Interactive web access for detailed global current conditions, forecast, history, and climate data

Over the last five years Weather Analytics has developed the Sensor Point (SP) system to deliver high quality hour-by-hour environmental time-series data. The core SP system elements include: • Virtual Sensor Point (VSP) real-time current-condition, forecast and recent-history data • Virtual Sensor Station (VSS) historical data reaching back through 1979 • VSP/WDS that provides VSP data access as a direct web data service • Client web portal access for command-and-control, map-based review, graphical data plotting, and climate-statistics tools. • On request generation of “Typical Meteorological Year” (TMY) files for any location Both VSP and VSS model systems provide global coverage over land and oceans.

VSP data is site specific. The VSP system is an integration of NCEP forecast model data and up-to-date local sensor observations. Both airport (METAR) and Internet-accessible private sensors are supported. The latency, update frequency and effective footprint of VSP data depend on the attributes of the sensor data.

VSS historical data is based on the 35-km resolution NCEP Climate Forecast System Reanalysis (CFSR) state-of-the-atmosphere and derived variable data. Special variables not in the CFSR dataset, such as direct normal irradiance (DNI), apparent temperature and calculated heat content indexes are also offered.

The VSP forecasts have been shown to provide the highest accuracy for the first 24 hours. VSS historical data has been verified with METAR and field-research-sensor data. The SP system provides high-quality environmental input to aid analysis and support a wide range of applications and systems including: energy management and efficiency, renewal energy assessment, climatology research, agriculture, demand planning, site and building modeling, and agriculture. SP data can be a complement to raw sensor observations or an accurate alternative in remote areas where observations are sparse.

The web portal interface will be demonstrated and data quality comparisons will be shared during the presentation.