Catalog > NOAA GFS > NOAA GFS forecast

NOAA GFS forecast

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Spatial domain	Global
Spatial resolution	0.25 degrees (~20km)
Time domain	Forecasts initialized 2021-05-01 00:00:00 UTC to Present
Time resolution	Forecasts initialized every 6 hours
Forecast domain	Forecast lead time 0-384 hours (0-16 days) ahead
Forecast resolution	Forecast step 0-120 hours: hourly, 123-384 hours: 3 hourly

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The Global Forecast System (GFS) is a National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) weather forecast model that generates data for dozens of atmospheric and land-soil variables, including temperatures, winds, precipitation, soil moisture, and atmospheric ozone concentration. The system couples four separate models (atmosphere, ocean model, land/soil model, and sea ice) that work together to depict weather conditions.

This dataset is an archive of past and present GFS forecasts. Forecasts are identified by an initialization time (init_time) denoting the start time of the model run. Each forecast steps forward in time along the lead_time dimension.

Related Datasets

NOAA GFS analysis, hourly - Historical weather data from the Global Forecast System (GFS) model operated by NOAA NCEP.

Examples

	Open notebook in github
	Open notebook in colab

dynamical.org - NOAA GFS forecast

Maximum temperature in a forecast

import xarray as xr  # xarray>=2025.1.2 and zarr>=3.0.4 for zarr v3 support

ds = xr.open_zarr("https://data.dynamical.org/noaa/gfs/forecast/[email protected]")
ds['temperature_2m'].sel(init_time="2025-01-01T00", latitude=0, longitude=0).max().compute()

Dimensions

	min	max	units
init_time	2021-05-01T00:00:00	Present	seconds since 1970-01-01

latitude	-90	90	degrees_north

lead_time	0 days 00:00:00	16 days 00:00:00	seconds

longitude	-180	179.75	degrees_east

Variables

	units	dimensions
categorical_freezing_rain_surface Categorical freezing rain Presence/absence over the previous 1–6 hours, reset every 6-hour forecast step (00Z, 06Z, 12Z, 18Z).	0=no; 1=yes	init_time × lead_time × latitude × longitude

categorical_ice_pellets_surface Categorical ice pellets Presence/absence over the previous 1–6 hours, reset every 6-hour forecast step (00Z, 06Z, 12Z, 18Z).	0=no; 1=yes	init_time × lead_time × latitude × longitude

categorical_rain_surface Categorical rain Presence/absence over the previous 1–6 hours, reset every 6-hour forecast step (00Z, 06Z, 12Z, 18Z).	0=no; 1=yes	init_time × lead_time × latitude × longitude

categorical_snow_surface Categorical snow Presence/absence over the previous 1–6 hours, reset every 6-hour forecast step (00Z, 06Z, 12Z, 18Z).	0=no; 1=yes	init_time × lead_time × latitude × longitude

downward_long_wave_radiation_flux_surface Surface downward long-wave radiation flux Average over the previous 1–6 hours, reset every 6-hour forecast step (00Z, 06Z, 12Z, 18Z).	W/(m^2)	init_time × lead_time × latitude × longitude

downward_short_wave_radiation_flux_surface Surface downward short-wave radiation flux Average over the previous 1–6 hours, reset every 6-hour forecast step (00Z, 06Z, 12Z, 18Z).	W/(m^2)	init_time × lead_time × latitude × longitude

expected_forecast_length	seconds	init_time

geopotential_height_cloud_ceiling Geopotential height	gpm	init_time × lead_time × latitude × longitude

ingested_forecast_length	seconds	init_time

maximum_temperature_2m Maximum temperature Maximum over the previous 1–6 hours, reset every 6-hour forecast step (00Z, 06Z, 12Z, 18Z).	C	init_time × lead_time × latitude × longitude

minimum_temperature_2m Minimum temperature Minimum over the previous 1–6 hours, reset every 6-hour forecast step (00Z, 06Z, 12Z, 18Z).	C	init_time × lead_time × latitude × longitude

percent_frozen_precipitation_surface Percent frozen precipitation	%	init_time × lead_time × latitude × longitude

precipitable_water_atmosphere Precipitable water	kg/(m^2)	init_time × lead_time × latitude × longitude

precipitation_surface Total Precipitation Average precipitation rate since the previous forecast step.	mm/s	init_time × lead_time × latitude × longitude

pressure_reduced_to_mean_sea_level Pressure reduced to MSL	Pa	init_time × lead_time × latitude × longitude

pressure_surface Surface pressure	Pa	init_time × lead_time × latitude × longitude

relative_humidity_2m 2 metre relative humidity	%	init_time × lead_time × latitude × longitude

temperature_2m 2 metre temperature	C	init_time × lead_time × latitude × longitude

total_cloud_cover_atmosphere Total Cloud Cover Average over the previous 1–6 hours, reset every 6-hour forecast step (00Z, 06Z, 12Z, 18Z).	%	init_time × lead_time × latitude × longitude

valid_time	seconds since 1970-01-01	init_time × lead_time

wind_u_100m 100 metre U wind component	m/s	init_time × lead_time × latitude × longitude

wind_u_10m 10 metre U wind component	m/s	init_time × lead_time × latitude × longitude

wind_v_100m 100 metre V wind component	m/s	init_time × lead_time × latitude × longitude

wind_v_10m 10 metre V wind component	m/s	init_time × lead_time × latitude × longitude

Don't see what you're looking for? Let us know at [email protected].

Details

Storage

Storage for this dataset is generously provided by Source Cooperative, a Radiant Earth initiative.

Compression

The data values in this dataset have been rounded in their binary floating point representation to improve compression. See Klöwer et al. 2021 for more information on this approach. The exact number of rounded bits can be found in our reformatting code.