Comparing time in Python

Question

My current project is scraping weather data from websites for calculation. Part of this calculation involves different logic depending on if the current time is before or after noon.

import pandas as pd
from bs4 import BeautifulSoup
import requests
import numpy as np  

# Arkansas State Plant Board Weather Web data
url1 = "http://170.94.200.136/weather/Inversion.aspx"
response1 = requests.get(url1)

soup1 = BeautifulSoup(response1.content)
table1 = soup1.find("table", id="MainContent_GridView1")

data1 = pd.read_html(str(table1),header=0)[0] 
data1.columns = ['Station', 'Low Temp (F)', 'Time of Low', 'Current Temp (F)', 'Current Time',  'Wind Speed (MPH)', 'Wind Dir', 'High Temp (F)', 'Time Of High']

print(url1)
print(data1[0:4])

array1 = np.array(data1[0:4])

This is my code to bring in the data I need. However, I don't know how to compare the current time I request as a Unicode string to see if it is before or after noon. Can anyone help me with this?

Edit: some data from the current request

    Station  Low Temp (F) Time of Low  Current Temp (F) Current Time  \
0  Arkansas          69.0     5:19 AM              88.7      2:09 PM   
1    Ashley          70.4     4:39 AM              91.2      2:14 PM   
2   Bradley          69.4     4:09 AM              90.6      2:14 PM   
3    Chicot         -40.2     2:14 PM             -40.2      2:14 PM   

   Wind Speed (MPH)  Wind Dir  High Temp (F) Time Of High  
0               4.3       213           88.9      2:04 PM  
1               4.1       172           91.2      2:14 PM  
2               6.0       203           90.6      2:09 PM  
3               2.2       201          -40.1     12:24 AM

What do you mean current time you request as unicode string? Can you assign it to a variable, then `print current_time` and tell us what it is? — Bahrom, Jul 11 '16 at 19:06
Possible duplicate of [How to check if a date time is before midday](http://stackoverflow.com/questions/21674782/how-to-check-if-a-date-time-is-before-midday) — Tim, Jul 11 '16 at 19:06
@Bahrom One of the columns of the table I request is 'Current Time' and values in that table are unicode. — questioner, Jul 11 '16 at 19:17
It's generally easier for us to help you if you give us some sample data. As it is, it appears that your times are in "H:MM PM" format, such as "2:09 PM"? — Hawken MacKay Rives, Jul 11 '16 at 19:19
Take a look at [parsing time string in python](http://stackoverflow.com/questions/10494312/parsing-time-string-in-python) — Aran-Fey, Jul 11 '16 at 19:20

score 3 · Accepted Answer · answered Jul 11 '16 at 19:25

3

Just check if the meridian is PM or AM.

 time = "2:09 PM"
 meridian = time.split(' ')[-1] # get just the meridian
 before_noon = meridian == 'AM'
 after_noon = meridian == 'PM'

answered Jul 11 '16 at 19:25

Hawken MacKay Rives

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Ohad Eytan · Answer 2 · 2016-07-12T08:31:32.353

0

You can do it like this:

t = pd.to_datetime(data1['Current Time'][0:1][0])
noon = pd.to_datetime("12:00 PM")
if t < noon:
    print("yes")
else:
    print("no")

>>> no
t
>>> Timestamp('2016-07-11 14:04:00')
noon
>>> Timestamp('2016-07-11 12:00:00')

edited Jul 12 '16 at 08:31

answered Jul 11 '16 at 19:24

Ohad Eytan

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Comparing time in Python

2 Answers2