One might consider using Dark Sky or Carrot as a weather input choice using its highly localized data to drive the rain, wind and accumulated rainfall decision trees in the application.
Given the significant rain we have experienced in California this spring, adding an accumulated rainfall data stream to the application may allow for greater water savings, healthier lawns and gardens and provide more value to the customer.
In our case, we experienced over 3 inches of rainfall over two day, clearly soaking everything and yet the system kicked on and watered as there was no forecast rain. Seems counterintuitive.
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Those all cost money per API call for a commercial application. Carrot requires a subscription to access detailed data from DarkSky etc and isn’t a service itself. IBM’s Wunderground cost per call too, I imagine.
Anyway, it’s usually recommended to use a local reliable PWS or NOAA station if you have access to one. WI+ appears to be intended for those without access to a local PWS. Real world measurements always beats interpolation & modeling where there’s no data
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