The Awesome Wind Map

Good find thanks.

2nd degree !

Yeah they're called streamlines. I've had this on my 'must add' list for Swellnet for a long time but we don't have a suitable format at the present time for this kind of animated product (Weatherzone have had something similar on their Storm Tracker for the last couple of years, but it uses live AWS data rather than model data like this one).

I've seen a couple of similar visualisations for swells/waves (typically used in TV weather broadcast software) and they're all pretty crappy. As such I'm doubtful that swells could be replicated in a similar way.

It's not a technical integration issue, it's more to do with "where do we put it on our website", and "how do we justify the expense".

That particular website works really well as a full screen experience, which we don't have (mainly for commercial reasons). So, we'd have to spec out a new section, produce wireframes, theme the design, code the backend and then build the front end. All of which costs $$.

Also, without swell data it's a one-trick pony - of which replicating the same display with other information is time consuming and costly (which therefore requires some justification to spend the $$ on).

This particular product and the display tools has been in our planning pipeline for some time - however as a small business it's impossible for me to do everything I like just because it's cool (over the last 12 years I have built an enormously long list of "things I'd like to have on Swellnet"). It's the commercial realities which dictate what we can and can't do.

bish wrote:

Can I use this opportunity to put in a vote for perhaps integrating the Swellnet forecast notes back into the Surf Forecast page/tab or under an additional new tab? Seems pretty clunky to have to click through to the forum thread to get that good info. Love the site, keep up the good Swellnet work!

Yep, it's already noted. I think it's number #219 on a list of over 400 tickets of 'things to fix or improve'.. hopefully we'll have them all done soon.

bish wrote:

Seriously though, while it may be a one trick pony, that trick is very impressive from my point of view. Watching this, I feel that the little I know about weather forecasting has immediately become more tangible, more understandable. That in itself is valuable to me.

Absolutely agree. There's actually a huge amount of additional work to be done in this area - not just with streamline winds - that will also assist everyone's knowledge about how weather systems work, and swells are formed. Unfortunately we just don't have the time and money to be in constant R&D mode, but I can assure you that we're working on some pretty amazing things behind the scenes.

Thanks Bish, i have been looking for a site that shows the middle of the Indian ocean for years,with this you can see where lows started and ended. Its pretty good.
Was sussing out those two highs of the east coast and the long north fetch coming straight down and sure enough overhead bowls at a north swell magnet near here this morning on dawn, though disappeared within an hour so so with the low coming up the coast- southerlies. Fetch got small with highs heading north east off the coast.
All visible in the history of "Earth" streamline history..

Is the wind map generated from actual observations or is it based on numerical/forecast data?

This page appears to indicate its based on numerical/forecast data?

http://earth.nullschool.net/about.html

It's all forecast data, but WZ and other sites use observations.

Here's a screenshot from Weatherzone's Storm Tracker, which uses live AWS data (hence the lack of info over water).

And the FNMOC have been producing GFS streamlines for the last 10+ years such as what you'll find here.

Very, very beautiful. It's amazing how these patterns of chaotic flow are so mesmerising. And the little nooks of unlikely surf (e.g. the Caribbean coast of Panama) are really easy to see, aren't they?

Wow.. hows the winds that push down the south china sea, thats a fair distance, if thats a regular wind pattern that im guessing it is some kind of trade wind, the areas between Malaysia and Borneo would have a bit of potential, especially the islands offshore, just need a bit of swell to wrap around an island or reef.