Microclimate analysis in Forma

Step-by-step guide

Forma’s microclimate analysis provides a way to evaluate the perceived temperature on site.

1. With a project open, from the right panel, Analyze menu, select Microclimate.
   

Combining sun, wind, and sky exposure, and numerous localized weather and climate data, the analysis creates a comprehensive microclimate map of a site, and it computes the perceived temperature.

In this example, an analysis has been run previously.

2. Click View history.
3. From the flyout, select the appropriate analysis.
   

The panel and canvas update accordingly.

4. Expand the Month drop-down to specify a month to review.
   

5. Use the time slider to adjust the time, if necessary.

For the date and time selected, historical meteorological data is evaluated and displayed as an air temperature graph. This histogram illustrates the likelihood for a given temperature based on historically experienced values in the region, but it is also possible to select more extreme scenarios, up to 20% higher than the recorded maximum.

6. Select one of the bars on the graph.

The canvas updates.

7. Under Wind, use the interactive wind rose to select the incoming wind situation to utilize for the computation.

The frequency of occurrence for a given direction is identified by the size of the corresponding segment.

8. Under Statistics, review the weather data.

This shows updated information about which values are employed for the selected date and time.

To view the temperatures at a specific location:

9. Click Inspect.
10. On the canvas, pick a point.

A tooltip appears, reporting the perceived temperature that corresponds to the selected coordinates.

11. Pick a few more points to review more information.
    

Notice in this example, there is a 10-degree difference in perceived temperature between two points located very close to one another.