Hi everyone. As always, thank you for your engagement with our community. We understand and apologize for the confusion. We are iteratively releasing a new weather feature set that will integrate the WeatherFlow Tempest station through a direct api-to-api integration and use its data, from your yard, as a full replacement weather source. In a future release, it will also serve as a real-time temperature, rain, and wind sensor that can adjust schedules, which will not be available through WI+ because the interpolated weather service doesn’t have access to real-time on-site weather metrics – this will be for Tempest only.
Some context for this feature might help. As you all know, Rachio controllers come standard with WI+ with the option to integrate single stations through Weather Underground, an excellent weather service that suits the needs of many of our customers. Rachio will never charge for this ongoing weather service.
However, some of you prefer to get weather from your yard for a variety of reasons, including variable micro-climate weather and long distances to reliable weather stations, and may be excited about real-time weather metrics driving schedules from a trusted sensor. To satisfy this group of customers we have built an in-depth integration with the WeatherFlow Tempest station to leverage yard-specific, reliable sensor data for more accurate weather and to build real-time features that wouldn’t be excellent without a fully integrated weather station.
This new weather feature set that goes beyond the standard WI+ and PWS support will be for sale for anyone that wants to purchase it in a future release. Currently, it is only available through rachio.com as a gift with purchase of a Tempest weather station to control the sale of this new feature set.
We have finished the integration as a full weather source at this time and we’re beginning work on a follow-up release that will include real time weather features. At that time, we’ll make it available to purchase in-app for people that purchase the Tempest outside of rachio.com.
This new feature set is not a subscription. And, everyone can also continue to use WI+ and integrate a limited set of their Tempest data through Weather Underground as a PWS if they prefer not to purchase this integration.
That all said, we understand that many of you have been with us for a long time and may have already purchased a Tempest elsewhere, and given this feature set is still being developed, we’d love your feedback to help us build great new features enabled by a weather station. If you already have a Tempest and want to participate, DM me.