,-77.3850

means:

latitude = 38.9697
longitude = -77.3850

If weather results look unexpectedly far from the desired location, verify the coordinate order first.

Where does historical weather data come from?

Historical weather can be produced from multiple available observation sources.

These can include:

  • Surface weather stations
  • Airport observations
  • Mesonet stations
  • Radar
  • Satellite observations
  • Other remote observation sources

The exact source combination depends on the requested:

  • Location
  • Date
  • Weather element
  • Available observations

Visual Crossing processes available sources to produce weather representative of the requested location.

Does Visual Crossing simply return the nearest weather station?

No.

Historical weather values are not necessarily the raw values from a single nearest station.

Visual Crossing can consider multiple available sources when producing weather for a requested location.

For normal historical interpolation, nearby valid station observations are generally weighted according to factors such as distance and availability.

Additional processing may also consider:

  • Elevation
  • Observation quality
  • Available weather elements
  • Remote observation sources where appropriate

The list of stations associated with a response should not automatically be interpreted as meaning that every station contributed equally to every returned weather element.

Can I control which weather stations are used?

Advanced requests can influence the station search using parameters such as:

maxStations
maxDistance
elevationDifference

These parameters can help when working with:

  • Sparse station networks
  • Mountainous terrain
  • Remote locations
  • Locations where station elevation matters

For details, see Modifying the Weather Station Search Parameters.

Can I request weather from a specific station?

Yes, supported station identifiers can be used as locations in Weather API requests.

This can be useful when you specifically need data associated with one station rather than weather interpolated for an arbitrary geographic point.

Keep in mind that station-specific data availability depends on the station, date, and element.

What should I do if no nearby station has the weather data I need?

First:

  1. Verify the requested coordinates or location.
  2. Check whether nearby stations contain the required weather element.
  3. Consider increasing the station search distance where appropriate.
  4. Review whether remote observation sources may provide coverage.

For remote locations, see Finding Historical Weather Data for Remote Locations.

For remote-source behavior, see Using Remote Data Sources in the Weather API.

Does Visual Crossing use radar or satellite data?

Yes, remote observation sources such as radar and satellite data can be used where appropriate and available.

These sources can be useful when:

  • Surface stations are sparse
  • Precipitation varies significantly across an area
  • Remote sensing provides useful additional information

For more information, see Using Remote Data Sources in the Weather API.

What are current conditions?

Current conditions describe the most recent weather available for the requested location.

In the Timeline Weather API, current conditions are returned in:

currentConditions

when requested with:

include=current

Current conditions differ from normal historical interpolation because source selection considers both:

  • Observation recency
  • Distance from the requested location

A newer observation can therefore sometimes be preferred over a closer but older observation.

For details, see How to Get Current Weather Conditions from the Weather API.

What units does the Weather API use?

The unitGroup parameter controls the measurement system.

Common values include:

us
metric
uk
base

For example:

unitGroup=metric

selects metric units.

The unit group controls measurements such as:

  • Temperature
  • Precipitation
  • Snow
  • Wind speed
  • Visibility

For the complete mapping, see Weather API Unit Groups and Measurement Units.

How do I change from Fahrenheit to Celsius?

Use:

unitGroup=metric

For example:

https://weather.visualcrossing.com/VisualCrossingWebServices/rest/services/timeline/London,UK?unitGroup=metric&key=YOUR_API_KEY

Metric temperatures are returned in degrees Celsius.

For US-style Fahrenheit values, use:

unitGroup=us

What is the conditions field?

The conditions field provides a human-readable description of the weather.

Examples can include:

Clear
Partially cloudy
Rain
Snow
Overcast

Condition text is useful for display.

If you need programmatic classification, use stable condition identifiers rather than relying only on translated human-readable text.

See Weather API Condition Codes and Conditions Field.

What is the difference between precip and precipprob?

precip represents the amount of precipitation.

For example:

precip = 0.25

could represent 0.25 inches in US units.

precipprob represents the probability of measurable precipitation in a forecast period.

For example:

precipprob = 70

means a 70% probability of measurable precipitation.

For historical analysis, use actual precipitation measurements such as precip, not forecast probability.

Where can I find historical precipitation data?

Historical precipitation is available through the Timeline Weather API and Weather Data tools.

Important precipitation fields include:

precip
precipcover
preciptype
snow
snowdepth

For details, see Where Can I Find Historical Precipitation Data?.

What is the difference between snow and snow depth?

snow represents new snowfall during the period.

snowdepth represents the depth of snow already on the ground.

It is therefore normal to see:

snow = 0
snowdepth > 0

when no new snow falls but snow from an earlier event remains on the ground.

Can I retrieve hourly weather?

Yes.

Use:

include=hours

or combine daily and hourly data:

include=days,hours

Hourly weather is useful when the timing of weather events matters.

Can I retrieve sub-hourly weather?

Yes, where supported.

Use:

include=minutes

Sub-hourly data can provide weather at intervals smaller than one hour.

Availability and resolution depend on:

  • Location
  • Date
  • Observation source
  • Forecast source
  • Account access

For details, see Sub-Hourly Data in the Timeline Weather API.

What output formats are available?

The Timeline Weather API supports formats including:

json
csv
flatjson

JSON is useful for applications that need structured nested data.

CSV is convenient for:

  • Excel
  • Databases
  • Data analysis
  • Flat tables

flatjson provides an alternative flattened JSON representation.

For details, see the Timeline Weather API documentation.

Can I request only certain weather fields?

Yes.

Use the:

elements

parameter.

For example:

elements=datetime,tempmax,tempmin,precip,conditions

You can also modify the default list using:

add:
remove:

For example:

elements=add:aqius,remove:windgust

See Adding and Removing Elements from Your Weather Query.

Can I use dynamic dates?

Yes.

Instead of fixed dates, the Timeline Weather API supports dynamic values such as:

today
yesterday
last7days
last30days
next5days

These values are used in the Timeline date path positions.

For details, see Using Dynamic Dates in the Timeline Weather API.

What timezone is used?

Formatted dates and times are normally returned in the local timezone of the requested location unless another timezone is explicitly requested.

The response includes information such as:

timezone
tzoffset

For programmatic timestamp handling, datetimeEpoch is often the safest unambiguous representation.

For detailed timezone and daylight-saving guidance, see Dates and Times in the Weather API.

Why is an hour repeated during daylight saving time?

During the transition from daylight saving time back to standard time, a local clock hour can occur twice.

For example:

01:00
01:00

can represent two different actual times.

Use:

datetimeEpoch

to distinguish them unambiguously.

See How to Handle Daylight Saving Time in the Weather API.

Can I retrieve weather for multiple locations in one request?

Yes.

The Multiple Location Timeline Weather API supports multiple locations in one request.

For example, locations can be combined using the documented multiple-location request format.

This is useful when the resulting combined dataset remains reasonably small.

For large dataset workflows, consider bulk or scheduled data options instead of attempting to create one very large API request.

See Using the Timeline Weather API with Multiple Locations.

Can I load Weather API data into Microsoft Excel?

Yes.

Visual Crossing supports several Excel workflows.

For simple CSV-based retrieval, see:

How to Load Weather Data into Microsoft Excel Using a Web Query Data Connection

For structured JSON and more advanced Power Query workflows, see:

Importing Data from a JSON Weather API into Microsoft Excel Using Power Query

Can I use the Weather API with Python?

Yes.

The Weather API is a standard HTTPS REST API, so Python can call it using libraries such as:

requests

You can then load the returned JSON into pandas or other analytical tools.

For a notebook-oriented example, see How to Load Weather Data into a Jupyter Notebook.

Can I use the Weather API with JavaScript, Java, C#, PHP, or other languages?

Yes.

Any environment that can send HTTPS requests and process JSON or CSV can generally use the Weather API.

Visual Crossing documentation includes examples for many languages and platforms.

For an overview, see Getting Started with the Weather API.

What does queryCost mean?

The queryCost value indicates how much record usage a request consumes.

For historical weather, query cost generally depends on the number and type of weather records returned.

For example:

  • Daily historical records normally contribute one cost per day returned.
  • Hourly historical records normally contribute one cost per hour returned.
  • Sub-hourly records can consume more because many more records are returned.

Forecast and specialized APIs may use different cost behavior.

See What Is the queryCost Parameter?.

Do fewer elements reduce query cost?

Usually, query cost is based primarily on the number and type of records returned rather than the number of weather fields in each record.

Reducing elements can still:

  • Make the response smaller
  • Reduce network transfer
  • Reduce client-side processing
  • Make the dataset easier to work with

If you need to reduce record usage, changing the requested time resolution or date range is usually more important than simply removing fields.

Why am I receiving HTTP 429?

A:

429 Too Many Requests

response means that an assigned request, concurrency, usage, or related account limit has been exceeded.

Always inspect the response body for the specific reason.

If the response says:

Maximum concurrent jobs has been exceeded

reduce the number of simultaneous requests.

For details, see What Causes the “Maximum Concurrent Jobs Has Been Exceeded” HTTP 429 Error?.

For general error information, see Weather API HTTP Error Codes.

What other HTTP error codes can the Weather API return?

Common HTTP status codes include:

200 OK
400 BAD_REQUEST
401 UNAUTHORIZED
404 NOT_FOUND
429 TOO_MANY_REQUESTS
500 INTERNAL_SERVER_ERROR

The response body normally contains additional diagnostic information.

See Weather API HTTP Error Codes.

How should I debug a Weather API request?

When a request fails:

  1. Capture the HTTP status code.
  2. Read the response body.
  3. Verify the API key.
  4. Check the endpoint.
  5. Verify the location and dates.
  6. Check request parameters.
  7. Review account limits and feature access.
  8. Simplify the query to isolate the problem.

See How to Debug Problems When Running Weather API Queries in Code.

What is Fair Use?

Visual Crossing plans include published usage and request limits.

Visual Crossing also maintains a Fair Use policy to protect service availability and performance for all customers.

Fair Use is separate from normal plan limits and may consider:

  • License level
  • Purchased limits
  • Request patterns
  • Query complexity
  • Sustained concurrency
  • Overall system impact

See Understanding the Fair Use System in Visual Crossing Weather.

Can I store Weather API data?

Your ability to store, redistribute, or reuse Visual Crossing weather data depends on the applicable plan and license terms.

Do not assume that technical ability to save an API response automatically grants unrestricted redistribution or archival rights.

Review the current Visual Crossing license terms and your subscription before designing a storage or redistribution workflow.

Does Visual Crossing have bulk weather data options?

Yes.

For large weather datasets, database loads, analytics systems, or recurring data delivery, bulk and dataset-based products may be more appropriate than making many individual API requests.

See Visual Crossing Weather Data and current pricing/product information for available options.

What are Stored Datasets?

Stored Datasets are saved dataset configurations that can be managed and executed programmatically.

The Stored Dataset API supports operations such as:

  • Retrieving dataset information
  • Retrieving results
  • Updating stored locations
  • Executing saved datasets

See Stored Dataset API Documentation.

Does Visual Crossing provide weather alerts?

Yes, where alerts are available for the requested location.

Alerts can be requested with:

include=alerts

Alerts are different from weather events.

Alerts describe official warning or advisory information, while events describe reported or detected environmental occurrences.

For complete details, see the Timeline Weather API documentation.

Does the Weather API include hail, tornadoes, earthquakes, or wildfires?

Visual Crossing supports environmental event information where available.

Examples can include:

  • Hail
  • Tornado
  • Wind damage
  • Earthquakes
  • Wildfire activity

Events are typically requested using:

include=events

Availability and licensing can vary by event type.

See Weather and Environmental Events in the Weather API.

For wildfire-specific details, see Wildfire Events in the Timeline Weather API.

Is marine weather available?

Visual Crossing supports marine and maritime weather workflows where applicable.

Marine locations can be queried using coordinates over oceans, seas, lakes, and other bodies of water, subject to the data sources available for the requested location and period.

For historical maritime use cases, see How to Find Historical Weather for Maritime, Sea and Ocean Locations.

Is astronomy data available?

Yes.

The Timeline Weather API includes astronomy-related fields such as:

sunrise
sunset
moonphase
moonrise
moonset

and additional solar and twilight-related elements where available.

See the Timeline documentation for the complete field list.

How accurate is the weather data?

Weather-data accuracy depends on many factors, including:

  • Observation density
  • Station quality
  • Distance from the requested location
  • Elevation differences
  • Radar and satellite coverage
  • Forecast-model resolution
  • Weather element
  • Time period

No weather data source is perfect for every location and time.

When accuracy is critical, inspect the underlying stations and sources and compare representative results for your application.

Why can two nearby locations have different weather?

Weather can vary spatially, especially for:

  • Thunderstorms
  • Precipitation
  • Snow
  • Wind
  • Elevation-sensitive temperature
  • Coastal and marine conditions

Different requested points can also be influenced by different observation sources or interpolation weights.

Small geographic changes can therefore produce different returned values.

Why can weather values repeat across multiple hours?

Repeated values are not automatically evidence of duplicate data.

Some weather variables change slowly or are reported at lower temporal resolution.

For example:

  • Pressure can remain nearly constant for several hours.
  • Temperature can repeat because values are rounded to the requested units.
  • Some source observations are reported less frequently than once per hour.
  • Forecast fields can remain unchanged between model intervals.

If repeated values appear suspicious, inspect the underlying source, timestamps, and adjacent fields before assuming the data is duplicated incorrectly.

What should I do if a weather value looks wrong?

First verify:

  • Location
  • Date and time
  • Units
  • Requested element
  • Whether the value is historical, current, or forecast
  • Available weather sources
  • Nearby station observations

If the issue remains reproducible, contact Visual Crossing Support with:

  • The exact request
  • Location
  • Date/time
  • Weather field
  • Returned value
  • Expected value and source
  • HTTP response details where relevant

Do not include your API key in public support information.

See How to Submit an Actionable Technical Support Case.

How is my data used when I make a Weather API request?

A normal Weather API request includes information such as:

API key
location
date or date range
request options

Visual Crossing processes this information to authenticate and fulfill the request.

Some optional services, such as saved datasets, intentionally retain configuration information required to provide those features.

For details, see How Your Data Is Used Within Visual Crossing.

Can I change my API key?

Yes.

If you believe your API key has been exposed, replace it and update all applications that use the old key.

See How to Change Your Visual Crossing Weather API Key.

Can I put my API key in browser JavaScript?

You can technically make Weather API requests from browser JavaScript, but a key included in client-side code or browser network requests can be visible to users.

If your API key must remain private, make the Weather API request from a server-side component that you control.

Where can I find the latest Weather API changes?

See the Visual Crossing Weather API Changelog.

The changelog highlights major additions and changes to Visual Crossing Weather API products and features.

Where can I find the legacy Weather API documentation?

Existing integrations using the legacy Weather API can continue to use the Legacy Weather API Documentation during the migration period.

The Legacy Weather API is scheduled to retire on December 31, 2026.

New development should use the Timeline Weather API.

Where can I get help?

For technical or account questions, use Visual Crossing Support.

Before contacting support, collect:

  • The request URL with the API key removed
  • HTTP status
  • Response body
  • Location
  • Date or date range
  • Relevant weather elements
  • Approximate time of the request
  • Details needed to reproduce the problem

Providing a reproducible example usually makes technical support much faster.

Summary

Visual Crossing provides historical weather, current conditions, forecasts, and specialized environmental data through the Weather API and related data products.

For most new Weather API integrations:

  1. Sign up for a free Visual Crossing account.
  2. Obtain an API key.
  3. Use the Timeline Weather API.
  4. Specify a location and optional dates.
  5. Choose the required units, sections, and weather elements.
  6. Check HTTP status and response details.
  7. Operate within the limits of your account plan.

For a complete introduction, see Getting Started with the Weather API.

For the complete API reference, see the Timeline Weather API documentation.