REX Simulations – known for their weather plugins in Prepar3D and older Microsoft flight simulators – has announced Weather Force 2020 for Microsoft Flight Simulator.

Claimed to be a ‘Metar-Based Dynamic Real-Time Weather Engine,’ the plugin is to make use of “inter-process communication with the simulator via fine granular control,” allowing users to experience “automated, dynamic, and smooth weather transitions from real-world reporting metar stations.

“Weather Force also includes a wide range of our proprietary dynamic, changing (non-static) weather scenarios. These scenarios are unlike the static weather presets that ship with the simulator.”

REX says the real-time METAR data will provide the foundation to deliver “the most realistic weather experience,” adding ten-minute METAR updates from the NOAA produces accurate results within 0.125 miles of a given point.

Its unique algorithms aim to use the METAR and model data to cover sparse areas such as oceans and deserts, with Global Forecast System data downloaded twice a day to provide snapshots of temperature and winds aloft.

A powerful weather search function is another key point of Weather Force 2020, along with Dynamic Changing Weather Scenarios.

“‘Dynamic’ is key about our weather scenarios in that they are not static like the default preset weather inside Microsoft Flight Simulator”, reads the product page.

“Weather Force scenarios dynamically change over time. A weather scenario will provide various elements of changing weather over the course of your flight.”

Further down the page, REX wrote about the goal and smoothing mechanism of the plugin.

“The goal of Weather Force was to provide a more robust weather environment. We have been provided a powerful weather system as a start, therefore we worked hard to render the weather as it should be, yet stay true to the validity of real-world metar data.

“In addition, we have carefully added a smoothing mechanism to the engine to gradually smooth and transition the weather over time between updates. You have complete control over the weather update factors as well as transition speed.”

REX is already looking towards the future with three key features to be available after release.

These include historical weather data, preset sharing, and a flight centre and mapping system.

There are plenty more screenshots and information available to those who are interested. Click here to view the product page of Weather Force 2020, and follow REX on Facebook and Twitter.