Reference · built on requestCommons signalWeather & climate

ECMWF Open Data

Real-time IFS and AIFS global forecasts at 0.25 degrees as GRIB2 from ECMWF, mirrored on AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud.

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About

The European Centre for Medium-Range Weather Forecasts publishes a subset of its real-time forecasts as open data at data.ecmwf.int. It includes the IFS medium-range control forecast for atmosphere and wave, the IFS ensemble with means, standard deviations, and probabilities, the AIFS data-driven single and ensemble forecasts, and tropical cyclone tracks, all at 0.25 degrees in GRIB2. Runs start at 00, 06, 12, and 18 UTC. The portal keeps the most recent 12 runs, and the same files are replicated to AWS, Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud.

Through Fibric, an operator pulls the fields and steps it needs with the ecmwf-opendata client, decodes the GRIB, and proposes what to do about the outlook for your sites.

This is a reference listing. It documents what Fibric would read from ECMWF Open Data and what it could propose, based on the publisher's published interfaces. Fibric builds it under a managed deployment when you request it; selecting it here installs nothing.

Inputs

  • IFS control forecasts from the oper stream, three-hourly to 144 h and six-hourly to 360 h on the 00 and 12 UTC runs
  • IFS ensemble forecasts from the enfo stream, with ensemble means, standard deviations, and probabilities
  • AIFS single and ensemble forecasts at 6 h steps out to 360 h
  • Ocean wave forecasts from the wave and waef streams
  • Tropical cyclone track products for the control and ensemble runs
  • Files laid out by date, run hour, model, resolution, and stream under data.ecmwf.int/forecasts or a cloud mirror

Proposed actions

Read-only. This feed informs operators; it changes nothing.

Proposed actions are target capabilities. Every action runs propose-first and needs a validated deployment and the appropriate permissions.

What you can build

  • Provision fuel and crews before a storm

    Ensemble probabilities for wind and rain over the next ten days show how likely the event is at each site. The operator proposes reserve fuel and standby crews, and you approve the spend.

    With Storm Reserve

  • Prepare a portfolio for a named storm

    Tropical cyclone tracks from the control and ensemble runs mark which properties sit in the path. The operator drafts the prep checklist per building for your sign-off.

    With Storm Prep

  • Put the medium range into the demand outlook

    Ten-day temperature fields for your regions join the sales history. The operator proposes an adjusted outlook and records the run it used.

    With Demand Outlook

  • Hold shipments into a forecast freeze

    Temperature along the route at 3 h steps tells the operator which lanes drop below the product's limit. It proposes the holds; you release them.

    With Weather Hold

Requirements

  • A GRIB2 decoder that handles CCSDS compression, used on these files since July 2023
  • Storage and bandwidth for gridded global fields; whole files may be cheaper than many small filtered requests
  • Attribution to ECMWF on any use or redistribution
  • Optionally the ecmwf-opendata Python client, which selects the source (ecmwf, aws, azure, google) and finds the latest matching run
Authentication
No account or key; files are public HTTPS downloads from data.ecmwf.int or the AWS, Azure, and Google Cloud mirrors, under CC BY 4.0 with attribution to ECMWF.

Limits

  • Access to the open-data portal is limited to 500 simultaneous connections
  • Only the most recent 12 forecast runs, about two to three days, stay on the portal; keep your own archive
  • A run becomes available between 7 and 9 hours after its start time
  • The 06 and 18 UTC IFS runs are shorter than the 00 and 12 UTC runs, which reach 360 h

Access and pricing

Reference listing. Public feed access is separate from Fibric integration. If you request this feed, your quote covers the build, usage, and support.

Request ECMWF Open Data ↗

Questions and answers

Is ECMWF Open Data the full ECMWF forecast?
No. It is a subset of the real-time products at 0.25 degrees, released under CC BY 4.0. Higher-resolution and fuller datasets are licensed separately. Seasonal products were not yet part of the open set as of August 2026.
When does a run appear, and how long does it stay?
Runs start at 00, 06, 12, and 18 UTC. A run is available between 7 and 9 hours after its start time. The portal keeps the most recent 12 runs, roughly two to three days, so anything older must come from your own copy.
Do I have to download from data.ecmwf.int?
No. The same files are replicated to AWS, Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud, and the ecmwf-opendata client takes source=ecmwf, aws, azure, or google. The portal itself allows 500 simultaneous connections, so the mirrors are the usual choice for bulk pulls.
Ask about ECMWF Open Data

Ask about the capabilities and requirements in this listing.

For project-specific requirements, contact Fibric.

This Commons signal listing is developed, published, and supported by Fibric. It reads public data published by ECMWF (data.ecmwf.int), mirrored on AWS, Microsoft Azure, and Google Cloud. Upstream agencies and projects are the property of their respective owners, who are not affiliated with Fibric and do not sponsor or endorse this listing. Trademark policy