Although not quite as flexible as using Saildocs by email, it has more data options and must be just about the easiest and quickest of all to use. For economic reasons when cruising, I prefer to get my GRIBs using the Saildocs repeat request facility. However, I often use the zyGrib viewer and would always use zyGrib for one-off requests and whenever band width is not a problem.
Queries/suggestions -
- The GFS is now available out to 8 days via Saildocs. Presumably, you will bring zyGrib into line. Do yo know when? Maybe not a high priority but at least one iPhone app gives 8 days.
I suggest that it would be convenient if it were possible to use the arrow keys for time-steps. One could then leave the mouse pointer fixed and easily read off changes at a point while advancing in time.
From weatheronlin.co.uk, I see that the UK Met Office is making some GRIB data available on the internat - although only to 60 hours. Is there any possibility that you might approach the UK, noting the data already on weatheronline and explore the possibility of having UKMO Global data as an alternative to the GFS. They are, I understand, of a comparable standard with the UK slightly the better at present. In practice, I suspect that differences on any specific occasion are likely to be due to differences at the data analysis/assimilation stage rather than in the models themselves.
The GFS, like the UKMO now uses a grid about 1/4 degree but only makes data available on a 1/2 degree grid. Do you know of any plans to make data available on the 1/4 degree or. maybe, somewhere between the two - say 1/3 degree?
In case anyone suggests it, I recommend that you do not offer meso-scale forecasts. The improvement in the GFS over the last year, after the latest round of enhancements, has bee quite remarkable. I think that most meso-scale models would simply give more data but little more real useful information.