The blog
[Updated]
The website barotropic.fr provides a set of current files in GRIB2 format compatible with Weather4D Routing & Navigation (¹). These predictions cover several areas from the English Channel to Aquitaine, with a resolution for some files up to 250 meters per step of 15 minutes ! They are derived from raw data from IFREMER and put in format at the exclusive initiative of the author of the site (²). Read more …
Florence Rabier, CEO of ECMWF, has developed February the 13 th European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecast projects for 2023 (¹). She announced a major update to the forecasting model. IFS (²) scheduled for June 2023. Read more …
Europe is moving forward in small steps, but it moves forward… Towards open access to data from public services ! The 21 December 2022 was published in the Official Journal of the European Union, under reference C/2022/9562, the " Implementing Regulations of the European Commission establishing a list of specific high-value datasets and how they will be published and reused". Read more …
You are more likely to have adopted the Iridium GO! for its easy way to request GRIB files, directly from Weather4D and some other applications. But some also want to transfer these files to PC to import them into Windows software (as you know, nobody is perfect !). An easy solution is available : the messaging app Air Share, compatible iOS/iPadOS (¹). [Update 30 March 2022] Warning : the app has changed its ID code on the AppStore. Read more …
Trafalgar Hit for the flagship of European meteorology, despite Brexit and contrary to what had been planned (¹), the European Center for Medium-Range Weather Forecast will stay in England ! Even better, a new headquarter for ECMWF to be fully funded by the UK government through the Department for Business, Energy and Industrial Strategy. Proof that the British have gone all out to keep this European scientific center in Reading (²). Read more …
This question has been asked regularly, but until now I had never wanted to publicly give my opinion on the subject so as not to offend anyone and especially not to create unnecessary controversy. But by dint of doing it during my training, why not express it openly ?
My opinion, forged by observation and a long professional experience in pleasure boating (¹), is that this assertion of the systematic optimism of the GRIB forecasts regarding wind force, which unfortunately continues, no longer has a reason to be, and has not been verified in fact for some time. Read more …
In Weather4D (all versions) most weather models provide a data calledCAPE.
Convective Available Potential Energy, in French : Energie potentielle de convection disponible. Behind this abstruse acronym hides a powerful tool for forecasting thunderstorms. The CAPE is measured in joules per kilogram of air (J / Kg) and defines the vertical thrust energy of a hot air particle in a colder atmosphere. In other words, vertical acceleration of the air particle will be directly related to this energy measurement. Read more …
NOAA (¹) annouced on 22 March a major upgrade to its weather forecast model GFS.
For the first time, the Global Forecasting System (GFS), NOAA's flagship weather forecast model (¹) will be coupled to the global wave model Wave Watch III (WW3), produced by the FNMOC (Fleet Numerical Meteorology and Oceanography Center), which will extend the current forecast of waves from 7 service, up to 16 days and improve forecasting of atmospheric-forced ocean waves. Read more …
In Weather4D, as generally in other applications, sea state forecasts are described by ocean models. The most used is the model WW3 (Wave Watch III), published by the FNMOC (Fleet Numerical Meteorology and Oceanography Center) of the US Navy, with a Global model due 7 days and resolution 1 ° (60NM), and a European model at 3 days and resolution 0.2 ° (12NM). Meteo France publish modelsMFWAM (Wave Assimilated Model) coupled with the ARPEGE and AROME weather models with three resolutions : Global at 0.5 ° (30NM), Europe at 0.1 ° (6NM), France at 0.025 ° (1,5NM) with variable deadlines (¹). Read more …
Friday 13 November will not be a lucky day for the Vendée Globe skippers 2020 (¹). They will have to negotiate the meeting with the tropical storm "Theta" which crosses their course with average winds which can reach the 40 knots and strong gusts. Especially the sea will be to fear because, strongly crossed when passing the low pressure center, the waves may exceed the 6 meters and surge chaotically. Read more …