Weather Models & Data Sources Powering OpenWeather

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Numerical Weather Prediction (NWP) Models

All NWP models are ingested as gridded GRIB or NetCDF data. Unified columns: model identifier, originating agency, grid resolution, run cycle, output time step, forecast horizon, geographic coverage, status.

1.1 NOAA / USA - Deterministic

GFS025

Global deterministic weather model developed by NOAA NCEP, providing high-resolution forecasts for a wide range of atmospheric parameters. Widely used as a baseline global forecast model for operational and analytical applications.

  • spatial resolution: 0.25° (~28 km)
  • temporal resolution: 1 hour (0–120 h), 3 hours (120–384 h)
  • lead time: up to 384 hours (~16 days)
  • updates per day: 4

GFS025_WAVE

Wave model based on GFS025, providing marine and ocean wave forecasts aligned with atmospheric conditions from the GFS model.

  • spatial resolution: 0.25°
  • temporal resolution: 1 hour (0–120 h), 3 hours (120–384 h)
  • lead time: up to 384 hours
  • updates per day: 4

GFS05

Lower-resolution global forecast model from NOAA, optimised for large-scale atmospheric analysis and longer-range forecasting.

  • spatial resolution: 0.5° (~55 km)
  • temporal resolution: 3 hours
  • lead time: up to 384 hours
  • updates per day: 4

CFS1_1

Long-range climate forecast model designed for seasonal predictions and trend analysis, supporting planning and climate-sensitive applications.

  • spatial resolution: 1° (~111 km)
  • temporal resolution: 6 hours
  • lead time: up to 5040 hours (~210 days)
  • updates per day: 4

UVI05

Specialised UV index forecast model providing high-frequency ultraviolet radiation predictions for health, environmental, and solar applications.

  • spatial resolution: 0.5°
  • temporal resolution: 1 hour
  • lead time: up to 120 hours
  • updates per day: 1

All available layers are ingested for GFS025, GFS025_WAVE, GFS05, and CFS1_1.

1.2 Canadian Meteorological Centre (CMC / ECCC) - Deterministic

CMC15

Global deterministic forecast model based on the GEM system, offering higher spatial resolution for improved accuracy in global weather prediction.

  • spatial resolution: 0.15° (~15 km)
  • temporal resolution: 3 hours
  • lead time: up to 240 hours (~10 days)
  • updates per day: 4

CMC25

Global deterministic model from ECCC with moderate resolution, used for large-scale atmospheric forecasting.

  • spatial resolution: 0.25° (~25 km)
  • temporal resolution: 3 hours
  • lead time: up to 240 hours
  • updates per day: 4
  • status: currently not available (data ingestion pending)

CMC15 available layers: TSOIL_DBLL_100, TSOIL_SFC_0, SOILW_DBLY_10, ACPCP_SFC_0, APCP_SFC_0, PRATE_SFC_0, WEAFR_SFC_0, WEAPE_SFC_0, WEASN_SFC_0, WEARN_SFC_0, SNOD_SFC_0, TMP_TGL_2, DPT_TGL_2, DEPR_TGL_2, WIND_TGL_10, WDIR_TGL_10, UGRD_TGL_10, VGRD_TGL_10, PRES_SFC_0, PRMSL_MSL_0, SPFH_SFC_0, TCDC_SFC_0, RH_TGL_2, GUST_TGL_10

1.3 Canadian Meteorological Centre (CMC / ECCC) - Ensemble

GEPS

Probabilistic ensemble forecast system based on multiple perturbed members, designed to quantify uncertainty in weather predictions.

  • spatial resolution: 0.5° (~39 km)
  • members: 20 + 1 control
  • lead time: up to 384 hours (extended to 936 hours twice weekly)
  • updates per day: 2
  • status: not currently ingested

GEPS context (from public ECCC documentation): Probabilistic predictions based on 20 perturbed members (Stochastic Parameter Perturbation + kinetic energy perturbations) plus one unperturbed control. Variables include temperature, precipitation, cloud cover, wind speed and direction, humidity. Data on ~15 vertical levels. Runs alongside NOAA GEFS as part of the North American Ensemble Forecast System (NAEFS).

1.4 ECMWF - Deterministic

HRES

High-resolution deterministic model from ECMWF, delivering highly accurate short- to medium-range forecasts widely used in professional meteorology and enterprise applications.

  • spatial resolution: 0.1° (~9 km)
  • temporal resolution: 1 hour
  • lead time: up to 360 hours (15 days)
  • updates per day: 4

HRES runs 4 times per day (00, 06, 12, 18 UTC). The full 15-day forecast is produced at 00 and 12 UTC; the 06 and 18 UTC runs cover only 90 h. Individual forecast-hour files arrive on FTP sequentially after each run completes, which is why new files appear continuously throughout the day. Source: cpu3:/data/ftp-hub/ecmwf/, ~85 MB per forecast-hour file.

1.5 NASA / GEOS - Deterministic

GEOS5

Global atmospheric model from NASA GMAO, used for environmental monitoring and specialised applications such as fire weather analysis.

  • spatial resolution: not specified
  • temporal resolution: daily
  • lead time: up to 168 hours (~7 days)
  • updates per day: 1

1.6 ECMWF Reanalysis - Historical Data

ERA5

Global reanalysis dataset combining historical observations and model data to provide consistent, high-quality weather data for retrospective analysis.

  • spatial resolution: ~0.25° (~31 km)
  • temporal resolution: 1 hour
  • historical coverage: from 1979 to present
  • type: reanalysis (not forecast)

ERA5 available layers:10m u/v wind, 2m dewpoint temperature, 2m temperature, convective precipitation, convective snowfall, mean sea level pressure, mean total precipitation rate, precipitation type, snow depth, surface pressure, total cloud cover, total precipitation, 2T, SP, var129, SSRD, RDSP2, RDSP1

Model: ERA5_RAD

Radiation-focused subset of ERA5, providing detailed solar and thermal radiation parameters for energy and environmental applications.

  • spatial resolution: ~0.25°
  • temporal resolution: 1 hour
  • historical coverage: from 1979 to present

ERA5_RAD available layers:Radiation variables (subset of ERA5)

2. Air Quality Models

  • SILAM02

    Global air quality model developed by FMI, providing forecasts of atmospheric composition and pollution levels.

    • spatial resolution: 0.2°
    • temporal resolution: 1 hour
    • lead time: up to 168 hours
    • updates per day: 1

    SILAM02 available layers: AQI, air_dens, vmr_CO, vmr_NO, vmr_NO2, vmr_O3, vmr_SO2, vmr_NH3, cnc_PM2.5, cnc_PM10

  • CAMS European Air Quality Forecasts

    High-resolution European air quality forecasting system combining multiple models into an ensemble for improved accuracy.

    • spatial resolution: 0.1° (~10 km)
    • temporal resolution: 1 hour
    • lead time: up to 96 hours
    • updates per day: 1

    CAMS European available layers: PM2.5, PM10, O3, NO2, SO2 and other air pollution species

3. Satellite Imagery

  • Sentinel-2

    High-resolution optical satellite imagery from ESA’s Copernicus programme, widely used for land monitoring, agriculture, and environmental analysis. Provides both metadata access and full image datasets.

    • provider: ESA / Copernicus
    • coverage: Global
    • data access: Metadata API + full imagery download
    • status: Active

  • Landsat-8

    Long-running Earth observation satellite mission by USGS, delivering multispectral imagery for environmental monitoring, urban planning, and climate research.

    • provider: USGS
    • coverage: Global
    • data access: Metadata API + full imagery download
    • status: Active

  • EUMETSAT MSG SEVIRI / FES

    Geostationary satellite imagery from EUMETSAT, providing frequent updates for weather monitoring, cloud tracking, and precipitation analysis across Europe and Africa.

    • provider: EUMETSAT
    • coverage: Europe / Africa
    • temporal resolution: near real-time
    • status: Active

  • Supporting services

    • Optical imagery ingestion: sip-metadata-downloader, sip-data-downloader
    • MSG processing: MSP-Data-Loader

4. Lightning Data

  • UK Met Office Lightning

    Professional lightning detection network providing high-quality regional data for the UK and Europe.

    • type: Ground-based detection network
    • coverage: UK / Europe
    • update frequency: ~5 minutes
    • delivery: FTP
    • status: Active
  • sample

    EUMETSAT MTG Lightning

    Professional lightning detection network providing high-quality regional data for the UK and Europe.

    • type: Ground-based detection network
    • coverage: UK / Europe
    • update frequency: ~5 minutes
    • delivery: FTP
    • status: Active

5. Radar Data

All radar sources feed into the global precipitation and reflectivity mosaic. Columns: country or region, originating provider, product type, file format, update interval.

  • USA

    High-frequency radar products from NOAA’s Multi-Radar Multi-Sensor (MRMS) system, delivering precipitation intensity and quality indicators across the US and adjacent regions.

    • Coverage includes Alaska, Guam, Hawaii, Puerto Rico, and Continental US
    • Products: MRMS radar, precipitation rate, and quality flags
    • Format: GRIB2.GZ
    • Update frequency: every 5 minutes

  • Europe

    A combination of national radar networks and pan-European composites, providing high-resolution precipitation data across the region.

    • Key providers: DWD, FMI, KNMI, UK Met Office, SMHI, Met Éireann
    • Pan-European composite via OPERA / EUMETNET
    • Formats: HDF5, GeoTIFF, PNG, BIN
    • Update frequency: 2 to 15 minutes depending on source

  • Asia

    Regional radar networks across Asia-Pacific delivering localised precipitation data with varying update intervals.

    • Key providers: JMA, KMA, BMKG, PAGASA, MSS, CWA
    • Formats: PNG, BIN.GZ, JSON
    • Update frequency: 5 to 30 minutes

  • Australia & Oceania

    Radar coverage across Australia and surrounding regions, supporting weather monitoring in both continental and island environments.

    • Providers: Bureau of Meteorology (BOM), Meteo Nouvelle-Calédonie, RainViewer
    • Formats: PNG, GIF
    • Update frequency: 5 minutes to 1 hour

  • North & Central America

    Radar feeds from national weather services across North and Central America, contributing to regional precipitation monitoring.

    • Providers: MSC / ECCC, INETER, SNET, ACP, Bermuda Weather Service
    • Formats: PNG, GIF (including converted formats)
    • Update frequency: 5 to 10 minutes

  • South America & Caribbean

    Regional radar networks providing precipitation data across South America and island territories.

    • Providers: ClimaSur, REDEMET / DECEA, Barbados Weather
    • Format: PNG
    • Update frequency: 10 to 15 minutes

6. Tropical Cyclone Tracking

  • UK Met Office TC advisories

    Official global tropical cyclone track bulletins covering multiple ocean basins.

    • data type: Track advisories
    • format: DAT
    • coverage: Global
    • status: Active

  • UK Met Office MOGREPS-G

    Ensemble-based cyclone track predictions providing probabilistic paths for improved risk assessment.

    • data type: Ensemble tracks
    • format: TXT (ADECK)
    • coverage: Global
    • status: Active

  • JMA / JMBSC TC alerts

    Ensemble-based cyclone track predictions providing probabilistic paths for improved risk assessment.

    • data type: Ensemble tracks
    • format: TXT (ADECK)
    • coverage: Global
    • status: Active

7. Meteorological Observations

  • METAR

    Global aviation weather observations providing real-time surface conditions from airports worldwide.

    • coverage: Global
    • update frequency: ~10 minutes
    • format: TXT
    • status: Active

  • MADIS

    US-based observational dataset aggregating road weather stations and surface measurements.

    • coverage: United States
    • storage: MongoDB
    • status: Active

  • ISD (Integrated Surface Database)

    Comprehensive global archive of ground station observations maintained by NOAA.

    • coverage: Global
    • storage: MongoDB
    • status: Active