NOAA HRRR forecast, 48 hour, virtual

Name: NOAA HRRR forecast, 48 hour, virtual
Creator: dynamical.org
License: https://creativecommons.org/licenses/by/4.0/

map-optimized · low-latency

Spatial domain	Continental United States
Spatial resolution	3 km
Time domain	Forecasts initialized 2018-07-13 12:00:00 UTC to Present
Time resolution	Forecasts initialized every 6 hours
Forecast domain	Forecast lead time 0-48 hours ahead
Forecast resolution	Hourly

STAC (browse) · validation report

The High-Resolution Rapid Refresh (HRRR) is a NOAA real-time 3-km resolution, hourly updated, cloud-resolving, convection-allowing atmospheric model, initialized by 3km grids with 3km radar assimilation. Radar data is assimilated in the HRRR every 15 min over a 1-h period adding further detail to that provided by the hourly data assimilation from the 13km radar-enhanced Rapid Refresh.

This dataset is an archive of past and present HRRR forecasts, optimized for spatial (map) access patterns. Forecasts are identified by an initialization time (init_time) denoting the start time of the model run, and step forward hourly along the lead_time dimension out to 48 hours. This dataset contains only the 00, 06, 12, and 18 hour UTC initialization times which produce the full length, 48 hour forecast.

This dataset uses the native HRRR Lambert Conformal Conic projection, with spatial indexing along the x and y dimensions. The example notebook shows how to use the embedded spatial reference to select geographic areas of interest.

Note: dynamical-catalog>=0.7.0 (or zarr>=3.2 icechunk>=2.0 gribberish>=1.5) is required.

Related Datasets

Examples

	Quickstart (Github)
	Quickstart (Colab)

dynamical.org - NOAA HRRR forecast, 48 hour, v...

A temperature map at one forecast step

import dynamical_catalog  # dynamical-catalog>=0.7.0

ds = dynamical_catalog.open("noaa-hrrr-forecast-48-hour-virtual")
ds["temperature_2m"].sel(init_time="2025-01-01T00", lead_time="24h").compute()

# Variables with a vertical dimension live in the pressure_level and model_level groups
ds_pressure = dynamical_catalog.open("noaa-hrrr-forecast-48-hour-virtual", group="pressure_level")
ds_model = dynamical_catalog.open("noaa-hrrr-forecast-48-hour-virtual", group="model_level")

ds_pressure["temperature"].sel(pressure_level=500)

Dimensions

	min	max	units
init_time	2018-07-13T12:00:00Z	Present	seconds since 1970-01-01

lead_time	0	172800	seconds

x	-2697520.143	2696479.857	m

y	-1587306.153	1586693.847	m

model_level	1	50	1

pressure_level	50	1000	hPa

Variables

Access a variable by its name (the bold identifier, e.g. ds["aerosol_optical_thickness_atmosphere"]).

Dimensions: init_time × lead_time × y × x

variable	units
aerosol_optical_thickness_atmosphere Aerosol optical thickness (`aotk`)	1
baseflow_groundwater_runoff_surface Baseflow-groundwater runoff (`bgrun`)	kg m-2
best_4_layer_lifted_index_180_0mb Best (4-layer) lifted index (`4lftx`)	K
brightness_temperature_channel_113 Simulated brightness temperature (channel 113) (`sbt113`)	K
brightness_temperature_channel_114 Simulated brightness temperature (channel 114) (`sbt114`)	K
brightness_temperature_channel_123 Simulated brightness temperature (channel 123) (`sbt123`)	K
brightness_temperature_channel_124 Simulated brightness temperature (channel 124) (`sbt124`)	K
categorical_freezing_rain_surface Categorical freezing rain (`cfrzr`)0=no; 1=yes	1
categorical_ice_pellets_surface Categorical ice pellets (`cicep`)0=no; 1=yes	1
categorical_rain_surface Categorical rain (`crain`)0=no; 1=yes	1
categorical_snow_surface Categorical snow (`csnow`)0=no; 1=yes	1
column_integrated_mass_density_atmosphere Column-integrated mass density (`colmd`)	kg m-2
composite_reflectivity Maximum/Composite radar reflectivity (`refc`)	dBZ
convective_available_potential_energy_0_3000m Convective available potential energy (`cape`)	J kg-1
convective_available_potential_energy_180_0mb Convective available potential energy (`cape`)	J kg-1
convective_available_potential_energy_255_0mb Convective available potential energy (`cape`)	J kg-1
convective_available_potential_energy_90_0mb Convective available potential energy (`cape`)	J kg-1
convective_available_potential_energy_surface Convective available potential energy (`cape`)	J kg-1
convective_inhibition_180_0mb Convective inhibition (`cin`)	J kg-1
convective_inhibition_255_0mb Convective inhibition (`cin`)	J kg-1
convective_inhibition_90_0mb Convective inhibition (`cin`)	J kg-1
convective_inhibition_surface Convective inhibition (`cin`)	J kg-1
critical_angle_0_500m Critical angle (`cangle`)	degree
derived_radar_reflectivity_1000m Derived radar reflectivity (`refd`)	dBZ
derived_radar_reflectivity_263k Derived radar reflectivity (`refd`)	dBZ
derived_radar_reflectivity_4000m Derived radar reflectivity (`refd`)	dBZ
dew_point_temperature_2m 2 metre dewpoint temperature (`2d`)	degree_Celsius
downward_long_wave_radiation_flux_surface Surface downward long-wave radiation flux (`sdlwrf`)	W m-2
downward_short_wave_radiation_flux_surface Surface downward short-wave radiation flux (`sdswrf`)	W m-2
echo_top Echo top (`retop`)-999 encodes no echo; CF-aware readers mask it to NaN.	m
effective_layer_helicity_surface Effective layer helicity (`efhl`)	m2 s-2
enhanced_stretching_potential_0_3000m Enhanced stretching potential (`esp`)	1
freezing_rain_run_total_surface Freezing Rain (`frzr`)	kg m-2
friction_velocity_surface Friction velocity (`zust`)	m s-1
frozen_precipitation_run_total_surface Frozen precipitation (`frozr`)	kg m-2
frozen_precipitation_surface Frozen precipitation (`frozr`)	kg m-2
geopotential_height_0c_isotherm Geopotential height (`gh`)	m
geopotential_height_253k Geopotential height (`gh`)	m
geopotential_height_263k Geopotential height (`gh`)	m
geopotential_height_adiabatic_condensation_level Geopotential height (`gh`)	m
geopotential_height_cloud_base Geopotential height (`gh`)	m
geopotential_height_cloud_ceiling Geopotential height (`gh`)	m
geopotential_height_cloud_top Geopotential height (`gh`)	m
geopotential_height_equilibrium_level Geopotential height (`gh`)	m
geopotential_height_highest_tropospheric_freezing_level Geopotential height (`gh`)	m
geopotential_height_level_of_free_convection Geopotential height (`gh`)	m
geopotential_height_surface Geopotential height (`gh`)	m
ground_heat_flux_surface Ground heat flux (`gflux`)	W m-2
high_cloud_cover High cloud cover (`hcc`)	percent
hourly_maximum_radar_reflectivity_1000m Hourly maximum of simulated reflectivity (`maxref`)	dBZ
ice_cover_surface Ice cover (1=ice, 0=no ice) (`icec`)	1
land_sea_mask_surface Land-sea mask (`lsm`)	1
latent_heat_flux_surface Latent heat flux (`lhf`)	W m-2
layer_thickness_261k_256k Layer Thickness (`layth`)	m
leaf_area_index_surface Leaf Area Index (`lai`)	1
lightning_atmosphere Lightning (`ltng`)	1
lightning_threat_1m Maximum lightning threat 1 (graupel flux) (`ltngsd`)GSD maximum lightning threat 1 derived from upward graupel flux, in flashes km-2 (5 min)-1. Encoded in HRRR GRIB as LTNGSD (lightning strike density) at the pseudo-level 1 m above ground. Before the 2022-06-28T12Z cycle this GRIB slot carried lightning potential index (J kg-1), a different quantity that is not included.	1
lightning_threat_2m Maximum lightning threat 2 (vertically integrated ice) (`ltngsd`)GSD maximum lightning threat 2 derived from vertically integrated ice, in flashes km-2 (5 min)-1. Encoded in HRRR GRIB as LTNGSD (lightning strike density) at the pseudo-level 2 m above ground. Before the 2022-06-28T12Z cycle this GRIB slot carried lightning potential index (J kg-1), a different quantity that is not included.	1
low_cloud_cover Low cloud cover (`lcc`)	percent
mass_density_8m Mass density (`mdens`)Near-surface smoke concentration. Source values at init_times before 2021-12-21T18Z are in ug m-3; NOAA corrected the encoding to kg m-3 from that cycle onward, so multiply earlier values by 1e-9 to compare.	kg m-3
maximum_column_integrated_graupel_atmosphere Total column vertically-integrated graupel (snow pellets) (`tcolg`)	kg m-2
maximum_derived_radar_reflectivity_263k Derived radar reflectivity (`refd`)	dBZ
maximum_downward_vertical_velocity_100_1000mb Maximum downward vertical velocity (`maxdvv`)	m s-1
maximum_hail_diameter_0p1sigma Hail (`hail`)	m
maximum_hail_diameter_atmosphere Hail (`hail`)	m
maximum_hail_diameter_surface Hail (`hail`)	m
maximum_relative_vorticity_1000_0m Vorticity (relative) (`vo`)	s-1
maximum_relative_vorticity_2000_0m Vorticity (relative) (`vo`)	s-1
maximum_updraft_helicity_2000_0m Updraft Helicity (`uphl`)	m2 s-2
maximum_updraft_helicity_3000_0m Updraft Helicity (`uphl`)	m2 s-2
maximum_updraft_helicity_5000_2000m Updraft Helicity (`uphl`)	m2 s-2
maximum_upward_vertical_velocity_100_1000mb Maximum upward vertical velocity (`maxuvv`)	m s-1
maximum_vegetation_surface Maximum vegetation fraction (`vegmax`)	percent
maximum_wind_speed_10m 10 metre wind speed (`10si`)	m s-1
maximum_wind_u_component_10m Maximum 10 metre wind speed u component (`maxuw`)	m s-1
maximum_wind_v_component_10m Maximum 10 metre wind speed v component (`maxvw`)	m s-1
medium_cloud_cover Medium cloud cover (`mcc`)	percent
minimum_updraft_helicity_2000_0m Minimum updraft helicity (`mnuphl`)	m2 s-2
minimum_updraft_helicity_3000_0m Minimum updraft helicity (`mnuphl`)	m2 s-2
minimum_updraft_helicity_5000_2000m Minimum updraft helicity (`mnuphl`)	m2 s-2
minimum_vegetation_surface Minimum vegetation fraction (`vegmin`)	percent
moisture_availability_0m_underground Moisture availability (`mstav`)	percent
percent_frozen_precipitation_surface Percent frozen precipitation (`cpofp`)-50 encodes no/undefined frozen precipitation; CF-aware readers mask it to NaN.	percent
planetary_boundary_layer_height_surface Boundary layer height (`blh`)	m
plant_canopy_surface_water_surface Plant canopy surface water (`cnwat`)	kg m-2
potential_temperature_2m Potential temperature (`pt`)	K
precipitable_water_atmosphere Precipitable water (`pwat`)	kg m-2
precipitation_rate_surface Precipitation rate (`prate`)	kg m-2 s-1
pressure_0c_isotherm Pressure (`pres`)	Pa
pressure_cloud_base Pressure (`pres`)	Pa
pressure_cloud_top Pressure (`pres`)	Pa
pressure_highest_tropospheric_freezing_level Pressure (`pres`)	Pa
pressure_of_lifted_parcel_level_255_0mb Pressure of level from which parcel was lifted (`plpl`)	Pa
pressure_reduced_to_mean_sea_level Pressure reduced to MSL (`prmsl`)	Pa
pressure_surface Surface pressure (`sp`)	Pa
relative_humidity_0c_isotherm Relative humidity (`r`)	percent
relative_humidity_2m 2 metre relative humidity (`2r`)	percent
relative_humidity_highest_tropospheric_freezing_level Relative humidity (`r`)	percent
relative_humidity_with_respect_to_precipitable_water_atmosphere Relative humidity with respect to precipitable water (`rhpw`)	percent
sensible_heat_flux_surface Sensible heat flux (`shf`)	W m-2
snow_area_fraction_surface Snow cover (`snowc`)	1
snow_thickness_surface Snow depth (`sde`)	m
snow_water_equivalent_surface Snow depth water equivalent (`sd`)	m
snowfall_water_equivalent_run_total_surface Snowfall water equivalent (`sf`)	kg m-2
snowfall_water_equivalent_surface Snowfall water equivalent (`sf`)	kg m-2
specific_humidity_2m Specific humidity (`q`)	1
storm_relative_helicity_1000_0m Storm relative helicity (`hlcy`)	m2 s-2
storm_relative_helicity_3000_0m Storm relative helicity (`hlcy`)	m2 s-2
storm_surface_runoff_surface Storm surface runoff (`ssrun`)	kg m-2
surface_lifted_index_500_1000mb Surface lifted index (`lftx`)	K
surface_roughness_surface Forecast surface roughness (`fsr`)	m
temperature_2m 2 metre temperature (`2t`)	degree_Celsius
temperature_surface Temperature (`t`)	degree_Celsius
total_cloud_cover_atmosphere Total cloud cover (`tcc`)	percent
total_cloud_cover_boundary_layer Total cloud cover (`tcc`)	percent
total_column_cloud_ice_atmosphere Total column-integrated cloud ice (`tcoli`)	kg m-2
total_column_cloud_water_atmosphere Total column-integrated cloud water (`tcolw`)	kg m-2
total_precipitation_run_total_surface Total precipitation (`tp`)	kg m-2
total_precipitation_surface Total precipitation (`tp`)	kg m-2
total_snowfall_run_total_surface Total snowfall (`asnow`)	m
u_component_storm_motion_0_6000m U-component storm motion (`ustm`)	m s-1
upward_long_wave_radiation_flux_surface Surface upward long-wave radiation flux (`sulwrf`)	W m-2
upward_long_wave_radiation_flux_top_of_atmosphere Upward long-wave radiation flux (`ulwrf`)	W m-2
upward_short_wave_radiation_flux_surface Surface upward short-wave radiation flux (`suswrf`)	W m-2
upward_short_wave_radiation_flux_top_of_atmosphere Upward short-wave radiation flux (`uswrf`)	W m-2
v_component_storm_motion_0_6000m V-component storm motion (`vstm`)	m s-1
vegetation_surface Vegetation fraction (`veg`)	percent
vegetation_type_surface Vegetation Type (`vgtyp`)MODIS-IGBP 20-category land-use classification (WRF MODIFIED_IGBP_MODIS_NOAH), as used by the HRRR land surface model.	1
vertical_u_component_shear_0_1000m Vertical u-component shear (`vucsh`)	s-1
vertical_u_component_shear_0_6000m Vertical u-component shear (`vucsh`)	s-1
vertical_v_component_shear_0_1000m Vertical v-component shear (`vvcsh`)	s-1
vertical_v_component_shear_0_6000m Vertical v-component shear (`vvcsh`)	s-1
vertical_velocity_geometric_0p5_0p8_sigma Vertical velocity (geometric) (`dzdt`)	m s-1
vertically_integrated_liquid_atmosphere Vertically-integrated liquid (`veril`)	kg m-2
visibility_surface Visibility (`vis`)	m
visible_beam_downward_solar_flux_surface Visible Beam Downward Solar Flux (`vbdsf`)	W m-2
visible_diffuse_downward_solar_flux_surface Visible Diffuse Downward Solar Flux (`vddsf`)	W m-2
wind_gust_surface Wind speed (gust) (`gust`)	m s-1
wind_u_10m 10 metre U wind component (`10u`)	m s-1
wind_u_80m 80 metre U wind component (`80u`)	m s-1
wind_v_10m 10 metre V wind component (`10v`)	m s-1
wind_v_80m 80 metre V wind component (`80v`)	m s-1

Model Level (20 variables)

These variables live in the model_level Zarr group (e.g. pass group="model_level" to dynamical_catalog.open() or xr.open_zarr()).

Dimensions: init_time × lead_time × y × x × model_level

variable	units
cloud_ice_mixing_ratio Cloud ice mixing ratio (`cdcimr`)	kg kg-1
cloud_mixing_ratio Cloud mixing ratio (`clwmr`)	kg kg-1
fraction_of_cloud_cover Cloud cover (`ccl`)	1
geopotential_height Geopotential height (`gh`)	m
graupel Graupel (snow pellets) (`grle`)	kg kg-1
mass_density Mass density (`mdens`)Smoke concentration. Source values at init_times before 2021-12-21T18Z are in ug m-3; NOAA corrected the encoding to kg m-3 from that cycle onward, so multiply earlier values by 1e-9 to compare.	kg m-3
number_concentration_cloud_droplets Number concentration of cloud droplets (`nconcd`)	kg-1
number_concentration_cloud_ice Number concentration of cloud ice (`nccice`)	kg-1
number_concentration_ice_friendly_aerosol Number concentration of ice-friendly aerosols (`ncifa`)Climatological ice-friendly (non-hygroscopic, dust-like) aerosol number concentration from the Thompson-Eidhammer aerosol-aware microphysics, encoded in HRRR GRIB as PMTC 'Particulate matter (coarse)'.	kg-1
number_concentration_rain Number concentration of rain (`spncr`)	kg-1
number_concentration_water_friendly_aerosol Number concentration of water-friendly aerosols (`ncwfa`)Climatological water-friendly (hygroscopic) aerosol number concentration from the Thompson-Eidhammer aerosol-aware microphysics, encoded in HRRR GRIB as PMTF 'Particulate matter (fine)'.	kg-1
pressure Pressure (`pres`)	Pa
rain_mixing_ratio Rain mixing ratio (`rwmr`)	kg kg-1
snow_mixing_ratio Snow mixing ratio (`snmr`)	kg kg-1
specific_humidity Specific humidity (`q`)	1
temperature Temperature (`t`)	degree_Celsius
turbulent_kinetic_energy Turbulent kinetic energy (`tke`)	J kg-1
vertical_velocity Vertical velocity (`w`)	Pa s-1
wind_u U component of wind (`u`)	m s-1
wind_v V component of wind (`v`)	m s-1

Pressure Level (14 variables)

These variables live in the pressure_level Zarr group (e.g. pass group="pressure_level" to dynamical_catalog.open() or xr.open_zarr()).

Dimensions: init_time × lead_time × y × x × pressure_level

variable	units
absolute_vorticity Absolute vorticity (`absv`)	s-1
cloud_ice_mixing_ratio Cloud ice mixing ratio (`cdcimr`)	kg kg-1
cloud_mixing_ratio Cloud mixing ratio (`clwmr`)	kg kg-1
dew_point_temperature Dew point temperature (`dpt`)	degree_Celsius
geopotential_height Geopotential height (`gh`)	m
graupel Graupel (snow pellets) (`grle`)	kg kg-1
rain_mixing_ratio Rain mixing ratio (`rwmr`)	kg kg-1
relative_humidity Relative humidity (`r`)	percent
snow_mixing_ratio Snow mixing ratio (`snmr`)	kg kg-1
specific_humidity Specific humidity (`q`)	1
temperature Temperature (`t`)	degree_Celsius
vertical_velocity Vertical velocity (`w`)	Pa s-1
wind_u U component of wind (`u`)	m s-1
wind_v V component of wind (`v`)	m s-1

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

Details

License

Dataset licensed under CC BY 4.0.

Attribution and citation

NOAA NWS NCEP HRRR data processed by dynamical.org from NOAA Open Data Dissemination archives.

Or NOAA HRRR from dynamical.org.

Source

The source grib files this archive is constructed from are provided by NOAA Open Data Dissemination (NODD) and accessed from the AWS Open Data Registry. Operational data is additionally accessed from NOAA NOMADS.

Data availability

The archive spans init times from 2018-07-13T12 UTC to the present. A number of fields change behavior at the HRRR version 3 → version 4 upgrade on 2020-12-02, and some variables are incomplete before that date.

See the validation report for complete details.

Storage

Storage for this dataset is generously provided by AWS Open Data.

Chunks

This dataset is stored in Zarr format, which splits each variable into a grid of chunks — the smallest unit read from storage. When possible, aligning your reads with this dataset's chunk grid can significantly improve data access speed.

The element count and coordinate span of this dataset:

dimension	chunk
init_time	1 (6 hours)
lead_time	1 (1 hour)
y	1059 (3177 km)
x	1799 (5397 km)
uncompressed	14.5 MiB