This was discussed earlier in January but I did not see any answers to the problem.

I am NOT using Live Weather and have never done so.  

Why is it so dark at noon in mid-July in Florida (KPGD at 35' above Sea Level)?  Clouds are set to Overcast - when set to Broken or Few the runway is so bright I need sunglasses but Overcast it looks like night time.

Why can I not tune ATIS when sitting on runway after being cleared for takeoff by ATC?  There are no options below the ATC log to allow me to tune any thing.  Only after takeoff and handoff to Departure and me tuning Departure was I able to tune ATIS to get a weather report.  

On the world map - I set the weather to have temp 20C,  N winds @ 10, 29.74mb barometer, and overcast ceiling at 3,000'.  ATIS, available once in flight, shows a ceiling at 1,800', W winds at 4, 29.92 barometer, and a temp of 15°C  - NOT at all what I set and what the Weather Window shows.  

At 5,000' the temperature had dropped to 3° C and the plane started to develop ICE! 

I did not enter the overcast until 4,000' despite putting the 100% cloud cover at 3,000' in the Weather window. 

I descended to 3,000 and canceled my IFR clearance.  I then setup the ILS 4 approach.   I could see the runway from the IAF at 2,000 and 10.1 NM.   The cloud base was well above me. 

I then requested a landing clearance but ATC gave me a VFR approach to Rwy 33 with a left downwind.   I then setup for the R33 VFR approach but as I turned downwind ATC announced the airport was only allowing IFR landings.  ATIS was still announcing an 1,800 ceiling with 6-miles visibility so I have no idea why ATC directed me to the ILS 4 approach.

Questions:

Why so dark at noon mid-summer?

Why is the weather I requested and is shown in the weather window not what ATIS reports?

Why is the actual weather at the runway so different from that reported by ATIS yet not what I requested?

Why is the cloud base so different from what I set in the weather window and not what ATIS reports?

Why did ATS give me a VFR landing clearance and then cancel it for IFR only on my downwind leg?

Why did ATC tell me the airport was IFR when I experienced 3,000 cloud base and 10+ mile vis?
 

Edited January 25, 20215 yr by TacomaSailor
details

There are a plethora of posts and threads on the weather issue(s). Bottom line would be to try Unreal Weather (free) to augment the LIVE weather with actual METAR data etc.

11 minutes ago, Flyfaster_MTN002 said:

There are a plethora of posts and threads on the weather issue(s). Bottom line would be to try Unreal Weather (free) to augment the LIVE weather with actual METAR data etc.

Good suggestion for weather, but it will not affect ATC and ATIS/AWOS.  Just have to do without those until they get fixed.  Altimeter is OK most of the time.  Winds part of the time.  And the rest, cloud layers, temp, DP?  Not even close.

Seems like these issues are pretty basic to a valid Flight Simulator - ATIS broadcasting incorrect Wx info seems like something that would have been fixed in Alpha, or Beta, but surely before 5-months have passed in full commercial release.  As you said - it is a well documented set of problems.

is there some fundamental problem with the Sim that prevents the Wx from being as broadcast or as requested by the user? 

8 hours ago, TacomaSailor said:

Seems like these issues are pretty basic to a valid Flight Simulator - ATIS broadcasting incorrect Wx info seems like something that would have been fixed in Alpha, or Beta, but surely before 5-months have passed in full commercial release.  As you said - it is a well documented set of problems.

is there some fundamental problem with the Sim that prevents the Wx from being as broadcast or as requested by the user? 

yes it uses predictive modeling based on some data that is not in real time... when it works.

To add insult to injury they won’t even let 3rd party take a crack at it and are refusing to open the api for developers.