Tide predictions should predict the current level #40
Description
The tide_predictions sensor reports a tide_factor and tide_percentage as values that always range between 0 and 100, but this doesn't tell the whole story for a mixed semi-diurnal tide. In my area, the difference between successive low tides can be quite dramatic, so reporting 0% for both is true but kind of misleading. It would be nice if the sensor could use the previous and next tide levels, and the tide_factor to predict the current water level. This would facilitate creating a tide prediction graph similar to NOAA's.
I've been testing a local patch that works well for me, and I'll submit a PR. My only question is what to name the new attribute. A few choices come to mind.
- current_tide_level
- current_water_level
- predicted_water_level
- predicted_level
"current_tide_level" would align with the existing "last_tide_level" and "next_tide_level" attributes.
If we want to reserve the word "tide" for the high/low levels, then substitute "water" to get "current_water_level".
However, the new attribute is a prediction that shouldn't be confused with the actual level reported by the water_level sensor. That suggests "predicted_water_level" or simply "predicted_level".