Understand updates and data status
Tell new observations, saved results and failed updates apart.
More than one time
An event or observation time describes the source data. Retrieval and processing times describe when the service obtained or prepared a result. A recent page visit does not make an older observation current.
Read the current state
Update schedules can differ between dashboards. The view explains whether it updates on opening, daily or at an interval.
- Waiting means a complete saved result is not yet available.
- Updating means new processing is underway; a previous complete result may remain visible.
- Failed means the latest update did not complete; read any previous result with its visible time.
- Empty means the completed result contains no matching rows for its scope; it is different from failure.
When to retry
Use retry for a failed read or update state where it is offered. Avoid repeatedly reloading to make a scheduled result newer. Checking a saved result does not necessarily start new processing.
Weather is an observation
The capital-area starter view contains station observations. Read its station, units and source time; do not interpret it as a prediction. A stale warning means the available observations are older than the view expects.