Versión en castellano
Meteomanz.com is the old section of meteorological data of Mundomanz.com. The goal is to collect and display easily free data, both actual and expected, which are issued encrypted by official weather stations or other agencies. Basically we provide two types of information:
-Observed Data: the database contains data from 2000 to the present day. The data sources are the land SYNOP alphanumeric messages (surface synoptic observations) and the binary data BUFR (Binary Universal Form for the Representation of meteorological data). Both formats are managed by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO) and are used by almost all meteorological services in the world.
-Forecast data: they are taken from the forecast models GFS (Global forecast system), supplied by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, NOAA, and from the European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts (ECMWF). Both models have global coverage and are offered in 0.5 ° resolution versions.
All dates and times requested and displayed on Meteomanz.com are UTC. When in the following paragraphs days and hours are mentioned, are always UTC unless specified as "calendar day". This distinction is particularly relevant in the calculation of daily maximum and minimum temperatures and rainfall (see sections 3.2.1 and 3.2.2).
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In the form "Last data search" you can easily get the latest observed data stored in the Meteomanz.com database for a weather station, state or continent. You can directly enter the five numbers WMO index that identifies a station (eg 08221 for Madrid-Barajas) but you can also enter the name of a city or station (eg Enter "Madrid", "New York" or " Heathrow ") and if it finds multiple matches the system will allow you to choose the one that interests you. You can also enter the name of a country or continent (eg "Spain" or "Europe"). Click on the "SYNOPS / BUFR" button to start the search.
IMPORTANT: The names of the countries and continents are to be enter in english, but stations and cities are registered in their original language. For example, enter "Sevilla" instead of "Seville" or "Muenchen" instead of "Munich". It may happen that a search returns no results because the place does not have weather station or is not in the WMO stations list, which are the only ones contained in the Meteomanz.com database. To facilitate searches, you can partially enter the names. For example, entering "Lux" if we do not know how to write "Luxembourg" in English.
If data is obtained, the system will return a table with the main data of the most ten most recent days of the required place, similar to the data shown in data by hours queries (see Section 2.3.1).
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Data input is similar as for quick view of last synop / BUFR recorded data (see above). In this case click the "GFS / ECMWF" button to get the data.
If you entered a WMO indication or the name of a station, the system displays a meteogram and forecast data table (see "Getting meteograms and data tables", section 2.4.1).
If you have entered a country or continent, the system displays a forecast map (to be implemented).
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With this form you can get all SYNOPS / BUFR data stored in the database in several formats described in the following subsections. In all cases you have to choose the place you want to view the data of, the type of query or output and the time period you want to view.
The list of places you can select is taken from the WMO stations list, which distinguishes between states / areas and regions. The "states / areas" do not always correspond to official countries and the regions covered by WMO are seven: Africa, Asia, South America, North America, SW Pacific, Europe and Antarctica.
By selecting a state / area another form is opened where a particular weather station can be chosen if desired. You can also choose "all? state / area weather stations.
It also possible to choose the whole world as a place ("global").
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This type of query is offered with three output types: main data, detailed data and raw data. In all cases all the data for each selected SYNOP / BUFR for the selected time and place or places is shown, although each output type shows it in a different way.
Type "main data" extracts from each SYNOP / BUFR the main meteorological parameters (temperature, humidity, pressure or geopotential, wind, cloud cover and conditions) and displays them in a table. NOTE: some weather stations provide atmospheric pressure data while others, generally located at a certain height above sea level, provide geopotential height data. The geopotential height data are shown in meters indicating in parentheses the pressure in hPa at that height.
Type "detailed data" full decodes each SYNOP / BUFR and displays all data. For the BUFR, the system displays a selection of the data contained in each report, which generally only includes the "descriptors" with useful data. However, you can access the full content of the report, including the "descriptors" with no data, selecting the option "Literal BUFR report".
Type "raw data" shows a table with the SYNOP/BUFR without decoding as it is extracted from the GTS bulletins or corresponding BUFR. For the BUFR, "descriptors" and its corresponding binary data is shown.
Since is usual to exist both SYNOP and BUFR for the same combination of hour and weather station, types "detailed data" and "raw data" allow to choose the duplicate reports priority, including display them all both.
The obtained time period is limited in order to prevent server slowdown and overload and excessive consumption of bandwidth. Thus, queries for a station are limited to a maximum of 30 days, for a state to 5 days and for a region to one day.
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It is a table with a row for each day of the requested period for the station or stations requested. Data shown are average temperature, calculated from all the current temperature data recorded on the day; maximum and minimum temperatures, calculated as explained in section 3.2.1; precipitation, calculated as explained in section 3.2.2; Pressure / geopotential, direction and wind speed and cloud cover, average of the data recorded during the day.
Hovering the mouse over the maximum and minimum temperatures, the period to which they relate is shown (more information in section 3.2.1).
The limitations of the query time period are the same as for queries per hour (section 2.3.1).
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It's the old "Yearly report" of Mundomanz.com. You are only allowed to do the query for a specific station and year (no states or regions are supported). The system returns a table with the following data for each month:
Columns F-TM, F-Tm and F-R are reliability indexes for the data types "high temperature" (index F-TM), "low temperature" (index F-Tm), and "precipitation" (index F-R) . These rates are the percentage of valid data available for each month and data type. 100% for a given month and type of data means that Meteomanz.com has managed to calculate the data type referred for every day of the month. The lower the percentage, the less data has been obtained and less reliable is that data type shown for that month. For more information on the calculation of daily maximum and minimum temperatures and daily rainfall see sections 3.2.1 and 3.2.2.
To calculate the days of snow, storm and fog the system analyzes the content of group 7wwW1W2 indicator of present and past weather of the synop (or bufr extracted from synop). If the system finds one of these weather events, the synop day is counted as day with this event.
Day of ground frost is recorded if the minimum temperature is 0ºC or below.
Days mentioned in this section are UTC days.
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It is similar to the query by months, but in each row of the table data for each year of the period chosen is shown, calculated from data by months shown in the query by months. It is very powerful because it allows to display in a single table the behavior of climate values over all the years stored in the database (since 2000). The parameters shown are the same as in data by months (see section 2.3.3).
The system uses a parallel database reduced to this type of query, which is fed daily from the main database.
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These queries show similar data to the above described queries, but it is shown in other ways.
Tables of precipitation and maximum and minimum temperatures show the same data as in the data by days (see section 2.3.2), but each row shows data for ten days. Hovering the mouse over the maximum and minimum temperatures the period to which they relate is shown (see more on this in section 3.2.1).
Monthly reports also show a table equal to queries by days, but in this case always a full month is shown and it is also accompanied by graphs. This query is only possible for stations not for states or regions.
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You can get maps with weather data of the same places as explained in the above queries, this is the list of WMO weather stations, which distinguishes between states / areas and regions.
You must choose a date and time and a map type. The available types are conditions and temperature map, maximum and minimum temperatures map, precipitation map in 24h, rainfall in the last period map, pressure / geopotential map, relative humidity map, direction and speed wind map, snow depth map, height above sea level map, stations names map and WMO indexes map.
On every map you can click on the stations shown to access to the corresponding detailed report.
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This form is used to obtain weather forecast data for a station or location. There are three ways to get the data. If you know the WMO index of the weather station from which you want to get a forecast, you can enter it in the first form. You can also choose the station in the second form, which includes the WMO stations list. Finally you can enter the longitude and latitude of the place from which you want to get a forecast. The last form is not limited by any list of sites which allows to get a forecast for anywhere in the world.
The GFS model has 4 daily runs called 00, 06, 12 and 18. They start download at 03:50 UTC, 9:50 UTC, 15:50 UTC and 21:50 UTC respectively. They can take from 2 to 6 hours to be completely downloaded and processed to be entirely displayed, or even more depending on the upload speed of NOAA server.
ECMWF model has two outputs (00 and 12). As much smaller volume of data, downloading and processing is almost instantaneous, so they are usually available at 07:00 UTC and 19:00 UTC respectively.
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By default the output data of the last completed processed GFS output is shown. You can click on the corresponding link to switch to ECMWF and you can also see both models data simultaneously. If at the time of your inquiry a new run is being processed, this is indicated as "in process" and you have the possibility of clicking to view the already processed data.
Graphic and text information is provided. The graph is a composed graph (optionally can be broken down into four separate graphs), showing a first set of basic data of temperature, precipitation, wind and conditions. The arrow indicating wind direction is as darker as higher is the wind speed. A second part of the chart contains data from different layers of clouds and atmospheric pressure. The remaining two parts report temperature and geopotential height at 850 hPa and 500 respectively.
The data table is useful to examine the data accurately. The parameters contained in the GFS-model table (few of them in ECMWF) are:
Surface data:
cloud covering data: sky covering percent of low, middle and high clouds; sky covering percent of any kind of clouds.
500, 850 Hpa pressure height data:
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The main source of data of Meteomanz.com is the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) ftp server. NOAA offers free public SYNOPS and BUFR data as well as GFS grib files. Moreover, ECMWF model data is obtained from the ecmwf.int official site.
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Almost all SYNOPs / BUFR messages report the air temperature at the time of observation and some maximum and / or minimum temperature in certain periods.
In some sections of Meteomanz.com daily maximum and minimum temperatures are shown, which have previously required a calculation process because in general, the SYNOP / BUFR do not include the maximum and minimum calendar day temperatures, but in other periods depending on the location of the station and / or the observer criteria.
Meteomanz.com analyzes all the data in order to try to show the maximum and minimum temperatures for periods of 24 hours, trying that this period is as close as possible to the calendar day. In the sections "data by days", "monthly reports" and "maximum and minimum temperatures by days", you can hover the mouse over the data to know what period the maximum and minimum temperatures are referred to.
The way the SYNOP / BUFR provide the data by regions, and how does Meteomanz.com process the information is explained in the following subsections.
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In these regions the maximum temperature in the preceding 12 hours is issued in the 18 UTC report, and the minimum temperature in the preceding 12 hours is issued in the 06 UTC report. Some region 6 stations also include the minimum temperature in 12 hours at 18 UTC and maximum temperature in 12 hours at 06 UTC.
In order to cover 24-hours periods, Meteomanz.com tries to show the minimum temperature between 19 UTC of day before and 18 UTC of required day. It uses the minimum temperature from the 06 UTC report, but also looks if has been issued a lower minimum temperature data at 18 UTC report. It also analyzes the temperatures at the time of observation indicated in all reports of that period "19 UTC the previous day - 18 UTC", since it is common, for example, that a minimum temperature indicated at 06 UTC for the previous 12 hours is superseded by a lower value at the time of observation in 09 UTC report, and no minimum value at 18 UTC report is indicated. Meteomanz.com then shows as the minimum temperature the value of the temperature at the time of observation at 09 UTC, but what if a lower value is happened, for example between 09 and 12 UTC, that there has not been recorded in any report. These "doubtful" values ??are shown in italics font in the Meteomanz.com tables.
The process is similar to select the maximum temperature. In this case the analyzed period for each day is 07 UTC of required day - 06 UTC of the next day. Maximum temperatures data at 18 UTC and 06 UTC are looked for and compared to all period temperature data at the time of the observation. As in the calculation of the minimum, if the result is not guaranteed for the entire period, this is shown in italics.
To find out the period at which the maximum or minimum temperature shown in the tables refers, you can hover the mouse over the corresponding temperature.
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In this region the data of maximum and minimum temperatures refer to the preceding 12 hours (except China which is 24 hours), but the report in which it appears varies according to decision of each nation.
In identical way to described in the previous section, Meteomanz.com collects the necessary data from reports and tries to show the minimum temperature, this time between 13 UTC the previous day and 12 UTC required day, and the maximum between 01 UTC of required and 00 UTC of the next day. Again doubtful results in the tables are shown in italics.
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In this region is issued, according to the manual "Regional Codes and National Coding Practices" Volume II WMO-No. 306, in the report of the 00 UTC the "maximum daytime temperature" and at 12 UTC the "minimum overnight temperature". Meteomanz.com assumes that they are the extreme values in the preceding 12 hours.
As in the regions referred to in the preceding paragraphs, Meteomanz.com tries to show the minimum temperature, this time between 01 UTC of requested day and 00 UTC of the next day, and the maximum between 13 UTC of requested day and 12 UTC of the next day.
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In this region data maximum and minimum temperatures are issued in the reports of the main hours every 6 hours (00 UTC, 06 UTC, 12 UTC and 18 UTC). Unlike other regions, the period referred to varies according to the time at which the report is issued. Meteomanz.com checks all available data and select those closer to obtaining the maximum and minimum temperatures in the natural day.
The order of preference of data collected for the minimum temperature, and the period to which it relates is:
| ORDER | Report | Referred period |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 06 UTC of the next day | 24 horas before |
| 2 | 00 UTC of the next day | 18 horas before |
| 3 | 18 UTC of the requested day | 24 horas before |
| 4 | 12 UTC of the requested day | 12 horas before |
And for maximum temperature the order of preference, and the period to which it relates is:
| ORDER | Report | Referred period |
|---|---|---|
| 1 | 12 UTC of the next day | Previous calendar day |
| 2 | 06 UTC of the next day | 24 horas before |
| 3 | 00 UTC of the next day | 12 horas before |
| 4 | 18 UTC of the requested day | 12 horas before |
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In this region the particularity is that the data of maximum and minimum temperatures refer to the preceding 24 hours. According to the WMO, report of maximum is at 12 UTC and minimum at 00 UTC. In practice this is not so. For example in most Australian stations these reports are at 14 UTC and 02 UTC respectively.
In any case, as in the regions referred to in the preceding paragraphs, Meteomanz.com analyzes all issued reports and tries to show the minimum temperature, this time from 10 UTC of the previous day and 09 UTC of required day required, and maximum between 22 UTC of the previous day and 21 UTC of the required day.
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In this region the maximum and minimum temperatures are theoretically issued, for the preceding 12 hours, both in the report 00 UTC and 12 UTC. In practice they are stations controlled by many different nations and agencies and data is not always reported in this way.
Meteomanz.com tries to show the minimum and maximum temperature between 01 UTC of the requested day and 00 UTC of the next day.
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As explained for daily maximum and minimum temperatures, it is complicated to obtain from the SYNOPs / BUFR for a particular station the amount of rainfall in a given calendar day.
The SYNOPS / BUFR include precipitation data but may be issued in any report at any time and refer to any period. Typically precipitation data appear in main reports (00 UTC, 06 UTC, 12 UTC, 18 UTC) and it is referenced to periods of 6, 12 or 24 hours, but data can also be included in other reports and be referred to other shorter periods.
Meteomanz.com search for the necessary data, whether total or every 6 hours partial-sum, in order to calculate rainfall in subsequent periods by region:
| Region | Period |
|---|---|
| Africa | 24 hours before 06 UTC of the next day |
| Asia | 24 hours before 00 UTC of the next day |
| South America | 24 hours before 12 UTC of the next day |
| North America | 24 hours before 12 UTC of the next day |
| Pacífic SW | 24 hours before 00 UTC of the next day |
| Europa | 24 hours before 06 UTC of the next day |
| Antarctica | 24 hours before 00 UTC of the next day |
If no data enough to calculate total rainfall, the system tries to add all the partial ones, including all the main reports every 3 hours hours. If the result is shown in italics, it means that the calculated data consists of several partials but, due to lack of data, we can not guarantee that corresponds to the total.
For the region 5 stations, the system performs a 24-hours precipitation data search in all reports of the day. This search has been included because it has been detected that many stations in Australia includes the precipitation information in secondary reports (i.e. not in 06Z, 12Z, etc.)
If no results are found in all previous searches, no data is displayed.
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The GFS / ECMWF data are obtained from Grib files. From a Grib file a three-dimensional data array is obtained in which the abscissa is the longitude, the ordinate is the latitude and in each perpendicular to axis "Z" plane there is a data type of the 300 parameters that a model like the GFS can offer. The Meteomanz.com server does not have the capacity to process all the data available on each GFS output, so currently only the data mentioned in paragraph 2.4.1. is shown.
The interval between latitudes and longitudes depends on the resolution of the models used. In Meteomanz.com we use the 0.5 degree resolution versions of both GFS and ECMWF models. This means that we have data of the parameters every 0.5 degrees of the globe. However, Meteomanz.com provides forecasts of stations at any point on the globe and even allows a forecast on a place whose coordinates are entered by keyboard. To do this, if the coordinates do not match any of the available ones every 0.5 degrees, the system makes a linear interpolation between the four values of longitude and latitude that are around.
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All SYNOP / BUFR data tables shown in Meteomanz.com can be sorted ascending or descending by any column by clicking on the appropriate heading. Data tables for hours, data for days, maximum and minimum daily temperatures and rainfall can be downloaded in excel format. In tables where daily maximum and minimum temperatures is shown you can hover the mouse over every temperature the get the period that is referred to.
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The main source of data of Meteomanz.com is the ftp server of the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration ( NOAA). NOAA offers free public SYNOPS and BUFR messages and GFS grib files. On the other hand, ECMWF model data are obtained from the official website ecmwf.int .
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It is not usual but you may find errors in the data contained in some SYNOP / BUFR, mainly evident in the monthly and annual reports, where extreme values of some parameters are shown. The filtering of these data is complicated so please report these cases to admin@meteomanz.com so we can delete the wrong data if neccesary.
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It is a numeric message containing meteorological observation data. Its format is defined by WMO (FM-12 code).
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It is a binary format containing meteorological observation data. Its format is defined by WMO (FM-94 code).
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It is a computer program that calculates future weather data. In Meteomanz.com used the free GFS and ECMWF model free part.
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It is a 5-digit numeric code identifying every meteorological station registered by the World Meteorological Organization (WMO). Usually the first two digits identify the state and the other three are numbering the stations from north to south. There are currently about 13,000 weather stations recorded.
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The cities database of Meteomanz.com contains only the weather stations registered by WMO. However, to see forecast data, you can enter the coordinates of your location as explained in section 2.4.
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It is a database consisting of about 13,000 weather stations and among other data includes latitude, longitude and altitude of each station. It can be downloaded from the WMO FTP.
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Despite being listed by WMO, and even if they are operational, not all weather stations produce SYNOP / BUFR messages. It can happen for example that data is recorded for later use or is only shown by the meteorological service to which the station belongs.
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You can freely use all graphics generated in Meteomanz.com remaining visible the identification of the web in the lower right corner. You can also freely use data tables generated either in web format, in excel format or other downloaded way, always mentioning the data source.
The SYNOP / BUFR data shown in Meteomanz.com are owned by the meteorological services of each country or equivalent body. Meteomanz.com can not guarantee that the data shows no errors. Please report errors to admin@meteomanz.com .
Please do not use automated scripts to massive data downloads. The use of such methods may involve the prohibition of access to the website or the temporary disabling of part of it.
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Please contact us at admin@meteomanz.com. Also in Twitter @Mundomanz
Any suggest, opinion, contribution, etc is welcome. We'll try also to solve any question related to the contents of this website.