{"id":1041,"date":"2020-10-27T08:38:48","date_gmt":"2020-10-27T01:38:48","guid":{"rendered":"http:\/\/weathervn.com\/?p=1041"},"modified":"2020-10-27T08:38:48","modified_gmt":"2020-10-27T01:38:48","slug":"what-is-z-in-weather-forecast-gio-zulu","status":"publish","type":"post","link":"https:\/\/vietweather.com\/index.php\/what-is-z-in-weather-forecast-gio-zulu\/","title":{"rendered":"What is Z in Weather Forecast? Gi\u1edd ZULU"},"content":{"rendered":"

Zulu Time: The World’s Weather Clock<\/h1>\n

Meteorologists around the world observe weather against this time clock.<\/h2>\n

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Have you ever noticed a 4-digit number followed by the letters “Z” or “UTC” listed at the top or bottom of weather maps,\u00a0radar<\/a>, and\u00a0satellite images<\/a>? This string of numbers and letters is a timestamp. It tells when the\u00a0weather map<\/a>\u00a0or text discussion was issued or when its forecast is valid. Instead of local AM and PM hours, a type of standardized time, called\u00a0Z time,<\/em>\u00a0is used.<\/p>\n

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Why Z Time?<\/span><\/h2>\n

Z time is used so that all weather measurements taken at different locations (and therefore, time zones) around the world can be made at the same times.<\/p>\n

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Z Time vs. Military Time<\/span><\/h2>\n

The difference between Z time and military time is so slight, it can often be misunderstood. Military time is based on a 24-hour clock which runs from midnight to midnight. Z, or GMT time, is also based on the 24-hour clock, however, its midnight is based on midnight\u00a0local time at the 0\u00b0\u00a0longitude<\/a>\u00a0prime meridian (Greenwich, England). In other words, while the time 0000 always corresponds to midnight local time no matter the global location, 00Z corresponds to midnight\u00a0in Greenwich ONLY.\u00a0(In the United States,\u00a000Z can range from 2 pm local time in Hawaii to 7 or 8 pm\u200b along the East Coast.)<\/p>\n

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A Fool-Proof Way to Calculate Z Time\u00a0<\/span><\/h2>\n

Calculating Z time can be tricky. While it’s easiest to use a table\u00a0like this one provided by the NWS<\/a>, using these few steps makes it just as easy to calculate by hand:<\/p>\n

Converting Local Time to Z Time<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

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  1. Convert the local time (12-hour) to military time (24-hour)<\/li>\n
  2. Find your time zone “offset” (the number of hours your time zone is\u00a0ahead of<\/em>\u00a0or\u00a0behind<\/em>\u00a0local Greenwich Mean Time)
    \n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n\n
    U.S. Time Zone Offsets<\/caption>\n
    <\/th>\nStandard Time<\/th>\nDaylight Saving Time<\/th>\n<\/tr>\n<\/thead>\n
    Eastern<\/th>\n-5 hrs<\/td>\n-4 hrs<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    Central<\/th>\n-6 hrs<\/td>\n-5 hrs<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    Mountain<\/th>\n-7 hrs<\/td>\n-6 hrs<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    Pacific<\/th>\n-8 hrs<\/td>\n-7 hrs<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    Alaska<\/th>\n-9 hrs<\/td>\n\u00a0—<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n
    Hawaii<\/th>\n-10 hrs<\/td>\n\u00a0—<\/td>\n<\/tr>\n<\/tbody>\n<\/table>\n<\/li>\n
  3. Add the time zone offset amount to the converted military time. The sum of these equals the current Z time.<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
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    Converting Z Time to Local Time<\/strong><\/em><\/p>\n

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    1. Subtract the time zone offset amount from the Z time. This is the current military time.<\/li>\n
    2. Convert the military time (24-hour) to local time (12-hour).<\/li>\n<\/ol>\n
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      Remember:\u00a0in the 24-hour clock 23:59 is the final time before midnight, and 00:00 starts the first hour of a new day.<\/p>\n

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      Z Time vs. UTC vs. GMT<\/span><\/h2>\n

      Have you ever heard Z time mentioned alongside Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) and Greenwich Mean Time (GMT), and wondered if these are all the same?\u00a0To learn the answer once an for all, read\u00a0UTC, GMT, and Z Time: Is There Really a Difference?<\/em><\/a><\/p>\n

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      <\/div>\n","protected":false},"excerpt":{"rendered":"

      Zulu Time: The World’s Weather Clock Meteorologists around the world observe weather against this time clock.   Have you ever noticed a 4-digit number followed by the letters “Z” or “UTC” listed at the top or bottom of weather maps,\u00a0radar, and\u00a0satellite images? This string of numbers and letters is a timestamp. It tells when the\u00a0weather […]\n","protected":false},"author":1,"featured_media":1042,"comment_status":"open","ping_status":"open","sticky":false,"template":"","format":"standard","meta":[],"categories":[1,35,38],"tags":[],"_links":{"self":[{"href":"https:\/\/vietweather.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1041"}],"collection":[{"href":"https:\/\/vietweather.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts"}],"about":[{"href":"https:\/\/vietweather.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/types\/post"}],"author":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vietweather.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/users\/1"}],"replies":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vietweather.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/comments?post=1041"}],"version-history":[{"count":1,"href":"https:\/\/vietweather.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1041\/revisions"}],"predecessor-version":[{"id":1043,"href":"https:\/\/vietweather.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/posts\/1041\/revisions\/1043"}],"wp:featuredmedia":[{"embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vietweather.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media\/1042"}],"wp:attachment":[{"href":"https:\/\/vietweather.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/media?parent=1041"}],"wp:term":[{"taxonomy":"category","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vietweather.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/categories?post=1041"},{"taxonomy":"post_tag","embeddable":true,"href":"https:\/\/vietweather.com\/index.php\/wp-json\/wp\/v2\/tags?post=1041"}],"curies":[{"name":"wp","href":"https:\/\/api.w.org\/{rel}","templated":true}]}}