Catalog > Google WeatherNext 2 forecast, operational, virtual > Validation report

Google WeatherNext 2 forecast, operational, virtual validation report

This dataset validation report plots a sample of values from the Google WeatherNext 2 forecast, operational, virtual dataset over time and across space, comparing where possible to a previously validated reference dataset. It also reports the quantity of unavailable values and their associated timestamps. These analyses are one layer of a multi-layered dataset validation process we perform at dynamical.org and also provide users a preview of the dataset contents.

Report generation start time: 2026-10-21T13:02:19 UTC

Summary

This dataset has been reviewed and is ready for use.

What looks good

All 14 variables are complete at all 2,633 scanned initializations, from 2025-01-01 through 2026-10-21T00:00 UTC. No expected source files are missing in this run.
Every sampled reference decoded cleanly: 1,400 references across 20 regions, five lead times and up to three present levels per pressure-level variable.
Geometry and coordinates are correct on every spatial map, with north up and land features where expected on the 0–360 longitude grid.
The six variables shared with NOAA GEFS analysis compare well at the snapshot: 2 m temperature, mean sea level pressure, and 10 m and 100 m wind components. Snapshot mean 2 m temperature is 6.905 °C against 7.054 °C in the reference; mean sea level pressure is 100,800 Pa against 100,900 Pa.
The fields are meteorologically plausible, with no persistent step changes in the 14 sampled full-period series through October 2026. Seasonal cycles, upper-level jets and storm-track precipitation are coherent; land temperature has a stronger diurnal cycle than ocean temperature.

Review notes

Longitudes use the 0–360 convention, and the horizontal dimensions are named y and x. y holds latitude ascending from south to north and x holds longitude. For example, 100°W is x=260 in this dataset.

Variables needing care

Sea surface temperature is a daily field. It steps once every 24 hours and is NaN over land.

For further review

Datasets

Role	Name	ID	Version	URL
Validation	Google WeatherNext 2 forecast, operational, virtual	`google-weathernext2-forecast-operational-virtual`	`v0.1.0`	`https://google-weathernext2.r2.dynamical.org/google-weathernext2-forecast-operational-virtual/v0.1.0.icechunk`
Reference	NOAA GEFS analysis	`noaa-gefs-analysis`	`0.1.2`	`s3://dynamical-noaa-gefs/noaa-gefs-analysis/v0.1.2.icechunk/`

Run parameters

Parameter	Value
Validation dataset type	forecast
Validation time range	init_time 2025-01-01T00:00 → 2026-10-21T00:00
Reference time range	time 2000-01-01T00:00 → 2026-10-21T06:00
Point 1	lat=40.0000, lon=260.0000
Point 2	lat=-20.0000, lon=220.0000
Ensemble member	35
Spatial comparison time	init=2026-10-05T00:00, lead=24h (reference at 2026-10-06T00:00)
Timeseries period	init=2026-10-05T00:00
Vertical level	middle level per vertical dim
Store type	virtual — availability manifest-probed; value series sampled

Availability

The plot below shows the availability of each variable over time — light red marks unavailable data, dark green marks present data.

availability heatmap

Every variable is complete at every scanned position.

Decode health

1400 references decoded successfully, sampled across 20 of 2633 append-dim regions, 5 leads and up to 3 present levels per group variable.

Per-variable details

`pressure_level/geopotential_height` [pressure_level=400]

Metadata

Field	Value
units	`m`
long_name	Geopotential height
short_name	gh
standard_name	geopotential_height
step_type	instant
sampled level	pressure_level=400

Point time series — 2025-01-01T00:00 - 2026-10-21T00:00, sampled lead=12h, member=0, pressure_level=400

Point	min	mean	max
P1	6807	7395	7690
P2	7444	7567	7641

Spatial — init=2026-10-05T00:00, lead=24h (reference not available)

Source	min	mean	max
Validation	6176	7157	7705

Temporal — init=2026-10-05T00:00

Source	min	mean	max
P1 Validation	7331	7491	7581
P2 Validation	7488	7546	7586

Availability — 2633 of 2633 positions complete

`pressure_level/specific_humidity` [pressure_level=400]

Metadata

Field	Value
units	`1`
long_name	Specific humidity
short_name	q
standard_name	specific_humidity
step_type	instant
sampled level	pressure_level=400
comment	Small negative values are raw model artifacts; set values < 0 to zero.

Point time series — 2025-01-01T00:00 - 2026-10-21T00:00, sampled lead=12h, member=0, pressure_level=400

Point	min	mean	max
P1	8.813e-06	0.0005033	0.002493
P2	4.871e-05	0.0007191	0.002631

Spatial — init=2026-10-05T00:00, lead=24h (reference not available)

Source	min	mean	max
Validation	-9.894e-05	0.0004257	0.006075

Temporal — init=2026-10-05T00:00

Source	min	mean	max
P1 Validation	6.505e-05	0.0004268	0.001809
P2 Validation	0.0001223	0.001379	0.002771

Availability — 2633 of 2633 positions complete

`pressure_level/temperature` [pressure_level=400]

Metadata

Field	Value
units	`degree_Celsius`
long_name	Temperature
short_name	t
standard_name	air_temperature
step_type	instant
sampled level	pressure_level=400

Point time series — 2025-01-01T00:00 - 2026-10-21T00:00, sampled lead=12h, member=0, pressure_level=400

Point	min	mean	max
P1	-46.73	-25.68	-12.78
P2	-25.45	-17.93	-11.52

Spatial — init=2026-10-05T00:00, lead=24h (reference not available)

Source	min	mean	max
Validation	-56.91	-30	-4.49

Temporal — init=2026-10-05T00:00

Source	min	mean	max
P1 Validation	-28.01	-23.11	-18.5
P2 Validation	-19.02	-15.32	-13.41

Availability — 2633 of 2633 positions complete

`pressure_level/vertical_velocity` [pressure_level=400]

Metadata

Field	Value
units	`Pa s-1`
long_name	Vertical velocity
short_name	w
standard_name	lagrangian_tendency_of_air_pressure
step_type	instant
sampled level	pressure_level=400

Point time series — 2025-01-01T00:00 - 2026-10-21T00:00, sampled lead=12h, member=0, pressure_level=400

Point	min	mean	max
P1	-2.184	0.04377	1.134
P2	-1.753	-0.0244	0.5661

Spatial — init=2026-10-05T00:00, lead=24h (reference not available)

Source	min	mean	max
Validation	-9.796	0.0009656	4.752

Temporal — init=2026-10-05T00:00

Source	min	mean	max
P1 Validation	-1.114	0.03179	0.7115
P2 Validation	-0.4791	0.01336	0.2724

Availability — 2633 of 2633 positions complete

`pressure_level/wind_u` [pressure_level=400]

Metadata

Field	Value
units	`m s-1`
long_name	U component of wind
short_name	u
standard_name	eastward_wind
step_type	instant
sampled level	pressure_level=400

Point time series — 2025-01-01T00:00 - 2026-10-21T00:00, sampled lead=12h, member=0, pressure_level=400

Point	min	mean	max
P1	-12.75	15.27	53.44
P2	-12.48	9.987	35.5

Spatial — init=2026-10-05T00:00, lead=24h (reference not available)

Source	min	mean	max
Validation	-41.62	8.729	73.36

Temporal — init=2026-10-05T00:00

Source	min	mean	max
P1 Validation	-6.143	11.77	24.06
P2 Validation	21.12	32.42	39.57

Availability — 2633 of 2633 positions complete

`pressure_level/wind_v` [pressure_level=400]

Metadata

Field	Value
units	`m s-1`
long_name	V component of wind
short_name	v
standard_name	northward_wind
step_type	instant
sampled level	pressure_level=400

Point time series — 2025-01-01T00:00 - 2026-10-21T00:00, sampled lead=12h, member=0, pressure_level=400

Point	min	mean	max
P1	-39.41	-2.713	35.93
P2	-18.9	0.1688	17.29

Spatial — init=2026-10-05T00:00, lead=24h (reference not available)

Source	min	mean	max
Validation	-59.05	-0.01641	53.8

Temporal — init=2026-10-05T00:00

Source	min	mean	max
P1 Validation	-26.59	-4.529	18.8
P2 Validation	-13.07	-3.402	9.592

Availability — 2633 of 2633 positions complete

`pressure_reduced_to_mean_sea_level`

Metadata

Field	Value
units	`Pa`
long_name	Pressure reduced to MSL
short_name	prmsl
standard_name	air_pressure_at_mean_sea_level
step_type	instant

Point time series — 2025-01-01T00:00 - 2026-10-21T00:00, sampled lead=12h, member=0

Point	min	mean	max
P1	9.924e+04	1.016e+05	1.049e+05
P2	1.008e+05	1.015e+05	1.021e+05

Spatial — init=2026-10-05T00:00, lead=24h (reference at 2026-10-06T00:00)

Source	min	mean	max
Validation	9.382e+04	1.008e+05	1.043e+05
Reference	9.382e+04	1.009e+05	1.047e+05

Temporal — init=2026-10-05T00:00

Source	min	mean	max
P1 Validation	1.001e+05	1.016e+05	1.035e+05
P1 Reference	1.002e+05	1.017e+05	1.04e+05
P2 Validation	1.004e+05	1.015e+05	1.019e+05
P2 Reference	1.01e+05	1.016e+05	1.02e+05

Availability — 2633 of 2633 positions complete

pressure_reduced_to_mean_sea_level — full-period value time series

pressure_reduced_to_mean_sea_level — spatial comparison

pressure_reduced_to_mean_sea_level — time series comparison

pressure_reduced_to_mean_sea_level — availability over append dim

`sea_surface_temperature`

Metadata

Field	Value
units	`degree_Celsius`
long_name	Sea surface temperature
short_name	sst
standard_name	sea_surface_temperature
step_type	instant
comment	NaN over land where sea surface temperature does not apply. Value changes once every 24 hours.

Point time series — 2025-01-01T00:00 - 2026-10-21T00:00, sampled lead=12h, member=0

Point	min	mean	max
P1	n/a	n/a	n/a
P2	24.16	26.78	29.3

Spatial — init=2026-10-05T00:00, lead=24h (reference not available)

Source	min	mean	max
Validation	-2.043	14.34	34.12

Temporal — init=2026-10-05T00:00

Source	min	mean	max
P1 Validation	n/a	n/a	n/a
P2 Validation	24.32	24.49	24.66

Availability — 2633 of 2633 positions complete

sea_surface_temperature — full-period value time series

sea_surface_temperature — spatial comparison

sea_surface_temperature — time series comparison

sea_surface_temperature — availability over append dim

`temperature_2m`

Metadata

Field	Value
units	`degree_Celsius`
long_name	2 metre temperature
short_name	2t
standard_name	air_temperature
step_type	instant

Point time series — 2025-01-01T00:00 - 2026-10-21T00:00, sampled lead=12h, member=0

Point	min	mean	max
P1	-20.99	14.2	34.75
P2	21.78	25.35	28.25

Spatial — init=2026-10-05T00:00, lead=24h (reference at 2026-10-06T00:00)

Source	min	mean	max
Validation	-67.18	6.905	39.28
Reference	-61.75	7.054	38

Temporal — init=2026-10-05T00:00

Source	min	mean	max
P1 Validation	4.98	17.15	28.35
P1 Reference	3.375	17.42	33
P2 Validation	20.76	22.43	24.73
P2 Reference	20.88	22.07	24

Availability — 2633 of 2633 positions complete

temperature_2m — full-period value time series

temperature_2m — availability over append dim

`total_precipitation_surface`

Metadata

Field	Value
units	`kg m-2`
long_name	Total precipitation
short_name	tp
standard_name	precipitation_amount
step_type	accum
comment	Accumulated over a six-hour forecast interval. Small negative values are raw model artifacts; set values < 0 to zero.

Point time series — 2025-01-01T00:00 - 2026-10-21T00:00, sampled lead=12h, member=0

Point	min	mean	max
P1	-0.0109	0.3316	12.08
P2	-0.004965	0.8094	22.3

Spatial — init=2026-10-05T00:00, lead=24h (reference not available)

Source	min	mean	max
Validation	-0.05659	0.6807	95.07

Temporal — init=2026-10-05T00:00

Source	min	mean	max
P1 Validation	-0.005986	0.02117	0.6088
P2 Validation	-0.003235	0.6795	26.57

Availability — 2633 of 2633 positions complete

total_precipitation_surface — full-period value time series

total_precipitation_surface — spatial comparison

total_precipitation_surface — time series comparison

total_precipitation_surface — availability over append dim

`wind_u_100m`

Metadata

Field	Value
units	`m s-1`
long_name	100 metre U wind component
short_name	100u
standard_name	eastward_wind
step_type	instant

Point time series — 2025-01-01T00:00 - 2026-10-21T00:00, sampled lead=12h, member=0

Point	min	mean	max
P1	-10.3	0.1526	12.49
P2	-13.48	-4.294	10.59

Spatial — init=2026-10-05T00:00, lead=24h (reference at 2026-10-06T00:00)

Source	min	mean	max
Validation	-38.97	0.1488	33.04
Reference	-41.5	0.2017	31.25

Temporal — init=2026-10-05T00:00

Source	min	mean	max
P1 Validation	-7.139	-0.2404	8.736
P1 Reference	-8.875	0.2367	10.12
P2 Validation	-9.807	-6.065	-2.359
P2 Reference	-10.62	-5.811	0.5859

Availability — 2633 of 2633 positions complete

wind_u_100m — full-period value time series

wind_u_100m — availability over append dim

`wind_u_10m`

Metadata

Field	Value
units	`m s-1`
long_name	10 metre U wind component
short_name	10u
standard_name	eastward_wind
step_type	instant

Point time series — 2025-01-01T00:00 - 2026-10-21T00:00, sampled lead=12h, member=0

Point	min	mean	max
P1	-5.89	0.01848	8.137
P2	-11.88	-3.934	8.882

Spatial — init=2026-10-05T00:00, lead=24h (reference at 2026-10-06T00:00)

Source	min	mean	max
Validation	-28.45	0.1069	25.9
Reference	-37.5	0.1493	29.75

Temporal — init=2026-10-05T00:00

Source	min	mean	max
P1 Validation	-3.489	-0.1148	4.133
P1 Reference	-5.938	-0.1071	7.062
P2 Validation	-8.856	-5.623	-2.285
P2 Reference	-9.5	-5.29	0.5703

Availability — 2633 of 2633 positions complete

wind_u_10m — full-period value time series

wind_u_10m — availability over append dim

`wind_v_100m`

Metadata

Field	Value
units	`m s-1`
long_name	100 metre V wind component
short_name	100v
standard_name	northward_wind
step_type	instant

Point time series — 2025-01-01T00:00 - 2026-10-21T00:00, sampled lead=12h, member=0

Point	min	mean	max
P1	-13.73	0.687	13.3
P2	-12.17	-0.3539	12.61

Spatial — init=2026-10-05T00:00, lead=24h (reference at 2026-10-06T00:00)

Source	min	mean	max
Validation	-36.43	0.2264	42.14
Reference	-32.5	0.1923	41.5

Temporal — init=2026-10-05T00:00

Source	min	mean	max
P1 Validation	-9.177	1.898	13.35
P1 Reference	-13.25	3.401	14.5
P2 Validation	-17.09	4.254	9.29
P2 Reference	-5.312	4.399	8.875

Availability — 2633 of 2633 positions complete

wind_v_100m — full-period value time series

wind_v_100m — availability over append dim

`wind_v_10m`

Metadata

Field	Value
units	`m s-1`
long_name	10 metre V wind component
short_name	10v
standard_name	northward_wind
step_type	instant

Point time series — 2025-01-01T00:00 - 2026-10-21T00:00, sampled lead=12h, member=0

Point	min	mean	max
P1	-9.714	0.3208	9.555
P2	-10.41	-0.2957	11.54

Spatial — init=2026-10-05T00:00, lead=24h (reference at 2026-10-06T00:00)

Source	min	mean	max
Validation	-27.77	0.2358	31.36
Reference	-29	0.207	33.5

Temporal — init=2026-10-05T00:00

Source	min	mean	max
P1 Validation	-4.821	1.019	8.453
P1 Reference	-9.125	2.021	9.625
P2 Validation	-13.98	4.027	8.358
P2 Reference	-4.875	4.117	7.938

Availability — 2633 of 2633 positions complete

wind_v_10m — full-period value time series

wind_v_10m — availability over append dim

Google WeatherNext 2 forecast, operational, virtual validation report

Summary

What looks good

Review notes

Variables needing care

For further review

Datasets

Run parameters

Availability

Decode health

Per-variable details

pressure_level/geopotential_height [pressure_level=400]

pressure_level/specific_humidity [pressure_level=400]

pressure_level/temperature [pressure_level=400]

pressure_level/vertical_velocity [pressure_level=400]

pressure_level/wind_u [pressure_level=400]

pressure_level/wind_v [pressure_level=400]

pressure_reduced_to_mean_sea_level

sea_surface_temperature

temperature_2m

total_precipitation_surface

wind_u_100m

wind_u_10m

wind_v_100m

wind_v_10m

`pressure_level/geopotential_height` [pressure_level=400]

`pressure_level/specific_humidity` [pressure_level=400]

`pressure_level/temperature` [pressure_level=400]

`pressure_level/vertical_velocity` [pressure_level=400]

`pressure_level/wind_u` [pressure_level=400]

`pressure_level/wind_v` [pressure_level=400]

`pressure_reduced_to_mean_sea_level`

`sea_surface_temperature`

`temperature_2m`

`total_precipitation_surface`

`wind_u_100m`

`wind_u_10m`

`wind_v_100m`

`wind_v_10m`