meteoReach Help

Overview

How meteoReach works

meteoReach delivers precise ensemble weather forecasts for mountain tours and expeditions: tailored to your situation. Whether you retrieve forecasts directly with mobile coverage, a home team sends them via inReach, or the Auto-Send service handles it automatically: you always have access to the current forecast.

A subscription is open to every account. Sending to an inReach device must be enabled individually to prevent abuse. Just send a short message via the contact form if you would like to use it.

Why not directly on the Garmin device?

Garmin inReach devices have a built-in weather feature, but it is charged per request and answers with a short summary for a coarse grid point. meteoReach compresses the model output itself (Numerical Weather Prediction) into a few 160-character messages: temperature, wind, precipitation and the pressure levels above the point you picked, for the days you picked.

Web app and app

Creating a forecast

In the web app you create weather reports: to prepare before a trip, as a home team during an expedition, or to hand inReach messages to the expedition team. With cell service the app creates the same reports. Every report is saved to your account and can be opened again at any time.

1. Pick the location

   In the web app, type the summit, camp or region into the search bar at the top, or pick the point on the map with the pin beside it. In the app, tap «Add report» and do the same there, or take your current position. Recent locations are one tap away in both.

2. Set the elevation stages

   One report can hold up to six elevations, for example valley, hut and summit. The first height comes from topographic data; correct it when you are higher or lower, and give each stage a name. A row without an elevation is left out. Each elevation occurs once and lies from -500 m to 11 780 m, the highest pressure level. The web app switches metres and feet above the rows, the app follows the unit from its settings.

3. Generate the report

   Every model and every pressure level is fetched at once, ten days at three-hour steps, while a progress bar counts the parts.

4. Choose what you see

   The display settings decide what is drawn: which models, how many of the ten days (seven to start with), three or six-hour steps, and which pressure levels. They sit beside the report on a wide screen and behind the button at the top on a phone. Nothing is fetched again, so you can change your mind as often as you like.

Saved reports

Every generated report is automatically saved to your account and synced between the web app and the app whenever a connection is available. All saved reports appear directly in the left sidebar. Reports are grouped by location: all reports for «Matterhorn Summit» appear together, sorted from newest to oldest. A report does not stay for ever: «Auto-delete old reports» on the account page sets how long it is kept, seven days by default and thirty at most. Older reports are removed the next time the list is loaded, in the web app and in the app alike, so save what you want to keep.

• Reload a report Click an entry to open the full report again (meteogram, charts, all models). It comes from your account, so no forecast is fetched a second time.
• Delete a report Tap the trash icon next to an entry to permanently delete it.

Understanding the forecast

Reading a forecast

The charts, the meteogram and the models work the same in the web app and in the app.

The forecast plots

Within a report, switch between views using the navigation bar. Individual models can be shown or hidden using the legend below the chart. An eye on the corner of an entry shows that you can tap it: open means shown, crossed out means hidden. In the app, and in the web app on a narrow screen, tap «Legend» below the chart to open or fold the legend, on all tabs at once. The device keeps the choice. Tap a chart to see the values of that time. Tap the tooltip, or the same spot again, to close it. In the app you can pinch a chart to zoom into the time axis. When you scroll a chart sideways, its value axis stays on the left, as the labels of the overview do.

Ensemble models

A weather model is a simplification of reality: small errors in the initial conditions can significantly affect the forecast as the time horizon grows. Ensemble models address this by running the same model 10 to 50 times with slightly varied starting conditions. When all runs agree, the atmosphere is predictable. When they diverge strongly, the situation is unstable.

The ensemble spread is shown as a shaded band in the temperature and wind charts, and as a transparent envelope in the precipitation chart.

• Narrow band: high consistency: the forecast is reliable
• Wide band: high uncertainty: plan conservatively and have a backup plan

Overview

The forecast times run from left to right. Each model has four rows: weather, temperature, wind and precipitation. The numbers stand at the top of a row, the curve below them. All models share one scale per value, so the curves compare directly. Scroll horizontally, or drag the scrollbar, to see later times. Night columns are shaded.

• Temperature: blue below 0 °C, orange above; a rounded 0 stays grey. The area points to 0 °C, so a cold night shows a large blue area.
• Wind: grey line for the average wind, dashed line for gusts. The arrow points where the wind blows to: a north wind points down.
• Precipitation: one bar per time step. A dry step shows no number.
• Thresholds: a red line with long dashes marks the wind and precipitation thresholds. It differs from the grey 0 °C line, which has fine dashes. The label column on the left names its value; tap it to hide or show all thresholds.

Temperature

Curves in your configured temperature unit per model. Elevation matters: every 100 m of altitude means roughly 0.6 degrees cooler.

Wind

Average wind (solid line), peak gusts (dashed line), and wind direction in your configured wind unit. A direction arrow points where the wind blows to. Tap «Gusts» in the legend to hide or show the gusts. The tooltip shows gusts only when a model has gust data for that time.

Precipitation

Bar chart in your configured precipitation unit (mm or inch) per time step (3 h or 6 h depending on model).

Thresholds

The wind and precipitation charts mark a threshold: a dashed red line, with a light red area above it and a light green area below it. Where a curve, a bar or the ensemble band reaches the red area, conditions turn critical. The thresholds start at 30 km/h of wind and 1 mm/h of precipitation. Tap «Threshold» in the legend to hide or show them; change their values in the settings (web app: Settings › Thresholds).

Weather symbols

The overview tab shows a weather symbol for each time step based on the WMO weather code. Day and night symbols differ for clear and partly cloudy skies and for rain and snow showers.

• Clear (day)
• Clear (night)
• Partly cloudy (day)
• Partly cloudy (night)
• Overcast
• Fog / mist
• Drizzle
• Freezing drizzle
• Rain
• Freezing rain
• Snow
• Snow grains (graupel)
• Rain showers (day)
• Rain showers (night)
• Snow showers (day)
• Snow showers (night)
• Thunderstorm

Weather symbols: Weather Icons by Erik Flowers, under the SIL Open Font License 1.1.

Reading the meteogram

• Humidity70 to 80 · 80 to 90 · ≥ 90 %
• Freezing levelrain/snow boundary
• Isothermevery 10 °C
• Updraftviolet/magenta · storm risk↑
• Subsidencetan/brown · stable air
• Wind barbs5 · 10 · 50 kt
• Precipitationmm / h

The meteogram shows the entire atmospheric column above a location as it evolves over time: unlike the individual line charts, which each show a single variable at surface level.

Structure

The Y-axis shows pressure levels in hPa: by meteorological convention, pressure decreases upward. Grey reference lines mark the corresponding altitude above sea level. The X-axis shows time in the timezone set in Settings. When you scroll sideways, the pressure axis and the precipitation scale stay on the left, and the model name stays at the top right.

Visual elements

• Red isotherms: temperature lines in your configured unit: the 0 °C isotherm marks the freezing level, separating rain from snow
• Green shading: relative humidity in three intensities (70 to 80 %, 80 to 90 %, ≥ 90 %): shows where clouds form at altitude
• Wind barbs: direction and speed at each pressure level (short barb = 5 kt, long = 10 kt, triangle = 50 kt)
• Violet/magenta areas: rising air: indicates cloud and precipitation formation; strong updrafts signal thunderstorm risk
• Tan/brown areas: subsidence (sinking air): stable, dry conditions
• Green bars at the bottom: precipitation in your configured unit per time step

How to read it

Read the chart left to right. When humidity shading spreads vertically and violet updraft areas appear: precipitation is developing. When the 0 °C isotherm descends to your planned elevation: rain turns to snow.

What you can specifically read

The meteogram answers questions that a simple line chart cannot:

• Where are the clouds? → Humidity field (green) at the altitude of your location
• Is the precipitation rain or snow? → Freezing level (0 °C isotherm) compared to your elevation
• Is there strong wind at the summit but calm below? → Read wind barbs at different pressure levels
• When is a front passing through? → Sudden shift of isotherms + expansion of humidity field
• Is a thunderstorm threatening? → Strong vertical motion + high humidity in the afternoon

Freezing level: the critical value

The 0 °C isotherm (freezing level) is often more critical for mountain tours than surface temperature. If it rises above your camp or summit, old snow becomes wet and loses load-bearing capacity. Fresh wet snow dramatically increases avalanche risk. If the level drops during a tour, sudden icing or frost can occur unexpectedly.

Weather models

Numerical weather prediction (NWP) models compute the atmosphere forward in time from measured initial conditions. Grid resolution and physical methods differ: especially in complex alpine terrain, models can diverge noticeably.

Models

• GFS (NOAA): American global model, ~25 km resolution, available worldwide, up to 16-day range
• ICON (DWD / MeteoSwiss): German model with automatic regional optimisation: MeteoSwiss ensemble runs (CH1 1.1 km + CH2 2.2 km) for Switzerland, ICON EU (7 km) for Europe, ICON Seamless (13 km) globally. The legend shows which variant is active.
• ECMWF: European centre, considered the global benchmark for medium-range forecasting (5 to 10 days). The single run comes from the 0.1° grid (≈ 9 km), the ensemble band behind it from the 0.25° grid (≈ 25 km)

Automatic model selection

When you select a location, meteoReach automatically pre-selects the best two models for that region: ICON + ECMWF in Europe, GFS + ECMWF outside Europe. You can override this in Settings at any time.

When models disagree

When multiple models agree, confidence is high. Large differences between models signal that the atmosphere is in an uncertain state.

Satellite messages

inReach messages

When the expedition team has no internet access, the report can be encoded and transmitted as Garmin inReach satellite messages. The home team sends them from the web app, and the app in the field decodes them.

What does the message count mean?

Satellite SMS are limited to 160 ASCII characters. meteoReach encodes the weather data in binary and packs it in Base64, so several days and models fit in a few messages. The count grows with the models, the days, the resolution (3h needs about twice as many as 6h) and the pressure levels of the meteogram. The form shows the exact count before you send. Two examples of a real report with meteogram:

• Two models, 7 days, 6h 13 messages
• Two models, 7 days, 3h 25 messages

Sending from the web app

1. Enable inReach mode

   Enable the inReach switch in the bar below the charts. The forecast is immediately encoded as satellite messages, and the charts show what arrives. The number of parts appears in the button next to it. «Include meteogram» decides whether the meteogram goes along; without it the set is much shorter. One group holds at most 35 messages; if more are needed, the bar says so.

2. Copy and send messages

   Click «Show inReach messages: N messages» at the bottom to open the messages for copying. Copy each part and send it as a separate inReach text message to the expedition team. Order doesn't matter.

Receiving and decoding a message

The expedition team receives the messages generated by the home team on the Garmin inReach device. With the meteoReach app, the encoded text messages are converted into a full weather forecast.

Open the message on the Garmin device

When the home team sends a meteoReach message, it appears like a regular text message. Multi-part messages have identifiers like «K11A3F...», «K12A9E...» etc. (the third character is the part number).

Copy the text

How you copy the message depends on which Garmin app you are using:

• Garmin Explore app (inReach Mini, Mini 2, GPSMAP etc.): Open the message and copy the text directly. Messages are also accessible via the Garmin Explore website.

• Garmin Messenger app (inReach Messenger): Open the message and copy the text directly.

• Earthmate app (older devices such as inReach Explorer+): Direct copying is not possible. Workaround: Open the message → go to details → forward the message. In the forwarding text field, copy the content and then manually remove the automatically inserted «FWD:» at the beginning.

Paste into the meteoReach app

Open the meteoReach app and tap «Satellite messages». Paste the copied texts: each message part must be on its own line. You can paste multiple parts at once. The app shows which parts are present and which are still missing.

Wait for decoding

Once all parts are complete, the app automatically decodes the weather forecast. You see a confirmation with a green checkmark. Save the report under the location name.

Read the forecast

The saved report is available offline. Navigate between the overview, temperature, wind, and precipitation charts, and the full meteogram. In exposed locations without connection, the forecast is available at any time.

Garmin, Garmin Explore, Garmin Messenger, and Earthmate are trademarks of Garmin Ltd. or its subsidiaries.

Every day, automatically

Subscriptions and Auto-Send

Auto-Send has two parts. A subscription fetches a new forecast at the time you pick and saves it as a full report in your account: no device needed, and no wait for the forecast API. An inReach delivery then sends a chosen part of that forecast to a device as a satellite message, so the team in the field gets it.

Setting up a subscription

1. Pick the location

   Search for the mountain, camp, or region in the search field at the top, or pick it on the map. Set one or more elevations for the report with «Add elevation».

2. Tick «Refresh this report daily»

   Below the elevations, tick «Refresh this report daily». Then pick the time, the date range, and the timezone. A subscription runs for at most 62 days.

3. Generate the report

   Click «Generate». You get the report now, and from then on a new one every day at the chosen time.

4. In the app

   The app offers the same box on the new report screen. Pick the time, the date range and the timezone there, and the subscription starts with the report.

Sending to an inReach device

1. Open a report in inReach mode

   Open a report and enable the inReach switch in the bar below the charts. Choose the models, forecast days, and pressure levels in the display settings (on the right, or behind the settings button at the top on a phone): exactly this part of the report goes to the device.

2. Set up Auto-Send

   Click «Auto-Send» at the bottom. Check the time, the date range, and the timezone, choose whether you also want the report by email, and click «Create». With «Activate without inReach device» you create only the subscription. If the location already has a subscription with the same time, the delivery is added to it.

3. Activate with the code

   You receive an activation code. Send it as a text message from your inReach to the address shown. The delivery is active after about 5 minutes. The subscription behind it starts at once, so reports reach your account before the device is linked.

4. In the app

   Open a saved report and tap the Auto-Send button at the top. The device gets the part of the report the display settings show. You get the same activation code to send from the device.

What you receive

• Report in your account Every run saves a complete report with all models and pressure levels to your report list. It syncs to the app, so you can open it offline. If the forecast service is busy, the run tries again up to three times, about every 15 minutes, so the report can come up to an hour late.
• Email chart If you chose email, a chart of the run goes to the address of your account: temperature, wind and precipitation, and the meteogram with its humidity bands, isotherms and wind barbs when the report has pressure levels. It uses the units from your settings and the timezone of the subscription. The inReach messages of the run are in the mail too. The mail says whether they went to a device, so you can send them from an inReach by hand when no device is connected or a send failed.
• inReach message With a linked device, the chosen part of the report goes as a multi-part satellite message to the Garmin inReach. The team in the field decodes it with the meteoReach app.

Managing subscriptions

Your subscriptions are listed on the account page under «Subscriptions», each with its inReach devices, and in the app under «Profile». In both places you can pause, resume, extend, or delete a subscription, and check its status (last run, next run, error messages). Removing a device works in both places. It stops only the messages: the subscription keeps producing reports. Deleting a subscription keeps the reports it already produced. They expire through the «Auto-delete old reports» setting.

Settings

Account, app and settings

Public Beta

meteoReach is in the public beta phase. Everyone can use the web app for free: simply register and get started. Any feedback during this phase is especially valuable.

Installing the app

The Android app is in beta and available under «Account» for signed-in users. It is not in the Play Store, so installation from unknown sources must be allowed once. An iOS version is in preparation and is not distributed yet.

1. Open your account

   Click the user icon in the top right and choose «Account». The section «Android Beta App» is there.

2. Download the APK

   In the «Android Beta App» section click «Download APK»: the file is saved directly to your device.

3. Allow installation

   Android blocks APKs from outside the Play Store by default. Go to Settings → Security (or Privacy) → «Install unknown apps» and allow your browser or file manager.

4. Install the APK

   Open the downloaded APK file in your file manager and tap «Install». On newer Android versions an additional security prompt may appear.

Display units

Settings › Display units sets the units every chart uses, in the web app and in the app: temperature, wind, precipitation and elevation, plus the timezone the time axis is drawn in. The settings open above the open report. Changes take effect at once in every open chart. It also sets the wind and precipitation thresholds. The app shares these settings when you are signed in there. Language and color scheme stay separate on each device.

• Temperature and precipitation °C or °F, mm or inch. The setting applies to every chart view and to the email charts of a subscription.
• Wind, elevation and time kn, m/s, km/h or mph; metres or feet; and the timezone as UTC, your device time, or the local time at the forecast location.

Language

Choose English or German in Settings under Appearance. The choice applies to the web app, landing page and help, and stays in sync across open tabs.

Deleting your account

Under «Account», «Delete account» deletes your account after you enter your password. The server deletes all of its data at once: reports, subscriptions, inReach devices and support requests. Running subscriptions stop. The privacy policy, linked in the footer, says which data meteoReach stores.

Forgot password

«Forgot password?» at the sign-in mails you a link. It works once, for one hour. The new password signs you out everywhere you were still signed in, in the web app and in the app. A sign-in also ends after 90 days without use.

Support

Feedback & contact

For questions, bugs, or improvement suggestions, I welcome feedback via the contact form. During the beta, every piece of feedback is especially valuable: thank you!

Contact form