WOW Account Migration Updates

UPDATE (10th March, 5pm): We are still experiencing some downtime while the change is pushed through to the website. You may encounter a 'Request is blocked' error message - if you do, please come back and try again tomorrow.

UPDATE (10th March, 7pm): The WOW login upgrade is still in progress but taking longer than expected to implement. We will advise when complete.

UPDATE (11th March, 12pm): An update has been released to the site and there may be downtime of 2 hours. 

UPDATE (11th March, 2pm): We are aware of the error message 'Our services aren't available right now.' and are working to implement a change to fix it. We ask that users do not try to migrate until advised to do so. 

UPDATE (11th March, 4.30pm): We have taken the decision to rollback our earlier release in order to fix the above error without causing additional disruption to users. We are working hard to investigate it and will put out more communications once we have successfully implemented a fix for it. 

Update (17th March): We are still working to resolve the above error and will be in contact via email once this work is complete and users can successfully migrate their accounts. 

Update (24th March): We have found a fix for the error and are currently in testing. We will continue to keep you updated. 

Update (31st March): We will be re-releasing the login update this week and will inform all users via email and through the banner on the website. 

As ever we appreciate your ongoing patience, making a significant change to the site is never straightforward, and we apologise for the inconvenience

Detailed Instructions for Migrating an Account

We’ve updated our WOW login system and require all users to migrate their accounts. This process involves setting up a new account and using a unique account code to link it to your old one. All historical data and information will be carried over.  The update has now been released to the site, please allow approximately 2 hours for these changes to take effect.

After 14 years on the current system, this is a necessary update to ensure all users can continue to sign in to WOW. All users are required to migrate to the new login system by the 6th May or may risk losing their account. 

If you currently log in to WOW through a social account (Twitter, Gmail, Facebook), you will automatically be migrated and can ignore the update. 

For all other users, please log in to WOW as usual and follow the steps to migrate. Ensuring you log in through the ‘Legacy Met Office Account’ button.  

Further detailed instructions and a video demo can be found below. 

Thank you again for your continued patience – login migration is never easy but it is necessary to ensure that WOW continues to run smoothly.  

Many thanks, 

The WOW Team 

1. Sign in to WOW
https://wow.metoffice.gov.uk/

You will notice there is a new button option to sign in (see below).

2. Click ‘Legacy Met Office Account’ button and login as normal

You will be taken to a page prompting you to migrate your account (see below). This process will link your old account to your new one. 

3. Copy the account key and save it somewhere (i.e. your computer’s notebook or a Microsoft Word document). You will need it in step 9. If you write it down, please double check it is written correctly before moving onto the next step. 

4. Click on the button ‘Sign up with Met Office WOW account’ to create your new login account.

5. Under ‘Register’ select ‘Create a Met Office account’.

6. Enter your email address and click the ‘Send verification code’ button.

You will receive an email to that email address from ‘Microsoft on behalf of mo-coreapp-prod'. It will contain a verification code and look like this:

7. Input the verification code.

 

8. Create your new account

You will be asked to enter a first name, surname and password. Once you have entered your personal details click on ‘Create’ ensuring that the Terms & Conditions box is ticked.

Once you have logged in, you will be prompted to ‘Migrate account’.

9. Enter your account key.

This is the 32-36-character code you copied from step 3. Click ‘Migrate this account’ to link your old account to your new one.

10. When you see this pop-up, select ‘submit’.

11. Your migration is complete. 

12. IMPORTANT. In future when you log in, please use the green Met Office WOW Account button. 

Login System Update: 10th March

We will be updating the login system on WOW this Monday, 10th March and require action from all users. You will have until 10th April to migrate your account from the old system to the new one. After 10th April if you have not migrated your account, you will not be able to access your account without doing so.

The update will be released to the website at 2 pm on Monday, 10th March, with an expected downtime of approximately 2 hours. 

Once the update has been released, please log in through the ‘Legacy Met Office Account’ button.

Following migration, use the new green ‘Met Office WOW Account’ button for login. 

Once again, we thank you for your patience during this transition. 

The WOW team  

Log in System Update Coming Early 2025

We will be updating our login system and this will require a few steps from all users to ensure you stay on our system. 

After 14 years on the current system, this upgrade is essential to ensuring the smooth continuation of WOW and will require some minor actions from you as a user. All users must migrate to avoid the risk of losing their account. 

If you currently log in to WOW through a social account (Twitter, Gmail, Facebook), your account will be automatically migrated, and no further action is required on your part. 

More information on how to migrate and a confirmed release date for when these changes will go live will be released in due course. We are aiming for mid-February. 

Thank you for your cooperation and understanding. While login migrations can present challenges, they are necessary to ensure that WOW continues to operate smoothly.  

EDIT: We are now expecting an early March release.

WOW 2024 in numbers!

This January we’re reflecting back on 2024 with a look at some of our favourite WOW statistics.  

In December WOW reached over 3.47 billion total observations received! We now have almost 35,000 sites and a total 38,674 users on WOW since we first launched in 2011. 

 
 

Last year alone we had 500,000,000+ observations, 2,034 new sites and 2,653 new users.  

In 2024 we also welcomed Swedish and Australian users to the WOW UK site where they’ve continued to provide their observations. A big thank you to all our users for your continued support of WOW and for providing the Met Office with your weather observations. We particularly appreciate your patience with the release and rollback of the UX work in September – we will update on this when we can.  

Looking ahead to 2025  

We are upgrading our login system! All users currently log in to WOW through a legacy system and after 14 years it is due an upgrade. This will require some actions from you, including setting up a new account and linking it to your current account with a provided code. We require all users to be on to the new system by the 17th March (subject to change), so will be sending out more details on this in the coming weeks.  

Once again, thank you for supporting us – here’s to 2025! 

Best, 

the WOW team