Weather Skip FAQ

Last Update:Jan 23 2024 4:22pm • Est. Read Time:Est. Read Time: 8 MIN


Summary

This article explains how Rachio's Weather Intelligence™ Plus weather skip features work (Rain Skip, Freeze Skip, Wind Skip, Saturation Skip). These are automated weather-driven events that use observed and forecasted weather data to decide if a scheduled irrigation run can be skipped to save water (or in the case of a Freeze Skip, protect plants and irrigation hardware). These include Rain Skips, Freeze Skips, Wind Skips, and Saturation Skips. We’ll explain how these features work, how to turn them on and off, and how to adjust the threshold settings for each skip type (and why you would want to!).


Contents:

Weather Intelligence Skips

Rain Skip FAQ

Freeze Skip FAQ

Wind Skip FAQ

Saturation Skip FAQ

Metric vs Standard units




Weather Intelligence Skips

Schedule skips can be enabled for any of your watering schedules, and use the best available weather data for your address to decide if a scheduled run needs to be skipped. 


NOTE: Since Flex Daily schedules are always updating themselves with the newest weather data, Saturation Skip and Rain Skips are not configurable, and are “baked in” to Flex Daily schedules. Rather than skipping, Flex Daily simply pushes scheduled watering further forward to account for the received rain.


Where does the weather data come from?

Weather Intelligence checks the weather twice before a skip: once twelve hours before, and then again one hour before your watering schedule starts. Weather data is provided by the weather source you’ve selected for your Home; this could be the interpolated Weather Network, a specific weather station, or a connected Tempest Personal Weather Station (PWS) at your home.


You can choose a weather source from the Home screen. Choose “Edit Home”, then “Weather Source”.




Do I need a sensor?

Nope! Weather Intelligence skips use the weather reported from your preferred weather station to make smart decisions in real time.


How do I turn Weather Intelligence skips on and off?

Skips are an element of Schedules, and you can enable different types of skips for different schedules. First, go to the “Schedules” tab located at the bottom right corner of your Rachio app. Select a schedule, then select “Weather Intelligence” from the menu. Here you can activate or deactivate skips on your schedule by toggling the check mark button.


How do I edit weather skip threshold settings?

Skip thresholds are an element of Devices. You can set distinct thresholds for different devices associated with your Home(s). Tap the Account icon, then select Homes, and choose the Home where the device you'd like to edit is located. From the Edit Home menu, select Weather Thresholds. Select the device you want to edit, and the type of threshold, then choose a value. You can also access these thresholds from the device’s settings page.





Rain Skip FAQs

Rain Skip saves you water by skipping watering schedules before it rains. In this section, we'll answer frequently asked questions regarding this feature.


Video Guide

Are you a visual learner? This short one-minute video will walk you through Rachio's Rain & Freeze Skip Weather Intelligence features and will provide some guidance on how to use them.


 

How does Rain Skip work?

Weather Intelligence checks the forecast 12 hours before, and again 1 hour before your schedule is set to run; tracking the amount of observed and forecasted rain in a sliding 48-hour window. This means it’s looking at any observed rain in the last 24 hours, plus any forecasted rain in the next 24 hours. If the combined rainfall exceeds your device’s skip threshold, the scheduled run will skip.

For example: You have your Rain Skip threshold set to 0.5". It rained 0.25" in the last 24 hours, and is expected to water more than 0.25" in the next 24 hours. This schedule will be skipped. 


Does Rain Skip actually save water?

Yes! Rain Skip saves the average homeowner thousands of gallons of water each year because it skips schedules before it rains. Rain Sensors only skip schedules after it has already rained, as they need to physically "feel" the rain.


Rain skip triggered a schedule skip, but it didn’t rain. What’s the deal?

Just like the weatherman, not all forecasts are accurate. Rain Skip is only as accurate as the data it receives from your preferred weather source/station. The schedule creator defaults to a skip threshold of 1/8". If you wish to save the maximum amount of water and want to skip whenever possible, set the Rain Skip threshold to 1/16" (trace rainfall).


Rain Skip did not activate even though it rained, what gives?

There are a few hiccups that may have occurred. Check to make sure that your controller was connected before and during the scheduled run. If the controller was offline, a weather check would not have been able to be completed.

You can also check if your weather station is reporting accurate information. If it shows no precipitation (even though you may have observed some), there would be no indication that Rachio should skip the schedule. If you find issues with your weather station, choose a new station and let us know that you're seeing issues with your old station.


The weather reports for my house are often inaccurate. Should I use Rain Skip?

We think so, but you know your lawn and local weather best. The Rachio app will always default to Weather Intelligence™ Plus. Oftentimes, however, there are Personal Weather Stations (PWS) that are closer to your house and might better represent your local micro-climate. If you still experience inconsistencies, a rain sensor may help bridge the gap between the precipitation observed by the closest station and the true precipitation observed at your home.


I have two controllers - why did Rain Skip behave differently on each?

Forecasts can change in a matter of hours, so if those controllers have schedules with different start times, the weather will be checked at different times. While one check may say rain when checked at 8:00, the other may not when checked at 8:30.


Should I adjust my Rain Skip threshold, and what is the default?

The default rain skip threshold is ⅛ inch over 48 hours. This is not a lot of rain, but is a sensitive enough value that most people should get rain skips when rain is accurately forecasted. Weather forecasting is uncertain, so you may want to adjust your threshold. You can choose a skip threshold between 1/16  inch and ¾ inch. 

If you feel you are getting too many rain skips, i.e. skips when it’s only raining a little bit, consider increasing your skip threshold. If you feel you want more sensitive rain skips, i.e. your sprinklers are watering during light rain and you want them to stop, consider reducing the threshold to 1/16th inch.

To make an adjustment, see the section “How do I edit weather skip threshold settings?” above. 



Freeze Skip FAQs

Freeze skips can be set up on a schedule to avoid watering when the air temperature is at or near freezing. Not only is watering in cold conditions rarely necessary, but doing so can damage nozzles and plants when ice forms.


When does Freeze Skip check the temperature?

Freeze Skip, one of Rachio's five Weather Intelligence features, checks the observed temperature one hour before your scheduled watering time.


How does this check work?

Anytime the observed temperature is at or below the selected threshold, Freeze Skip will be triggered and your watering schedule will be skipped. In other words, if your Freeze Skip threshold is set to 40 degrees Fahrenheit and your weather station registers temperatures of 40 degrees or below, your watering will skip.


How do I adjust my Freeze Skip threshold, and what is the default?

The default freeze skip threshold is 32 F (0 C). Threshold options range from 32 to 45 degrees. 

To make an adjustment, see the section “How do I edit weather skip threshold settings?” above. 



Wind Skip FAQs

Wind Skip is a Rachio Weather Intelligence feature that prevents waste by not watering when wind speeds are too high; keeping your water off of the pavement and on your lawn, where it belongs!


How does this check work?

If high wind speeds are expected to exceed your predetermined threshold at your scheduled start time, your schedule will be skipped. This is because strong winds are likely to disperse the water intended for your plants and leave your vegetation thirsty.


How do I adjust my Wind Skip threshold, and what is the default?

The default wind skip threshold is 20 mph (32.1 kph); you can set a value between 10 mph and 40 mph. 

To make an adjustment, see the section “How do I edit weather skip threshold settings?” above. 



Saturation Skip FAQs

You noticed that your schedule was skipped due to a saturation skip and might wonder why. In your history tab, you can see that a saturation skip was applied to your schedule. This article explains how the saturation skip works and why it's important to the system.


Video Guide

Are you a visual learner? This short one-minute video will walk you through Rachio's Weather Intelligence features, including Saturation Skip, and will provide some guidance on how to use them.


Overview

Saturation Skip determines if your yard has enough moisture to last until your next scheduled watering time. There are a few principles that guide Saturation Skip:

  • Think of your soil as a sponge. You want the "sponge" to stay moist at all times. (For details, visit What type of soil do I have?). 
  • You don’t want to add water to the "sponge" if it is already completely saturated.
  • Mother Nature can help keep the "sponge" moist for free!

Rachio software understands how wet/dry your soil is at any given time, and it will issue a Saturation Skip anytime it determines your soil holds enough moisture to last until your next scheduled watering time.


How does Saturation Skip work?

Saturation Skip uses evapotranspiration data (ET data) from observed weather and forecasts to calculate the soil moisture balance in your soil. In other words, it knows how many "miles" your lawn's "gas tank" has left and if you can make it to the next gas station comfortably.


Here's how it works:


  1. Weather check.

    One hour before a scheduled watering time, Rachio will perform a weather check to see if any of the Weather Intelligence skips can be triggered

  2. Zone calculations.

    Saturation Skip makes a simple calculation for each zone in a schedule that checks to see if the observed and forecasted weather will maintain the moisture requirements of a zone until the next scheduled watering.

  3. Saturation Skip issued (if applicable).

    If this calculation is positive for all zones in the schedule, then Rachio will issue a Saturation Skip. If the calculation is negative for any zone in the schedule, then Rachio will not issue a Saturation Skip.


How far into the future can Saturation Skip predict?

Saturation Skip will track weather data for the last 7 days and forecast 7 days into the future (14-day sliding window). If you have a scheduled interval longer than 7 days into the future, Saturation Skip will be disabled.


How can I activate Saturation Skip?

Saturation Skip is automatically activated in Flex Daily schedules, as this feature is critical for maximum water savings, and cannot be deactivated with this schedule type. 

Saturation Skip is an optional Weather Intelligence feature on both Flex Monthly and Fixed schedule types. To activate or deactivate Saturation Skip in these schedule types, see the section “How do I turn Weather Intelligence skips on and off?” above.


Saturation skip has no threshold settings, why is that?

Saturation skip is a feature that constantly monitors the daily zone-by-zone moisture tracking that drives Flex Daily schedules. Since it doesn’t depend on just one weather input, it doesn’t have a threshold setting. However, the same adjustments you can make to zones to tune Flex Daily will affect your zone’s sensitivity to saturation skips. For more about Flex Daily schedules, see this article here.


Tips and Troubleshooting

Is saturation Skip not behaving as it should? Here are a few tips.

  1. Check your weather station data.

    Make sure it's similar to the weather you're experiencing, and if not, look into changing stations! Instructions on how to find this data and how to change your station can be found here.

  2. Check your zone settings.

    The most important settings for Saturation Skip are  Vegetation Type and  Shade, so make sure those are correct for each zone in your schedule.

  3. Separate schedules by vegetation type!

    "Low moisture" is a subjective term determined by  Vegetation Type. Separate your schedules based on this to improve the accuracy of the Saturation Skip. 



Change Measurement Units 

(metric vs standard)


Want to change your speed units from miles per hour to kilometers per hour, or degrees Fahrenheit to degrees Celsius?

 

From the Home screen of your account, select the account icon in the upper right corner (looks like a cartoon of a person) and then "Measurement Units" to go from the U.S. Standard units (MPH, F, inches) to Metric units (KPH, C, mm).



Do you still need help?


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