Weather API Update April 2023

The Meteomatics Weather API contains over 1800 weather and climate variables from over 75 data sources. But excellent is not good enough for our team, who are constantly innovating to bring you yet more data, as well as an ever increasing number of tools and methods you can use to access, utilize and visualize it. In this article, we describe some of the most recent updates to the Weather API.

Of course, the foundation of any weather API is the quality and quantity of the data it provides. These updates may go unnoticed by many of our users, but improve the forecasting ability of all of our customers. The data provided by Meteomatics includes historical observations and reanalyses, operational radar data, and forecasts from a variety of models — downscaled to 90m of spatial resolution.

18 New Separate Sources in Our Radar Product

In areas where it is available, radar data gives us the best estimate of rainfall. We are always expanding the coverage of our radar data, and now include 18 separate sources in our radar product. This product gives accurate forecasts of precipitation with two-hour lead times covering the regions of Europe, North America and Saudi Arabia. Because of the Meteomatics Mix technology, this data will automatically be used in relevant areas when you query precipitation.

Our post-processing process requires operational satellite data inputs. The new radar dish at our data center increases the stability of this data connection, meaning our models have reduced impact from data dropouts and always perform at spec.

This is particularly important now that our in-house weather model — EURO1K — is now live and updating hourly. EURO1K is a physical model which simulates weather conditions across Europe at a native resolution of one kilometer, meaning that local weather phenomena can be accurately modeled. EURO1K’s performance for wind and rainfall forecasts is quite incredible.

New Features

Request PDF/HTML Reports From the API

One recent addition to the API is the ability to request PDF/HTML reports from the API. Customers can now create templates for concise delivery of all relevant information in a single report sheet.

Access Data Through Vector Tile Requests

Another new way of accessing our data is through vector tile requests. Instead of shipping whole images, which can require significant bandwidth, we instead send instructions for how to render the image on the client side, meaning we can send visual representations of reports like METAR with minimal data transmission.

Visualize Data With New Colormaps

We have added several new colormaps — this is something we do a lot of at the requests of customers who want to visualize API data in specific ways. And of course, in accordance with our belief that weather data should always look as pretty as possible, we have expanded our list of colormaps, and are always willing to add more in future updates whenever our customers request them.

Integrate Data With Kotlin

We have recently added a connector for the Kotlin programming language. Kotlin is a Java-like language with a simplified syntax and extensive use in Android development. Adding more connectors is also something we do frequently and at the request of our customers: if you have specific needs, get in touch.