Anyone else's storm alarm not triggering?

Umer Javed

Has anyone encountered their storm alarm triggering after the firmware update?

Hey everyone, I posted this earlier in the firmware thread, but continuing to see the same issue on my end so thought I’d make a new thread.

I’ve had over half a dozen storms and weather fronts roll through and I haven’t seen my storm alarm trigger. I understand the (at least in the Ambits) the threshold was 4 hPa drop over 3 hours, and indeed my local drop today was over 4 hPa as a storm rolled in. Maybe the watch thought I was moving (while I sat at my desk all day) and didn’t associate it with a drop and maybe previously I’ve been hit by slow moving fronts all this time so if someone else has another story then I can rest… lol

Thanks in advance.

cc/@gi0vanni @taziden

freeheeler

@Umer-Javed
I didn’t notice storm alarm either. it triggers rarely in my location, maybe 3-4 times a year.
I will ask.

taziden

No storm alarm since I’m on the beta firmware and we had 3 of them since then at least.
I didn’t check the baro when it happened though. I’ll check when next storm hit.

@Umer-Javed nope until now as I also said in the other thread (my suunto core caught all the bad weather fronts though)

babychai

-deleted-

@gi0vanni right now a severe weather front with hail has just hit my house and the storm warning has been triggered

Umer Javed

@gi0vanni Thank you!

Just yesterday we were hit by a storm while climbing. Crept on us and was more than what was forecasted. I checked the pressure drop on windy and it showed a little over 4 hPa over the last four hours. I didn’t get an alarm and I keep my watch in my backpack at the base on single pitch routes, so it wouldn’t have seen any other change other than pressure. We were at the crag for 7–8 hours by then.

I’m guessing I picked the short straw and have either been lucky with fronts that move just slow enough to not get picked up, or maybe the watch thinks I’m moving and doesn’t trigger on fronts that are just at the threshold.

But thanks for confirming that it does work.

freeheeler

@Umer-Javed
I understand from the manual that pressure drop needs to be detected by the watch.

during an activity with altitude change, the watch changes from baro to alti:

Frederick Rochette

Same here, never had a storm alarm with Suunto vertical

@freeheeler my suunto core detects storm warnings quite well but, unlike others, the watch has to be put in barometer mode… I would love something similar on my S9PP

freeheeler

@gi0vanni
I want my watch in alti mode during an activity in the mountains. on the lake baro mode is fine.
in my understanding we can not have both. storm alarm is triggered by pressure drop. during an ascent we will always have pressure drops.
we ascent much faster than 4 hPa in 3 hours (4 hPa ~30m).
maybe it’s too much of a ridge walk in the evaluation to filter pressure drop from ascent to deliver reliable alerts? I don’t know, it’s just a thought

Mff73

@freeheeler
i assume (just assume) that, with fusedalti, new watches are able to distinguish part of pressure change (absolute = mesured) which is due to altitude change (in activity) and the part due to weather changes.
I already had storm alarm during activity.

Egika

@Mff73 you are correct.
The sea level pressure is always there to be judged by the storm alarm algorithm.

So it can work during or outside an activity.

freeheeler

@Egika
I think I don’t understand the manual entirely

Egika

@freeheeler good idea. The manual has the data:
’ > 4hPa in 3h is the trigger level

Croatoan

Mine activated yesterday

Umer Javed

@Egika @freeheeler

Thanks guys. As I mentioned in the posts. My watch is in my backpack at the base of the cliff for 6-7 hours as I climb, or on my wrist at my desk for the day as the storms roll in.

As Giovanni & Croatoan confirmed, the alarm works. That’s all I needed to know.

My amateur hunch is that somehow all these 6-7 storms that have rolled in have either been just at the border of 4 hPa/3 hrs or somehow the watch is sensing it as an elevation rise even though I’m not moving vertically. I don’t think I have the tools to confirm this so hence this thread.

Egika

@Umer-Javed you can check historical weather station pressure data to judge your events

Umer Javed

@Egika yeah for certain locations I was able to see drops of 4over3 which triggered the whole discussion here but I can imagine the drop at the weather station can be slightly faster or slower than where I am. So unless I carry a second barometer I can’t say for certain. Or the watch tracks it as movement especially when I’m at the base of a cliff and GPS signals are reflecting.

Maybe I need to get my Ambit out of the closet and compare side by side for the next weather event.

Honestly, not the end of the world but nice to have it work as it used to. This is just the geek in me speaking out…

@Mff73 I wondered about it, but since it never happened during the activities I thought it was not possible. glad to know it works!