12 June 2018 - Beta version for next release of XyGrib is available
We have released a beta version of XyGrib (numbered 1.0.99) prior to release of v 1.1.0.
There is a major change in this version as XyGrib now accesses a new Grib server at OpenGribs.org. This has 3 global models to choose from and 3 wave models
The release is only for Windows at this time.
Beta testers are invited to test the program and report on issues.
Translators are invited to prepare 'tr' files ahead of the upcoming release.
The download can be found on GitHub at github.com/opengribs/xygrib/releases
6 April 2018 - zyGrib has been forked and is now continuing as XyGrib
Since 2016, zyGrib has not been updated and there appears to be strong user needs for the continuing development of this software. The operator of this site has initiated forking of the zyGrib software package and is now continuing forward with a new team and a new home site "OpenGribs.org". New versions of the software will be named XyGrib.
The vision of OpenGribs.org (sister site to OpenSkiron.org) is to bring together the best free and open Grib reader / weather visualization software with multiple sources of quality free and open data in Grib form.
The user community will be provided with support on the site's forum in regards to using the XyGrib software as well as the legacy zyGrib. In addition the support forum will deal with issues related to Numeric Weather Prediction models and Grib files in general.
10 March 2018 - New pre-cut and rolled ICON Gribs
The German Weather Service, DWD, now provides free access to numerical model output generated by DWD. The Gribs on this site include atmospheric data from the EU nest of the ICON global model. The grid resolution is 7km. Temporal resolution is hourly up to 78 hours and then 3 hourly up to 120 hours.
Gribs are updated twice daily for reference hours 00z and 12z. The updated files should appear about 4.5 hours after the reference time.
The gribs are pre-cut to useful sailing areas and include wave data as well. The wave data is from the DWD European WAM wave model at similar resolution.
The grib are in GRIB2 format with internal Jpeg compression, therefore there is no need for external compression such as Bzip2. These gribs can currently be read in the latest Grib Plugin for openCPN and in qtVlm.
20 December 2017 - Additional Coverage of the Channel and Irish Sea.
Coverage has been extended to cover the Channel and Irish Sea with 12km and 4km openWRF forecasts. The grib files include atmospheric data, sea wave data and current data. Products include regular grib files to download via "openWRF Gribs" in the main menu; weather charts for all 12km and 4km coverage via "Charts"; and meteograms and graphs for a specific point via "Wind & Waves"
With the currently limited computer resources the production runs are run with reference to 12UTC data. When more servers come on board this will move reference to 18UTC data. This will provide more updated forecasts for the next day.
29 November 2017 - Changes in Thunderstorm Indicators. Lifted Index dropped. Reflectivity added.
To imporve forecasts of thunderstorms and subsequent squalls, a variable named Composite RADAR Reflectivity has been added. The variable
Lifted Index has been dropped as it is basically indicates the same as CAPE which has always been included. A new and revised explanation of thunderstorm indicators can be found here.
25 April 2017 - Wave data for openWRF now from a different source.
Wave data for openWRF gribs is now kindly provided by CMEMS servers and is based on a the latest cycle, 4.5.4, of the WAM model. The wind source driving the wave model is ECMWF at 1/8 degree. Bathemetry resolution is 30 sec. This combination should promise better wave forecasts than provided up to now.
The openSkiron gribs keep the original WAM wave data from the model at UOA driven by Skiron wind. This enables users to compare two separate wave forecasts.
Small issue! The Minimal Gribs are now mostly larger than 500kb due to the higher resolution of the wave data. This will be dealt with in the near future to keep the minimal gribs under 500kb.
23 April 2017 - New openWRF Coverage of Canaries and French Atlantic Coast
New coverage added with high resolution openWRF gribs for Canary Islands and French Atlantic Coast.
New interactive index map for openWRF provides "hot spot" download of gribs.
3rd April 2017 - Changes in Minimal Gribs for Low Bandwidth
All openSkiron gribs have been removed from the minimal grib list as they where all too large and could not meed the satellite communication limit of 500KB set by sailmail.com. This resource now only includes openWRF gribs. These now all meet the 500KB limit. There has been a reduction of temporal resolution (time-steps) in the latter parts of the forecasts. See Lightweight Gribs
A downloadable text file with instructions and list of URL's is now also provided.
2nd April 2017 - What's New corner
This "What's New" page added to the website. It can be accessed from the Resources Menu at the bottom of the website pages. Check in every now and again to see what's cooking.
Planned for May - New Coverage of French Atlantic Coast and Canary Islands
New openWRF production runs are planned to cover the French Atlantic Coast and the Canary Islands. This will be in 12km and 4km resolutions.
Planned for end of April - New WAM data driven by ECMWF
Wave data in openWRF grib files will no longer be taken from the WAM model run at University of Athens which is driven by SKIRON wind data. Instead a newer WAM model output driven by ECMWF wind data and distributed via CMEMS will be used. This should provide better wave forecasts and will allow morning production runs of openWRF to be released a bit earlier. The openSkiron grib files will keep the data from the UOA WAM production. This will provide the possibility of comparing two separate sources of wave data on the openSkiron.org website.
25 March 2017 - Adriatic_South_4km added
Adriatic_South_4km has been added. This now covers the coasts of Albania, Montenegro and Boot closing gaps in 4km coverage of Adriatic coasts.
