Offline use of Windy
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To all the sailors, boaters and cruisers, mountaineers and just all of you who like Windy and repeatedly ask for the possibility to use it offline via downloading data files:
It is not possible to download the forecast data for offline use.
We do not own the data, we ‘only’ visualise it, so if we were giving it away as GRIB files, we would break the licensing agreements with our data providers.
Although we know that making screenshots (in advance) is not a perfect solution, it is the best of what's available.
Thank you for understanding and stay tuned to Windy whenever possible! :)
Please also check these links: https://community.windy.com/tags/grib file
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Maybe add a “save screen shot” button and another link to view screen shots created by the app.
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@marienka said in Offline use of Windy:
Can you please share me the Tamil Nadu upcoming cyklone list and date..if you can means please share the GPS point also.. 🙃 -
@anto_mike_kings
No cyclone approaches Tamil Nadu state, India (capital Chennai)
for the next 4 days.
https://www.windy.com/-Rain-thunder-rain?rain,14.115,81.519,5,i:pressure -
@anto_mike_kings
for cyclones in your area,
you can also refer to
http://www.rsmcnewdelhi.imd.gov.in/index.php?lang=en -
Hi Marie,
Thank you for making this clear.
My question then is how companies like Predict Wind manage to do this?
We usually download Grib files through a satellite request sent to 'query@saildocs.com'.
They send the data back in package file which we then display in ZY Grib or similar.Is there no way we can have a Windy Platform to display grib data we retrieve?
I am thinking that Windy must be receiving data to generate the display we are seeing - right - so if windy created the app, and steered us to the data request source /s then we effectively could have an off shore windy app?
Thank you for the amazing Windy platform
Kind regards
Brent Grimbeek -
@impi
All GRIB files that you can received via several web app that you mentioned are GFS files which are free. Some of them offer ECMWF GRIB files but you must subscribe monthly payements. -
Can you negotiate with your providers to offer this feature?
In the modern world, in order to visualise data you need to transform it. If instead of sharing the source files you share the transformed data you would be respecting the agreement, wouldn't be? -
Hi,
Would you be able to find a workaround for this issue?
For example a "Print Report" option that generates a PDF that we can use after we lost connection.
This is a common feature in websites like Met Office.
In that way you won't be exporting the data but "visualising" it on "paper" (PDF).
It should to be a work around... At the moment the only option are screenshots or printing the forecast before leaving home...
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@Hidalgof
Hi,
For me the best way is to keep the forecast in a small video. There are many « Screen recorder » which are available. On iPad and iPhone this is a standard feature that I use sometime.
You just need to activate the time slider to get a 10 days-video forecast. Only 1 file per layer. If you need the forecasts of 3 different layers e.g. Wind, Gusts, Rain, then you have only 3 files.
Looking to the forecast offline, you can stop the video where you need to analyse the details.
https://community.windy.com/topic/7745/recording-data-to-replay-it-when-offline -
The liscencing issue only applies to ECMWF. All model output produced by USA agencies is public domain (free to use, no liscencing). So Windy could work with GRIB output from GFS with no issues. Windy already supports use of GFS so this should be a relatively straight forward implementation.
Implementing GRIB viewing capability in Windy would be a powerful addition. End users could download their own GRIBs, from whatever model(s) they choose, and view in Windy (as is now done by all other GRIB viewers).
For us offshore sailors, who commonly have the ability to download a GRIB over low bandwidth interfaces which wont reliably support an online session, this would be a great upgrade vs existing GRIB viewers (many of which are a bit clunky).
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@curtis2010 I agree - reading grib files would be superb @ivo @rittels
It would potentially fix a few issues with windy:
- enable usage of models which are currently not supported in the stock windy models - for example the upcoming ICON-D2 (sequel to Cosmo-D2) which is very high resolution (2.2km, 27hrs in 3hr steps) and covers quite some Europe (page 12)
- it could fix the 'no history in windy' issue - by viewing and downloading archived gribs
- in the case of the trajectory plugin, it could improve both horizontal as well as vertical resolution substantially - for instance, ICON-D2 hast some 91 levels of which about 25 are in the 0-6000m regions which is relevant for me
- enable viewing values which are not in the stock windy layers set. Example: the vertical wind component in ICON-D2.
I concur that the 'market' of current grib reader apps is ready for some disruption...
I'd not necessarily be asking the windy folks to "support that feature" by taking on the load of supporting an extra model or new layers. That is substantial effort.
However, a blessed route to achieve this by say an API to introduce custom layers and data sources - maybe via a plugin and a local WMS server á la SkinnyWMS serving gribs would be great!
Michael
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it might not be that hard to integrate client-side reading of gribs for the determined
I could read ICON-D2 wind u/v gribs just fine with this JS library: https://github.com/UdSAES/grib2-simple
Michael
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@s_meach 🙂🙂🙂
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@mhaberler Here's a proof of concept using the ICON-D2 short term weather model from DWD.de - grid 2km, about 35 elevation levels below 5000m - way beyond other models in horizontal and vertical resolution:
here you can play live with it - zoom in and click on wind arrows
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I idefix37 referenced this topic on
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@Curtis2010 French datas aree also free of charge
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@aaka I don't see any licence restrictions on ECMWF website either. A tot of Apps are delivering gribs from ECMWF
https://www.ecmwf.int/en/computing/software/ecmwf-web-api -
I idefix37 referenced this topic on
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It is incredible that the question raised in 2018 and plenty of solutions proposed are not implemented, or maybe they are but this has not been said here.
So what you say is even if I want I cannot say to the app save forecast for this region for next month and go offline? Because this way you would break no agreement.
