Surface pressure charts data tutorial

Basic tutorials showing how the surface pressure charts data feed can be used to retrieve data.

Please refer to the Surface pressure charts detailed documentation for the surface pressure chart synoptic analysis and forecast data feeds for more detailed information.

Introduction

The surface pressure chart synoptic analysis and forecast data feeds provide access to the current surface pressure synoptic analysis and forecast chart for the UK and surrounding area as a gif image. This data feed is updated twice daily, at around 0730 and 1930, with the exception of charts for days four and five which are only issued once per day at 0730.

Tutorials

The surface pressure synoptic analysis and forecast charts data feed can be used with web services or via the JavaScript API; while it is possible to use neither, we recommend that one of these methods is used to check whether the data has been updated since it was last requested.

Here we describe how to retrieve the surface pressure synoptic analysis and forecast charts using both of these methods.

You would like to retrieve the surface pressure synoptic analysis and forecast charts

Via the web services

  1. Call the surface pressure chart capabilities web service to check whether the data has been updated since it was last requested;
  2. If so, retrieve the surface pressure synoptic chart from the url specified in the ProductURI element contained within the BWSurfacePressureChart element, in the data retrieved from the surface pressure chart capabilities web service via the JavaScript API. For the analysis chart the value of the ForecastPeriod element is zero.

 Via the Javascript API

  1. Call the metoffice.forecast.surfacePressure.getCapabilities method to check whether the data has been updated since it was last requested
  2. If so, retrieve the surface pressure synoptic chart from the url specified as the value of ProductURI within the BWSurfacePressureChart object in the data retrieved by calling the metoffice.forecast.surfacePressure.getCapabilities method. For the analysis chart the value of the ForecastPeriod element is zero

Surface pressure charts