Haze Layer Still shows up Abruptly

On approach to KSNA 20L on today’s beta update (1.27.13.0), I see the same sudden transition into a local haze layer as before:

From elsewhere in the video recording I calculate the transition time as about 17:47 UTC on August 4, 2022. The last METAR at that time would’ve been:

KSNA 041653Z VRB04KT 10SM FEW017 25/17 A2993 RMK AO2 SLP132 T02500167`

according to AWC - METeorological Aerodrome Reports (METARs)

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This was mentioned in the latest update released today. Good to know it still has issues - I haven’t tested it on my end yet.

Well, the fog/haze layer needs to appear somewhere. I thought pre su7 this should have been blended into the Meteoblue weather. But METAR uses a completely different system it seems.

I expect it to be visible from a greater distance, not to appear suddenly.

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This issue should no longer occur with the new 1.27.13.0 build, so I’m going to mark this thread as fixed-on-live.

Please let me know if this issue is solved for you, or if you continue to experience it.

https://forums.flightsimulator.com/t/new-update-release-notes-1-27-13-0-august-4-2022/534560

A video by Vibstronium above shows that it is still an issue with the 1.27.13.0 build.

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Thank you! I missed that when I was checking the thread. I’ll pass @Vibstronium’s video along and let the team know this issue is still occurring.

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Fog seemed to pop up further away in my testing. I was also slewing my plane so was travelling significantly faster than normal.

It seems that no visibility information is pulled from meteoblue. This is very apparent in NZ where we only have 3-4 METAR stations that register in MSFS. NZAA was blanketed as per the METAR correctly however looking at meteoblue maps the fog layer should extend significantly further out along the coast and off shore.


Fog depiction in sim approximately circled.

This is likely why we notice these big areas of haze in some areas where METAR coverage is sparse because only areas in the vicinity of METAR reporting stations can display visibility data. If the meteoblue data was actually used by the sim we would have seen a more gradual buildup along the coast so that the METAR haze layer wouldn’t have stuck out like a sore thumb (or materialize when you’re right over it).

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Yes, and you know for sure the airport is located in the center of that fog. It’s like a point of interest marker. Would have been much better blended with that visibility you showed there from Meteoblue.

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Interesting cloud formations though, they sort of match the extent of the meteoblue fog, it’s almost like the sim is rendering non METAR visibility with clouds. These weren’t low enough though so probably just a coincidence.

Could be. Have you checked if meteoblue reports fog in the area on the weather today page? I’ve noticed if it does we can see fogclouds over ground.

Seems they changed the speed of the transition from abrupt to fading in. Maybe it’s not so easy to make transitions go away completely with the new weather engine.

TAF is quite literally made of Meteoblue or equivalent forecast, plus some human magic dust but only if the TAF is actually generated manually. Often TAF is auto-generated.

Ideally, if VOBL, VOMM, VOHS, VOTP, VOCP… all are reporting less visibility then it shouldn’t be a rocket science to figure out that the region as a whole has similar visibility. But then, you’ll see all those airports having a METAR bubble around them and clear visuals outside their vicinity which looks cartoonish. I still don’t understand what sort of interpolation is going on here as part of SU10 beta.

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That map from meteoblue is not accurate at all. Many a times, real and METAR reported visibility would be low but this map would show clear conditions. In my region, it usually indicates low visibility only if there’s precipitation.

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I am seeing that thread recently flagged as “fixed-on-live”. Do some people that posted comments here have been able to test it and could confirm it is really fixed ?

Yeah, it’s really not fixed. Not sure where the “interpolation” is? I was flying in coastal areas of Iran last night and all the cities have a bubble of haze on them with nothing in between. The haze layer is good to have but it certainly needs to be improved. Hopefully one day, there will be a difference between haze, fog, and dust (color wise) also. A lot of times the haze layer (turbidity) can go significantly higher in elevation also which is missing in the Sim currently.

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I think the the specific issue of the fog/haze popping in abruptly has been fixed (at least from what I have experienced with the more recent updates). That is, the sim is not abruptly repainting the sky as you transition into a METAR bubble.

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It shows up farther in the distance so it’s not noticeable now! But as part of the release note, they had mentioned “interpolation” of data which is not obvious if it’s happening or not.

I think their “interpolation” only works if the weather stations are really close (approx <50km apart). Anything beyond that and it just doesn’t try to extrapolate those conditions over the larger region which is why those METAR bubbles become evident from high altitudes.

Also, another point that I don’t find any mention about is the airports that only report TAF conditions and not METAR. In those cases, we just have meteoblue forecasted weather which is far from actual conditions.