Frequently Asked Questions
Everything you need to know about using Snap Weather effectively.
Snap Weather helps you make smarter outdoor decisions by analyzing weather forecasts across 11+ million locations worldwide. Our scoring system rates conditions for travel, outdoor activities, and photography — but how exactly do those scores work? Below you'll find detailed answers to the most common questions about our weather scoring methodology, forecast accuracy, and platform features.
Whether you're planning a trip abroad, deciding if today is good for hiking, or looking for the perfect golden hour for photography, understanding how Snap Weather works will help you get the most value from our tools. Can't find what you're looking for?Contact us and we'll be happy to help.
Getting Started
Snap Weather is a decision-first weather platform. Instead of just showing raw weather data, we analyze forecasts and give you actionable recommendations. Our scoring system evaluates conditions for travel, outdoor activities, and photography—helping you decide when to plan trips, schedule events, or capture the perfect shot.
Use the search bar on the homepage or any page header. Start typing a city, town, or place name and select from the suggestions. We cover 11+ million locations globally, from major cities to small villages. You can also click the GPS button to use your current location.
Yes, Snap Weather is free to use with no ads. We rely on Open-Meteo's free tier for weather data, which is available for non-commercial use. No account needed—just start searching.
No account required. Your favorite locations and preferences are stored locally in your browser. This also means your data stays private—we don't track individual users.
Weather Scores
The Travel Score (0-100) measures how comfortable conditions are for sightseeing and general tourism. It prioritizes: temperature comfort (40%), precipitation risk (30%), wind speed (20%), and overall weather type (10%). A score above 70 indicates excellent travel conditions.
The Outdoor Score rates conditions for active outdoor activities like hiking, cycling, running, or beach visits. It balances factors equally: temperature (30%), wind conditions (30%), precipitation (30%), and weather type (10%). This score is less forgiving of wind than the Travel Score.
The Photography Score evaluates natural lighting conditions. It emphasizes: sky conditions (40%)—partly cloudy skies often score highest for interesting light, wind/stability (30%)—important for sharp photos, precipitation (20%), and temperature (10%). Golden hour and blue hour windows significantly boost this score.
70-100: Excellent conditions, highly recommended. 50-69: Fair conditions, proceed with awareness of specific factors. 30-49: Challenging conditions, consider alternatives. 0-29: Poor conditions, not recommended for that activity type.
Forecast Accuracy
Accuracy decreases with time. Days 1-3: Very high reliability (90-95%). Days 4-6: High reliability (75-85%). Days 7-10: Medium reliability (50-70%). Days 11-14: Lower reliability (30-50%). We always display confidence indicators so you can factor uncertainty into your plans.
Different services use different weather model combinations. We source data from Open-Meteo, which aggregates multiple models including ECMWF, GFS, and regional models. Small discrepancies are normal—focus on trends rather than exact numbers for planning.
'Stable' means conditions are consistent and predictable. 'Mixed' indicates some variation expected. 'Unstable' suggests rapidly changing conditions. For important events, prefer stable days even if the score is slightly lower.
Use 14-day forecasts for general trend identification, not specific planning. They're helpful for seeing if a week looks generally good or bad, but specific details (exact temperatures, precise rain timing) become unreliable beyond 7 days.
Features
Click the bookmark icon next to any location name. Saved locations appear in your search dropdown under 'Favorites' for quick access. Favorites are stored in your browser's local storage.
This feature analyzes 14-day forecasts and ranks each day by overall conditions. It identifies the best overall day, most stable day, sunniest day, and least windy day—giving you multiple options based on your priorities. Great for flexible travel planning.
Add up to 5 destinations to compare their weather side-by-side. You'll see current conditions, scores, and 14-day forecasts for each location. The system highlights which destination has the best conditions, helping you choose where to go.
Golden Hour occurs roughly 1 hour after sunrise and 1 hour before sunset—warm, soft light ideal for photography. Blue Hour is the 20-30 minutes before sunrise and after sunset—cool, diffused light with a blue tint. Our Sun page shows exact times for any location.
Full moons provide bright moonlit landscapes but wash out stars. New moons are best for astrophotography—dark skies reveal more stars. Our Moon Photography page combines phase data with cloud forecasts to help you plan lunar and astro shoots.
Data & Privacy
We use Open-Meteo, an open-source weather API that aggregates data from major meteorological agencies including ECMWF, GFS, and regional models. Sun/moon data comes from astronomical calculations. Open-Meteo offers free access for non-commercial use.
We don't collect personal data. No accounts, no tracking, no analytics on individual users. Your favorite locations are stored locally in your browser. When you search for a location, the request goes directly to our data providers—we don't log searches.
Open-Meteo is free for non-commercial use. Commercial applications (apps with ads, paid services, business tools) require a paid API subscription. See open-meteo.com/en/pricing for details.
Troubleshooting
Try different spellings or search for a nearby larger city. Some very small places may not be in our database. If you believe a location is missing, contact us with the exact name and country—we'll investigate.
Your browser needs permission to access location. Check your browser settings and ensure location access is enabled for this site. Some browsers block location on non-HTTPS sites—make sure you're on the secure version.
Try refreshing the page. Weather data is cached for 30 minutes to reduce API calls. If issues persist, clear your browser cache or try a different browser. Persistent problems may indicate API rate limiting—wait a few minutes and try again.
Scores are algorithmic and may not perfectly match local expectations. Mountain regions, coastal areas, and extreme climates may have quirks. We're continuously refining our scoring—feedback on specific situations helps us improve.
See Scores in Action
Try our scoring system on popular destinations to see Travel, Outdoor, and Photography scores for real locations:
Photography Planning
Use our golden hour and moon photography tools for specific locations:
Weather Guides & Articles
Dive deeper into weather planning with our comprehensive guides:
How to Choose the Best Travel Day
Learn our scoring methodology in detail
Understanding Weather Forecasts
Why forecast accuracy varies by day
Photography Weather Guide
Master light and weather for better photos
Moon Phase Photography
Complete guide to lunar photography
What Makes a Good Hiking Day?
Weather factors for the perfect hike
Sunrise vs Golden Hour
When to shoot for the best light