About the Interactive Map Viewer

The Interactive Weather and Wave Forecast Map Viewer can display any of the weather maps produced by the Bureau's ACCESS atmospheric modelling system or the ocean-wave maps produced by the Bureau's WAVEWATCH III ocean modelling system. These maps show computer-generated predictions for up to the next 7 days of the state of the atmosphere (ACCESS) or the state of ocean waves (WAVEWATCH III). The viewer allows the maps to be displayed in time order, with controls for animating the map sequence. The displayed map can also be "bookmarked" (saved as a favourite) in your web browser, so that you can display a given time step, element, level, model, and domain without having to navigate through the animation, if you wish.

What sorts of maps does it show?

There are 7 different types of ACCESS atmospheric prediction maps (MSLP Precipitation, MSLP Thickness, Wind Speed and Direction, Geopotential Height, Temperature, Relative Humidity, Dew Point) and 5 different types of WAVEWATCH III ocean-wave prediction maps (Significant Wave Height and Direction, 1^st Swell Wave Component Height and Direction, 2^nd Swell Wave Component Height and Direction, Wind Wave Height, Peak Wave Period). The maps are displayed in time order, with the first map being for the model's "base" or "analysis" time (the time of the weather observations which form the starting point for the model's predictions), followed by maps at 3, 6 or 12 hour intervals, depending on the particular model. Some models start with small time intervals for the first few days and then finish with larger time intervals.

For more information about the ACCESS and WAVEWATCH III models, the maps they produce, and the meteorological and oceanographical elements shown on them, refer to Numerical Prediction Charts — Weather and Waves. Note that the maps are updated at regular intervals during the day.

What are the maps used for?

The maps are used as guidance for the Bureau's official forecasts. The Bureau's forecasters all around Australia use these maps every day in conjunction with other data sources to prepare and issue the official regular weather and ocean forecasts and warnings for every Australian state and territory. The ACCESS suite of models has shown a significant improvement in accuracy over the Bureau's old weather model suite (GASP, LAPS and MesoLAPS).

Please be aware, though, that the maps shown here are computer-generated and have not been adjusted or amended by the Bureau's forecasters.

How do I use the Interactive Map Viewer?

Selecting and Displaying Maps

1. Click into the "Domain:" selector box to choose the computer model and geographic domain you wish to view. For example, "ACCESS-G Australia" means the Australian maps from the global ACCESS model ("ACCESS-G").

   Note: A special case of maps recommended for viewing is the combined "ACCESS-R and ACCESS-G Australia" selection, which displays the 3-hourly ACCESS-R Australian-domain maps for the first 3 days (which is as far as they go), followed by the 6-hourly ACCESS-G maps for the remaining 4 days. A similar selection is available for WAVEWATCH III-R a nd WAVEWATCH III-G Australian-domain maps.

2. Click into the "Show on map:" selector box to choose the type of map you wish to view (i.e. the weather or ocean elements, such as Mean sea Level Pressure and Precipitation (MSLP Precip), or Significant Wave Height/Direction).

3. For several types of ACCESS maps, a further "Level:" selection box will appear, requiring a selection of the vertical level in the atmosphere for which maps are to be displayed.

4. Click the "Go" button to display the map you selected.

Moving through the Maps

Once the first map is displayed, use the animation controls to move forwards and backwards in time through the maps:

In order from left to right, the controls are:

Back One Map:

Go back to the previous map in the time sequence

Stop:

Stop the animated display of the maps

Start:

Start the animated display of the maps

Forward One Map:

Go forward to the next map in the time sequence

JavaScript is not required to view the charts, but it is required for the animation. If you do not see the Back, Stop, Start, and Forward controls in your browser, confirm that JavaScript is enabled in your browser. If your controls do not look like those above then your browser may not support CSS. You will still have access to all of the charts, but not to the animation. You can trigger the loading of all of the images by using the play button or following the link to one of the time steps.

The time step of the map being displayed is shown in the date/time bar just under the animation controls. You can also display a map for any time step by clicking on its time in the time bar.

Note: Times in the time bar are Australian Eastern Standard Time (EST), whereas the times shown on the maps themselves are in Coordinated Universal Time (UTC), which is equivalent to Greenwich Mean Time (GMT).

Bookmarking a Map

Any map displayed can be "bookmarked" (saved as a favourite web link) in your browser. Simply display the map you want by selecting the appropriate domain, element, level (if appropriate), and time step as described above and then use your browser's Bookmarks or Favourites menu to bookmark it. When you use the bookmark to display the map later, you will see the map at that time step for the domain, element, and level (if appropriate) for the most recent update

Note: The maps are updated regularly during the day. As a result, a given time step (for instance, the fourth time step in the series), will fall at different times of the day depending on the base time for the model run.