Barometric pressure near you
Pressure now near Los Angeles, CA
Little change in the last 3 hours. The weather pattern is not changing much right now.
Station readingsForecast (MET Norway)Now
Is my barometric pressure high or low?
Type any reading, for example from your weather station or a forecast, and see where it falls.
Values from 850 to 1100 are read as hPa / mb, values from 25 to 33 as inHg. Ranges are our rough guide, explained below.
What the number means
Barometric pressure is the weight of the air above you. Weather stations and forecasts usually show it in inches of mercury (inHg) in the U.S. and in hectopascals (hPa) or millibars (mb) elsewhere; 1 hPa is the same as 1 mb. Average pressure at sea level is 29.92 inHg, or 1013.25 hPa.
These ranges are a rough guide of our own, not an official scale, applied to the altimeter setting (see below). The trend matters more than the exact number: a falling barometer usually tells you more than a "low" one.
Which pressure the live numbers show
Weather stations report pressure in three ways. Station pressure is the real weight of the air at the station, much lower in mountain towns. The altimeter setting is, in the words of the National Weather Service, "a correction of the station pressure to sea level used by aviation"; it is the number on airport weather reports and the "barometer" the NWS shows for a station. Sea-level pressure is a second, meteorological correction used on weather maps.
All live numbers on this page (the dial, the tiles, the city cards and the solid chart line) are the altimeter setting. We checked this against the raw airport reports: for Broomfield near Denver (about 5,660 ft) the NWS value matched the report's altimeter setting of 30.15 inHg. The two corrections can differ by a few hectopascals at high stations: in Salt Lake City's report of October 30, 2026 the altimeter setting was 29.96 inHg (1014.6 hPa) and the sea-level pressure 1012.0 hPa. Near sea level they are almost the same.
Is 29.87 high? Is 30.13 high? Quick examples
| Reading | In hPa | On our guide |
|---|---|---|
| 29.00 inHg | 982 | Low: a deep low pressure system |
| 29.87 inHg | 1011.5 | Normal, just under the 29.92 average |
| 29.92 inHg | 1013.2 | Normal: the standard average at sea level |
| 30.13 inHg | 1020.3 | Normal, toward the high side |
| 30.40 inHg | 1029.5 | High: often clear, dry weather |
hPa values converted with the NWS factor (1 inHg = 33.8639 hPa) and rounded. Use the checker above for any other reading.
The chart: past 7 days and the next 5
The solid line shows the readings of the station near you over the last 7 days; the dashed line continues with the pressure forecast for your ZIP code for the next 5 days. Together they show the pattern behind today's number: a long slide down over a day or two usually means a low pressure system is moving in, and a steady climb that it is moving out (our explanation; see high vs low barometric pressure).
Where the numbers come from: the 7-day line is the altimeter setting from the station's hourly reports (NOAA's Aviation Weather Center), and the "Last 24 hours" view is the same altimeter setting as the NWS publishes it, including extra reports between the hours. The forecast is a different measure: mean sea-level pressure from MET Norway (the Norwegian Meteorological Institute), whose free forecast covers the whole world. Near sea level the two lines meet within a few tenths of a hectopascal; at high-altitude stations the forecast line can start a few hectopascals away from the last reading. We show both as they are and do not shift them to fit. If the hourly reports are not available, the chart shows the last 24 hours and says so.
Rising or falling: reading the trend
The tool compares the latest reading with the one from about 3 hours earlier, the time span forecasters use for the pressure tendency, and with the reading about 24 hours earlier ("did the pressure drop today?"). Our simple labels: a change of less than 1 hPa in 3 hours is "steady", 1 to 3 hPa is "rising" or "falling", and more than 3 hPa is "fast". These labels are our own summary to help you read the chart, not an NWS product.
Why it matters: high pressure systems are sinking air, which tends to dry things out. Low pressure systems are rising air, which builds clouds and storms. Our page what is barometric pressure? explains this in more detail.
Why your home barometer may read differently
- Sea-level vs station pressure: pressure drops as you go higher. Forecasts and most weather stations show pressure corrected to sea level, so towns at different heights can be compared. A barometer that is not set for your elevation will read too low in high places.
- Distance: the nearest NWS station may be miles away, often at an airport. Pressure changes slowly over distance, so the difference is usually small, but not zero.
- Units: need the number in another unit? Use the unit buttons above or our barometric pressure converter.
Want your own live readings, also for your exact backyard? Many home weather stations have a built-in barometer and a pressure graph. Our weather station quiz helps you pick one, and our home barometer picks cover the classic dial kind.
Quick answers
What is a normal barometric pressure?
The standard average at sea level is 29.92 inHg (1013.25 hPa). Day-to-day readings commonly move a few tenths of an inch above or below that.
What will the barometric pressure be tomorrow?
Pick your location above: the "In 24 hours" tile and the dashed line in the chart show the forecast from MET Norway for your ZIP code, hour by hour for the first days.
Where does this data come from?
From the public National Weather Service API (api.weather.gov): the observation stations nearest to your ZIP code. The 7-day line uses the station's hourly reports from NOAA's Aviation Weather Center, the forecast comes from MET Norway's Locationforecast service. The ZIP code location comes from the U.S. Census Bureau's ZIP Code Tabulation Areas.
What happens with my location?
If you press "Use my location", your browser asks for permission and sends your position to our server once. We only use it to find the nearest ZIP code and do not store it.
Why does it say no recent reading?
Some stations do not report pressure every hour, and readings older than 3 hours are not shown. The tool then tries the next nearest stations; if none of them has a recent reading, try again later.
Does it work outside the U.S.?
No. It uses U.S. ZIP codes and National Weather Service stations only.
Sources: National Weather Service API · NOAA Aviation Weather Center Data API (7-day line) · MET Norway Locationforecast (forecast, CC BY 4.0) · U.S. Census Bureau: Gazetteer Files (ZCTA) · NWS El Paso: pressure conversion · NWS glossary: altimeter setting
