The Australian Digital Forecast Database
Overview
The Australian Digital Forecast Database (ADFD) contains official weather forecast elements produced by the Bureau of Meteorology, such as temperature, rainfall and weather types, presented in a gridded latitude and longitude based format covering the next 7 days. The grids form the basis of the MetEye maps and are used to produce many of the forecasts on our web site.
The ADFD grids are developed and quality controlled by the Bureau's teams of meteorologists operating from Regional Forecast Centres in each capital city. These forecasters have access to a large range of forecast and observational information and have knowledge of local weather effects such as sea breezes, gully winds and effects of land and hills or mountains. This enables them to produce the best possible forecasts for the community.
This set of weather element grids at 3 to 6 kilometre resolution is updated around 6 am and 6 pm EST each day.
| Domain | Grid resolution |
|---|---|
| Australia | 6km |
| New South Wales | 6km |
| Queensland | 6km |
| Western Australia | 6km |
| South Australia | 6km |
| Northern Territory | 6km |
| Victoria | 3km |
| Tasmania | 3km |
Forecast grid formats
The ADFD data are available or viewable in a number of formats including:
- Grid formats – NetCDF and GRIB2
- image format through MetEye
Please note that MetEye displays data at a grid resolution of 6 kilometres over the entire Australian domain.
The ADFD user guide (.doc | .pdf) contains the full list of forecast elements available, and further technical details on the publication process, technical aspects, and support available for the grids.
Sample ADFD grids are available.
How to access the ADFD
Registration is required to access the forecast grids in NetCDF or Grib2 formats. The product catalogue outlines the types of ADFD products available to registered users (http://www.bom.gov.au/other/charges.shtml).
Registration details are outlined on the Registered Access Services webpage.
Other links
A basic user guide on the precipitation grids is available.
Funding for the database has been provided by the Australian Government as part of the Next Generation Forecast and Warning System (NexGenFWS) implementation.
