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National Digital Forecast Database (NDFD)
Representational State Transfer (REST) XML Web Service



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  1. What is the NDFD XML REST Web Service?
  2. Why provide an NDFD REST service?
  3. How often is NDFD REST Service updated?
  4. How is NDFD Data generated?
  5. What data does the NDFD data contain?
  6. How Do You Use the Web Service via REST?
  7. NDFD XML Web Service Constraints, Guidelines, and Best Practices
  8. What if I prefer to use SOAP to access NDFD web services?
  9. WHAT'S NEW: NWS NDFD XML Web Service Change Notices
  10. Information on different NDFD XML Web Service versions
  11. Point of Contact Information for NDFD XML Web Service Issues
    12.

What is the NDFD XML REST Web Service?

The National Digital Forecast Database (NDFD) XML REST Web Service provides the public, government agencies, and commercial enterprises with data from the National Weather Service’s (NWS) digital forecast database. This service, which is defined in the original Service Description Document, provides NWS customers and partners the ability to retrieve NDFD data over the internet that is encoded in XML (Note, many updates, including this REST service, and an additional XML encoding standard, have been added to the NDFD XML Web Service since the original Service Description Document was drafted).

XML schemas define the language’s vocabulary (available tags and attributes) and syntax (expected order of tags) used to encode the NDFD data returned from the web service. Knowing how NDFD XML is constructed, users can write programs to process the XML document to extract the data it contains.

Two different encoding formats of XML: DWML and TSML

This version of the NDFD XML Web Service allows the choice of two different XML formats for encoding geospatial data.

1) Digital Weather Markup Language (DWML)

The first option, DWML, is a NDFD local dialect of XML, created by the NWS. Its schema can be found at the following link:

https://digital.weather.gov/xml/schema/DWML.xsd

To see a sample DWML document that conforms to the DWML schema, click on any of the following links:

https://digital.weather.gov/xml/schema/latest_DWML_time-series.txt
https://digital.weather.gov/xml/schema/latest_DWML_glance.txt
https://digital.weather.gov/xml/schema/latest_DWML_Summary-24hr.txt
https://digital.weather.gov/xml/schema/latest_DWML_Summary-12hr.txt

2) Timeseries Markup Language (TSML)

The second option of XML formatting offered, TSML, is an Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) recognized International encoding Standard, unlike DWML.

Because of this, TSML:

  • Offers greater interoperability: the ability of different information systems, products, or applications, whose interfaces are understood, to      connect with other products or systems.
  • Defines the semantics of observational (in the NDFD case, forecast) data as a timeseries for data exchange.
  • Profiles the Observations and Measurements standard to define a result of type timeseries.
  • Allows the encoding of many latitude/longitude points as a collection (tsml:Collection) of observation members with each geographic      point denoted as the feature of interest.

    • The TSML schemas can be found at the following link. The TSML schema version currently used is 1.2

    http://schemas.opengis.net/tsml

    To see a sample TSML document that conforms to the TSML schemas, click on any of the following links:

    https://digital.weather.gov/xml/schema/TSML/latest_TSML_time-series.txt
    https://digital.weather.gov/xml/schema/TSML/latest_TSML_glance.txt
    https://digital.weather.gov/xml/schema/TSML/latest_TSML_Summary-24hr.txt
    https://digital.weather.gov/xml/schema/TSML/latest_TSML_Summary-12hr.txt

    Why provide an NDFD REST service?

    The National Weather Service is striving to serve society’s needs for weather information by evolving its services from a text-based paradigm to one based on making NWS information available quickly, efficiently, and in convenient and understandable forms.   The NDFD is one example of this transformation.   NDFD REST takes yet another step towards a digital services era by making NDFD data available for computer to computer transfer and processing.   NWS customers and partners can then enhance the value of NDFD data through the creation of value added products.

    You can provide comments on this web service from the following page:

    https://www.weather.gov/contact

    How often is NDFD data updated?

    The NDFD is updated two times per hour. We request developers using this web service for local applications only make a request for a specific point no more than twice an hour. The database is currently updated by 25 and 55 minutes after the hour.

    How is NDFD Data generated?

    The first step to providing NDFD XML data via REST is the creation of the NDFD. For more information on how NDFD is created, visit the NDFD home page.

    You can interact with the REST service by visiting the following example URL clients:

    https://digital.weather.gov/xml/sample_products/browser_interface/ndfdXML.htm
    https://digital.weather.gov/xml/sample_products/browser_interface/ndfdBrowserByDay.htm

    By clicking the “submit” button on the above web pages, a script is executed to request and retrieve XML (DWML or TSML) encoded NDFD data.

    Generated is a URL with the query parameters, and their associated key value pairs, that contains the specific NDFD request. The user can then incorporate this resulting GET HTTP REST request URL into their client applications. More information can be found in the section below titled "How Do You Use the Web Service via REST?"

    What data does the NDFD contain?

    The Web Service returns forecasts for any combination of the following meteorological and climatological elements listed here:

    https://vlab.noaa.gov/documents/6609493/7858379/NDFDStatus.pdf

    (NOTE: only Long-Duration Hazards and Watches, Warnings, and Advisories are available through this service. Special Weather Statements and Short-Duration Hazards such as Tornado Warnings have valid times that can span minutes, and the data refresh for the NDFD is hourly. Thus, these shorter duration hazards can be missed due to their short temporal resolution so they are not included).

    A quick list of the NDFD elements that can be queried for in this version of the NDFD XML Web Service is here: NDFD Element Names

    These NDFD elements can be retrieved in their unsummarized form using the functions NDFDgen() or NDFDgenZip(). A subset of these elements, in summarized form over either 24 or 12 hourly forecast periods, can be retrieved using the functions NDFDgenByDay() or NDFDgenByDayZip. See the section below titled "How Do You Use the Web Service via REST?" for more details on these four functions.

    In addition to its meteorological content, the NDFD XML returned via REST also contains meta data about the product. For returned data encoded in DWML, a description of the meta data as well as data XML tags and attributes can be found in the Digital Weather Markup Language Specification [PDF] [HTML] [DOC]

    Finally, a list of all possible fields for icons and the weather conditions can be found here: NDFD Web Service's Icon/Weather Conditions XML fields.

    How Do You Use the Web Service via REST?

    The first step to using the web service is to create a RESTful client. The client submits a GET HTTP request containing a string consisting of query parameter names that hold the input values (key value pairs) expected by the service. See the tables below for required user supplied input query parameter names and their associated values

    ndfdXMLclient.php Interface

      Single Point Unsummarized Data: Returns DWML or TSML encoded NDFD data for a point

      Input Query Name Example Value  Description
      lat 39.23 The WGS84 latitude of the point for which you want NDFD data.   North latitude is positive.
      lon -77.00 The WGS84 longitude of the point for which you want NDFD data.   West longitude is negative.
      product time-series,
      glance      		 There are two products.   The “time-series” product returns all data between the start and end times for the selected weather parameters.   The “glance” product returns all data between the start and end times for the parameters maxt, mint, sky, wx, icons, and wwa (hazards). Note, when the “glance” (“Weather at a Glance”) product is chosen, a choice of elements is not permitted.
      begin 2020-04-27T12:00:00 The beginning time for which you want NDFD data.   If the string is empty, the beginnng time is assumed to be the earliest available time in the database.
      end 2020-04-30T12:00:00 The ending time for which you want NDFD data.   If the string is empty, the ending time is assumed to be the last available time in the database.
      Unit e,
      m      		 The unit data is to be formatted in. The default value is U.S. Standard, or English units ("e"). A string value of "m" will return data in Metric, or SI units (the International System of Units). If the string is empty, data will be returned in U.S. Standard units, thus the input is only needed for metric conversion.
      One or more ndfd elements
      (N/A if product="glance")      		 maxt=maxt&mint=mint,
      etc      		 The NDFD parameters that you are requesting.   For valid inputs see the NDFD Element Names Page.
      XMLformat DWML,
      TSML      		 The XML encoding type data is returned in. Value can be either TSML or DWML. If not specified, the default value is DWML.

      A sample query string follows:

      https://digital.weather.gov/xml/sample_products/browser_interface/ndfdXMLclient.php?lat=38.99&lon=-77.01&product=time-series&begin=2020-01-01T00:00:00&end=2030-04-20T00:00:00&maxt=maxt&mint=mint

      Multiple Point Unsummarized Data: Returns DWML or TSML encoded NDFD data for a list of points

      Input Query Name Example Value  Description
      listLatLon 38.99,-77.02 39.70,-104.80 List of WGS84 latitude and longitude pairs for the points for which you want NDFD data.   Each point's latitude and longitude value is seperated by a comma. Each pair (one latitude and longitude value) is separated by a space. To reduce resources on the web service, the number of points requested can not exceed 100.
      product time-series,
      glance      		 There are two products.   The “time-series” product returns all data between the start and end times for the selected weather parameters.   The “glance” product returns all data between the start and end times for the parameters maxt, mint, sky, wx, icons, and wwa (hazards). Note, when the “glance” (“Weather at a Glance”) product is chosen, a choice of elements is not permitted.
      begin 2020-04-27T12:00:00 The beginning time for which you want NDFD data.   If the string is empty, the beginning time is assumed to be the earliest available time in the database.
      end 2020-04-30T12:00:00 The ending time for which you want NDFD data.   If the string is empty, the ending time is assumed to be the last available time in the database.
      Unit e,
      m      		 The unit data is to be formatted in. The default value is U.S. Standard, or English units ("e"). A string value of "m" will return data in Metric, or SI units (the International System of Units). If the string is empty, data will be returned in U.S. Standard units, thus the input is only needed for metric conversion.
      One or more ndfd elements
      (N/A if product="glance")      		 maxt=maxt&mint=mint,
      etc      		 The NDFD parameters that you are requesting.   For valid inputs see the NDFD Element Names Page.
      XMLformat DWML,
      TSML      		 The XML encoding type data is returned in. Value can be either TSML or DWML. If not specified, the default value is DWML.

      A sample query string follows:

      https://digital.weather.gov/xml/sample_products/browser_interface/ndfdXMLclient.php?listLatLon=38.99,-77.02 39.70,-104.80 47.6,-122.30&product=time-series&XMLformat=TSML&begin=2020-01-01T00:00:00&end=2030-04-20T00:00:00&Unit=e&maxt=maxt&mint=mint

      Unsummarized Data for a Subgrid: Returns DWML or TSML encoded NDFD data for a subgrid defined by a lower left and upper right point

      Input Query Name Example Value  Description
      lat1 33.88 The WGS84 latitude of the lower left point of the rectangular subgrid for which you want NDFD grid points.   North latitude is positive.
      lon1 -80.06 The WGS84 longitude of the lower left point of the rectangular subgrid for which you want NDFD grid points.   West longitude is negative.
      lat2 33.88 The WGS84 latitude of the upper right point of the rectangular subgrid for which you want NDFD grid points.   North latitude is positive.
      lon2 -80.06 The WGS84 longitude of the upper right point of the rectangular subgrid for which you want NDFD grid points.   West longitude is negative.
      resolutionSub 20.0 The default resolution for NDFD data is typically 2.5km. However, users can request latitude and longitude values for resolutions greater ( 5km, 10km, 15km, 20km, etc.) than the native resolution so as to reduce the number of points returned.
      product time-series,
      glance      		 There are two products.   The “time-series” product returns all data between the start and end times for the selected weather parameters.   The “glance” product returns all data between the start and end times for the parameters maxt, mint, sky, wx, icons, and wwa (hazards). Note, when the “glance” (“Weather at a Glance”) product is chosen, a choice of elements is not permitted.
      begin 2020-04-27T12:00:00 The beginning time for which you want NDFD data.   If the string is empty, the beginning time is assumed to be the earliest available time in the database.
      end 2020-04-30T12:00:00 The ending time for which you want NDFD data.   If the string is empty, the ending time is assumed to be the last available time in the database.
      Unit e,
      m      		 The unit data is to be formatted in. The default value is U.S. Standard, or English units ("e"). A string value of "m" will return data in Metric, or SI units (The International System of Units). If the string is empty, data will be returned in U.S. Standard units, thus the input is only needed for metric conversion.
      One or more ndfd elements
      (N/A if product="glance")      		 maxt=maxt&mint=mint,
      etc      		 The NDFD parameters that you are requesting.   For valid inputs see the NDFD Element Names Page.
      XMLformat DWML,
      TSML      		 The XML encoding type data is returned in. Value can be either TSML or DWML. If not specified, the default value is DWML.

      A sample query string follows:

      https://digital.weather.gov/xml/sample_products/browser_interface/ndfdXMLclient.php?lat1=35.00&lon1=-82.00&lat2=35.5&lon2=-81.50&resolutionSub=20.0&product=time-series&XMLformat=TSML&begin=2020-01-01T00:00:00&end=2030-04-21T00:00:00&maxt=maxt&mint=mint

      A List of NDFD Points for a Subgrid: Returns the WGS84 latitude and longitude values of all the NDFD grid points within a rectangular subgrid as defined by points at the lower left and upper right corners of the rectangle. The returned list of points is suitable for use in inputs listLatLon and gmlListLatLon. NOTE: The subgrid locations will only form a rectangle when viewed in the NDFD projection applicable to the grid.

      Input Query Name Example Value  Description
      listLat1 33.88 The WGS84 latitude of the lower left point of the rectangular subgrid for which you want NDFD grid points.   North latitude is positive.
      listLon1 -80.06 The WGS84 longitude of the lower left point of the rectangular subgrid for which you want NDFD grid points.   West longitude is negative.
      listLat2 33.88 The WGS84 latitude of the upper right point of the rectangular subgrid for which you want NDFD grid points.   North latitude is positive.
      listLon2 -80.06 The WGS84 longitude of the upper right point of the rectangular subgrid for which you want NDFD grid points.   West longitude is negative.
      resolutionList 20.0 The default resolution for NDFD data is typically 2.5km. However, users can request latitude and longitude values for resolutions greater ( 5km, 10km, 15km, 20km, etc.) than the native resolution so as to reduce the number of points returned.
      XMLformat DWML,
      TSML      		 The XML encoding type data is returned in. Value can be either TSML or DWML. If not specified, the default value is DWML.

      A sample query string follows:

      https://digital.weather.gov/xml/sample_products/browser_interface/ndfdXMLclient.php?listLat1=35.00&listLon1=-82.00&listLat2=35.5&listLon2=-81.50&XMLformat=TSML&resolutionList=20.0

      Unsummarized Data for a Line: Returns DWML or TSML encoded NDFD data for a line of points defined by the two end point

      Input Query Name Example Value  Description
      endPoint1Lat 39.00 The WGS84 latitude of the first end point of the line for which you want NDFD grid points.   North latitude is positive.
      endPoint1Lon -77.00 The WGS84 longitude of the first end point of the line for which you want NDFD grid points.   West longitude is negative.
      endPoint2Lat 39.00 The WGS84 latitude of the second end point of the line for which you want NDFD grid points.   North latitude is positive.
      endPoint2Lon -77.00 The WGS84 longitude of the second end point of the line for which you want NDFD grid points.   West longitude is negative.
      product time-series,
      glance      		 There are two products.   The “time-series” product returns all data between the start and end times for the selected weather parameters.   The “glance” product returns all data between the start and end times for the parameters maxt, mint, sky, wx, icons, and wwa (hazards). Note, when the “glance” (“Weather at a Glance”) product is chosen, a choice of elements is not permitted.
      begin 2020-04-27T12:00:00 The beginning time for which you want NDFD data.   If the string is empty, the beginning time is assumed to be the earliest available time in the database.
      end 2020-04-30T12:00:00 The ending time for which you want NDFD data.   If the string is empty, the ending time is assumed to be the last available time in the database.
      Unit e,
      m      		 The unit data is to be formatted in. The default value is U.S. Standard, or English units ("e"). A string value of "m" will return data in Metric, or SI units (The International System of Units). If the string is empty, data will be returned in U.S. Standard units, thus the input is only needed for metric conversion.
      One or more ndfd elements
      (N/A if product="glance")      		 maxt=maxt&mint=mint,
      etc      		 The NDFD parameters that you are requesting.   For valid inputs see the NDFD Element Names Page.
      XMLformat DWML,
      TSML      		 The XML encoding type data is returned in. Value can be either TSML or DWML. If not specified, the default value is DWML.

      A sample query string follows:

      https://digital.weather.gov/xml/sample_products/browser_interface/ndfdXMLclient.php?endPoint1Lat=38.99&endPoint1Lon=-77.01&endPoint2Lat=39.99&endPoint2Lon=-78.01&product=time-series&begin=2020-01-01T00:00:00&end=2030-04-21T00:00:00&wspd=wspd&wdir=wdir

      A List of NDFD Points for a Line: Returns the WGS84 latitude and longitude values for all points on a line defined by the line's end points. The returned list of points is suitable for use in inputs listLatLon and gmlListLatLon. NOTE: The list of locations will only form a straight line when viewed in the NDFD projection applicable to the grid.

      Input Query Name Example Value  Description
      endPoint1Lat 39.00 The WGS84 latitude of the first end point of the line for which you want NDFD grid points.   North latitude is positive.
      endPoint1Lon -77.00 The WGS84 longitude of the first end point of the line for which you want NDFD grid points.   West longitude is negative.
      endPoint2Lat 39.00 The WGS84 latitude of the second end point of the line for which you want NDFD grid points.   North latitude is positive.
      endPoint2Lon -77.00 The WGS84 longitude of the second end point of the line for which you want NDFD grid points.   West longitude is negative.
      XMLformat DWML,
      TSML      		 The XML encoding type data is returned in. Value can be either TSML or DWML. If not specified, the default value is DWML.

      A sample query string follows:

      https://digital.weather.gov/xml/sample_products/browser_interface/ndfdXMLclient.php?listEndPoint1Lat=38.99&listEndPoint1Lon=-77.01&listEndPoint2Lat=39.99&listEndPoint2Lon=-78.01

      Unsummarized Data for One or More Zipcodes: Returns DWML or TSML encoded NDFD data for one or more zip codes (50 United States and Puerto Rico). The returned list of points is suitable for use in inputs listLatLon and gmlListLatLon.

      Input Query Name Example Value  Description
      zipCodeList 20910 The zip code of the area for which you want NDFD grid points.
      product time-series,
      glance      		 There are two products.   The “time-series” product returns all data between the start and end times for the selected weather parameters.   The “glance” product returns all data between the start and end times for the parameters maxt, mint, sky, wx, icons, and wwa (hazards). Note, when the “glance” (“Weather at a Glance”) product is chosen, a choice of elements is not permitted.
      begin 2020-04-27T12:00:00 The beginning time for which you want NDFD data.   If the string is empty, the beginning time is assumed to be the earliest available time in the database.
      end 2020-04-30T12:00:00 The ending time for which you want NDFD data.   If the string is empty, the ending time is assumed to be the last available time in the database.
      Unit e,
      m      		 The unit data is to be formatted in. The default value is U.S. Standard, or English units ("e"). A string value of "m" will return data in Metric, or SI units (The International System of Units). If the string is empty, data will be returned in U.S. Standard units, thus the input is only needed for metric conversion.
      One or more ndfd elements
      (N/A if product="glance")      		 maxt=maxt&mint=mint,
      etc      		 The NDFD parameters that you are requesting.   For valid inputs see the NDFD Element Names Page.
      XMLformat DWML,
      TSML      		 The XML encoding type data is returned in. Value can be either TSML or DWML. If not specified, the default value is DWML.

      A sample query string follows:

      https://digital.weather.gov/xml/sample_products/browser_interface/ndfdXMLclient.php?zipCodeList=20910+25414&product=time-series&begin=2020-01-01T00:00:00&end=2030-04-21T00:00:00&wx=wx&mint=mint

      Unsummarized Data for a Subgrid Defined by a Center Point: Returns DWML or TSML encoded NDFD data for a rectangle defined by a center point and distances in the latitudinal and longitudinal directions.

      Input Query Name Example Value  Description
      centerPointLat 39.00 The WGS84 latitude of the center or the rectangle for which you want NDFD grid points.   North latitude is positive.
      centerPointLon -77.00 The WGS84 longitude of the center or the rectangle for which you want NDFD grid points.   West longitude is negative.
      distanceLat 50.0 The distance from the center point in the latitudinal direction to the rectangle's East/West oriented sides.
      distanceLon 50.0 The distance from the center point in the longitudinal direction to the rectangle's North/South oriented side.
      resolutionSquare 20.0 The default resolution for NDFD data is typically 2.5km. However, users can request latitude and longitude values for resolutions greater ( 5km, 10km, 15km, 20km, etc.) than the native resolution so as to reduce the number of points returned.
      product time-series,
      glance      		 There are two products.   The “time-series” product returns all data between the start and end times for the selected weather parameters.   The “glance” product returns all data between the start and end times for the parameters maxt, mint, sky, wx, icons, and wwa (hazards). Note, when the “glance” (“Weather at a Glance”) product is chosen, a choice of elements is not permitted.
      begin 2020-04-27T12:00:00 The beginning time for which you want NDFD data.   If the string is empty, the beginning time is assumed to be the earliest available time in the database.
      end 2020-04-30T12:00:00 The ending time for which you want NDFD data.   If the string is empty, the ending time is assumed to be the last available time in the database.
      Unit e,
      m      		 The unit data is to be formatted in. The default value is U.S. Standard, or English units ("e"). A string value of "m" will return data in Metric, or SI units (the International System of Units). If the string is empty, data will be returned in U.S. Standard units, thus the input is only needed for metric conversion.
      One or more ndfd elements
      (N/A if product="glance")      		 maxt=maxt&mint=mint,
      etc      		 The NDFD parameters that you are requesting.   For valid inputs see the NDFD Element Names Page.
      XMLformat DWML,
      TSML      		 The XML encoding type data is returned in. Value can be either TSML or DWML. If not specified, the default value is DWML.

      A sample query string follows:

      https://digital.weather.gov/xml/sample_products/browser_interface/ndfdXMLclient.php?centerPointLat=38.0¢erPointLon=-97.4&distanceLat=50.0&distanceLon=50.0&resolutionSquare=20.0&product=time-series&XMLformat=DWML&begin=2020-01-01T00:00:00&end=2030-04-21T00:00:00&sky=sky&mint=mint

      A List of NDFD Points for a Subgrid Defined by a Center Point: Returns the WGS84 latitude and longitude values for a rectangle defined by a center point and distances in the latitudinal and longitudinal directions. The returned list of points is suitable for use in inputs listLatLon and gmlListLatLon. NOTE: The subgrid locations will only form a rectangle when viewed in the NDFD projection applicable to the grid.

      Input Query Name Example Value  Description
      listCenterPointLat 39.00 The WGS84 latitude of the center or the rectangle for which you want NDFD grid points.   North latitude is positive.
      listCenterPointLon -77.00 The WGS84 longitude of the center or the rectangle for which you want NDFD grid points.   West longitude is negative.
      listDistanceLat 50.0 The distance from the center point in the latitudinal direction to the rectangle's East/West oriented sides.
      listDistanceLon 50.0 The distance from the center point in the longitudinal direction to the rectangle's North/South oriented side.
      listResolutionSquare 20.0 The default resolution for NDFD data is typically 2.5km. However, users can request latitude and longitude values for resolutions greater ( 5km, 10km, 15km, 20km, etc.) than the native resolution so as to reduce the number of points returned.
      XMLformat DWML,
      TSML      		 The XML encoding type data is returned in. Value can be either TSML or DWML. If not specified, the default value is DWML.

      A sample query string follows:

      https://digital.weather.gov/xml/sample_products/browser_interface/ndfdXMLclient.php?listCenterPointLat=38.0&listCenterPointLon=-77.00&listDistanceLat=30.0&listDistanceLon=30.0&listResolutionSquare=20.0

      A List of NDFD Points for the Corners of an NDFD Grid: Returns the WGS84 latitude and longitude values for the corners of an NDFD grid as well as the resolution required to retrieve the entire grid and still stay under the maximum allowed point restriction.

      Input Query Name Example Value  Description
      sector conus One of the NDFD grids (conus, alaska, nhemi, npacocn, guam, hawaii, and puertori).
      XMLformat DWML,
      TSML      		 The XML encoding type data is returned in. Value can be either TSML or DWML. If not specified, the default value is DWML.

      A sample query string follows:

      https://digital.weather.gov/xml/sample_products/browser_interface/ndfdXMLclient.php?sector=conus

      Unsummarized Data for a Period of Time Encoded in dwGML: Returns Digital Weather Geography Markup Language (GML) encoded NDFD data for a list of points during a user specified time period.

      Input Query Name Example Value  Description
      gmlListLatLon 38.99,-77.02 39.70,-104.80 List of WGS84 latitude and longitude pairs for the points for which you want NDFD data.   Each point's latitude and longitude value is seperated by a comma. Each pair (one latitude and longitude value) is separated by a space. To reduce resources on the web service, the number of points requested can not exceed 100.
      begin 2008-01-01T00:00:00 The start time for which you want NDFD data. If the string is empty, the beginning time is assumed to be the earliest available time in the database. This input is only needed if one wants to shorten the time window data is to be retrieved for (less than entire 7 days worth), e.g. if user wants data for days 2-5.
      end 2010-12-31T23:59:59 The end time for which you want NDFD data. If the string is empty, the ending time is assumed to be the latest available time in the database. This input is only needed if one wants to shorten the time window data is to be retrieved for (less than entire 7 days worth), e.g. if user wants data for days 2-5.
      compType Between Comparison type. Can be IsEqual, Between, GreatThan, GreaterThanOrEqual, LessThan, or LessThanOrEqual.
      featureType Forecast_Gml2Point GML 2 Compliant Data Structure: Forecast_Gml2Point
      GML 3 Compliant Data Structures: Forecast_GmlsfPoint, Forecast_GmlObs, NdfdMultiPointCoverage
      KML 2 Compliant Data Structure: Ndfd_KmlPoint
      propertyName maxt,mint,wx The NDFD element that you are requesting.   For valid inputs see the NDFD Element Names Page.

      A sample query string follows:

      https://digital.weather.gov/xml/sample_products/browser_interface/ndfdXMLclient.php?gmlListLatLon=38.99,-77.02+39.70,-104.80+47.6,-122.30&featureType=Forecast_Gml2Point&begin=2020-01-01T00:00:00&end=2030-01-01T00:00:00&compType=Between&propertyName=maxt,wx

      GML is also an Open Geospatial Consortium standard for encoding geospatial data. One of the advantages of NDFD GML is that it is a recognized standard. As a result, GML and the application schema derived from it are supported by a number of GIS applications. There are examples of importing GML-encoded NDFD into several applications at the following link:

      Tutorials on integrating the NDFD Web Service and clients like ArcGIS, Google Earth, and Google Maps.

      In addition to GML, the service can return Keyhole Markup Language (KML) encoded NDFD data by setting the featureType input to Ndfd_KmlPoint. KML can be viewed with freely available tools like Google Earth and is also recognized by the OGC.

    ndfdBrowserClientByDay.php Interface

    NOTE: There is no choice by user of meteorological elements for these summarization functions. The following summarized elements are always returned by default: Maximum Temperature, Minumum Temperature, 12 Hourly Probability of Precipitation, Weather, Icons, and Hazards (Watches, Warnings, and Advisories).

      Single Point Summarized Data: Returns DWML or TSML encoded NDFD data for a point. Data for each point is summarized for either a 24- or 12-hour forecast time period

      Input Query Name Example Value  Description
      lat 39.00 The WGS84 latitude of the point for which you want NDFD data.   North latitude is positive.
      lon -77.00 The WGS84 longitude of the point for which you want NDFD data.   West longitude is negative.
      startDate 2020-04-27 The beginning day for which you want NDFD data.   If the string is empty, the start date is assumed to be the earliest available day in the database. This input is only needed if one wants to shorten the time window data is to be retrieved for (less than entire 7 days worth), e.g. if user wants data for days 2-5.
      numDays 7 The number of days worth of NDFD data you want. If the string is empty, numDays is assumed to be full number of days in the database. This input is only needed if one wants to shorten the time window data is to be retrieved for (less than entire 7 days worth), e.g. if user wants data for days 2-5.
      Unit e,
      m      		 The unit data is to be formatted in. The default value is U.S. Standard, or English units ("e"). A string value of "m" will return data in Metric, or SI units (the International System of Units). If the string is empty, data will be returned in U.S. Standard units, thus the input is only needed for metric conversion.
      format 12 hourly,
      24 hourly      		 There are two formats.   The “24 hourly” format returns NDFD data summarized for a 24 hour forecast period running from 6:00 AM to 6:00 AM.   The “12 hourly” format summarizes NDFD data into two 12 hour forecast periods per day that run from 6:00 AM to 6:00 PM and 6:00 PM to 6:00 AM
      XMLformat DWML,
      TSML      		 The XML encoding type data is returned in. Value can be either TSML or DWML. If not specified, the default value is DWML.

      A sample query string follows:

      https://digital.weather.gov/xml/sample_products/browser_interface/ndfdBrowserClientByDay.php?lat=38.99&lon=-77.01&format=24+hourly&numDays=7&XMLformat=TSML

      Multiple Point Summarized Data: Returns DWML or TSML encoded NDFD data for a list of points. Data for each point is summarized for either a 24- or 12-hour forecast time period

      Input Query Name Example Value  Description
      listLatLon 38.99,-77.02 39.70,-104.80 List of WGS84 latitude and longitude pairs for the points for which you want NDFD data.   Each point's latitude and longitude value is seperated by a comma. Each pair (one latitude and longitude value) is separated by a space.To reduce resources on the web service, the number of points requested can not exceed 100.
      startDate 2020-04-27 The beginning day for which you want NDFD data.   If the string is empty, the start date is assumed to be the earliest available day in the database. This input is only needed if one wants to shorten the time window data is to be retrieved for (less than entire 7 days worth), e.g. if user wants data for days 2-5.
      numDays 7 The number of days worth of NDFD data you want. If the string is empty, numDays is assumed to be the full number of days in the database. This input is only needed if one wants to shorten the time window data is to be retrieved for (less than entire 7 days worth), e.g. if user wants data for days 2-5.
      Unit e,
      m      		 The unit data is to be formatted in. The default value is U.S. Standard, or English units ("e"). A string value of "m" will return data in Metric, or SI units (the International System of Units). If the string is empty, data will be returned in U.S. Standard units, thus the input is only needed for metric conversion.
      format 12 hourly,
      24 hourly      		 There are two formats.   The “24 hourly” format returns NDFD data summarized for a 24 hour forecast period running from 6:00 AM to 6:00 AM.   The “12 hourly” format summarizes NDFD data into two 12 hour forecast periods per day that run from 6:00 AM to 6:00 PM and 6:00 PM to 6:00 AM
      XMLformat DWML,
      TSML      		 The XML encoding type data is returned in. Value can be either TSML or DWML. If not specified, the default value is DWML.

      A sample query string follows:

      https://digital.weather.gov/xml/sample_products/browser_interface/ndfdBrowserClientByDay.php?listLatLon=38.99,-77.02+39.70,-104.80+47.6,-122.30&format=24+hourly&numDays=7&XMLformat=DWML&Unit=m

      Summarized Data for a Subgrid: Returns DWML or TSML encoded NDFD data for all the NDFD grid points within a rectangular subgrid as defined by points at the lower left and upper right corners of the rectangle.

      Input Query Name Example Value  Description
      lat1 33.88 The WGS84 latitude of the lower left point of the rectangular subgrid for which you want NDFD grid points.   North latitude is positive.
      lon1 -80.06 The WGS84 longitude of the lower left point of the rectangular subgrid for which you want NDFD grid points.   West longitude is negative.
      lat2 33.88 The WGS84 latitude of the upper right point of the rectangular subgrid for which you want NDFD grid points.   North latitude is positive.
      lon2 -80.06 The WGS84 longitude of the upper right point of the rectangular subgrid for which you want NDFD grid points.   West longitude is negative.
      resolutionSub 20.0 The default resolution for NDFD data is typically 2.5km. However, users can request latitude and longitude values for resolutions greater ( 5km, 10km, 15km, 20km, etc.) than the native resolution so as to reduce the number of points returned.
      startDate 2020-04-27 The beginning day for which you want NDFD data.   If the string is empty, the start date is assumed to be the earliest available day in the database. This input is only needed if one wants to shorten the time window data is to be retrieved for (less than entire 7 days worth), e.g. if user wants data for days 2-5.
      numDays 7 The number of days worth of NDFD data you want. If the string is empty, numDays is assumed to be the full number of days in the database. This input is only needed if one wants to shorten the time window data is to be retrieved for (less than entire 7 days worth), e.g. if user wants data for days 2-5.
      Unit e,
      m      		 The unit data is to be formatted in. The default value is U.S. Standard, or English units ("e"). A string value of "m" will return data in Metric, or SI units (the International System of Units). If the string is empty, data will be returned in U.S. Standard units, thus the input is only needed for metric conversion.
      format 12 hourly,
      24 hourly      		 There are two formats.   The “24 hourly” format returns NDFD data summarized for a 24 hour forecast period running from 6:00 AM to 6:00 AM.   The “12 hourly” format summarizes NDFD data into two 12 hour forecast periods per day that run from 6:00 AM to 6:00 PM and 6:00 PM to 6:00 AM
      XMLformat DWML,
      TSML      		 The XML encoding type data is returned in. Value can be either TSML or DWML. If not specified, the default value is DWML.

      A sample query string follows:

      https://digital.weather.gov/xml/sample_products/browser_interface/ndfdBrowserClientByDay.php?lat1=35.00&lon1=-82.00&lat2=35.5&lon2=-81.50&resolutionSub=20.0&format=24+hourly&numDays=7

      Summarized Data for a Line: Returns DWML or TSML encoded NDFD data for all points on a line defined by the line's end points.

      Input Query Name Example Value  Description
      endPoint1Lat 39.00 The WGS84 latitude of the first end point of the line for which you want NDFD grid points.   North latitude is positive.
      endPoint1Lon -77.00 The WGS84 longitude of the first end point of the line for which you want NDFD grid points.   West longitude is negative.
      endPoint2Lat 39.00 The WGS84 latitude of the second end point of the line for which you want NDFD grid points.   North latitude is positive.
      endPoint2Lon -77.00 The WGS84 longitude of the second end point of the line for which you want NDFD grid points.   West longitude is negative.
      startDate 2020-04-27 The beginning day for which you want NDFD data.   If the string is empty, the start date is assumed to be the earliest available day in the database. This input is only needed if one wants to shorten the time window data is to be retrieved for (less than entire 7 days worth), e.g. if user wants data for days 2-5.
      numDays 7 The number of days worth of NDFD data you want. If the string is empty, numDays is assumed to be the full number of days in the database. This input is only needed if one wants to shorten the time window data is to be retrieved for (less than entire 7 days worth), e.g. if user wants data for days 2-5.
      Unit e,
      m      		 The unit data is to be formatted in. The default value is U.S. Standard, or English units ("e"). A string value of "m" will return data in Metric, or SI units (The International System of Units). If the string is empty, data will be returned in U.S. Standard units, thus the input is only needed for metric conversion.
      format 12 hourly,
      24 hourly      		 There are two formats.   The “24 hourly” format returns NDFD data summarized for a 24 hour forecast period running from 6:00 AM to 6:00 AM.   The “12 hourly” format summarizes NDFD data into two 12 hour forecast periods per day that run from 6:00 AM to 6:00 PM and 6:00 PM to 6:00 AM
      XMLformat DWML,
      TSML      		 The XML encoding type data is returned in. Value can be either TSML or DWML. If not specified, the default value is DWML.

      A sample query string follows:

      https://digital.weather.gov/xml/sample_products/browser_interface/ndfdBrowserClientByDay.php?endPoint1Lat=38.99&endPoint1Lon=-77.01&endPoint2Lat=39.99&endPoint2Lon=-78.01&format=24+hourly&numDays=7

      Summarized Data for One or More Zipcodes: Returns DWML or TSML encoded NDFD data for one or more zip codes (50 United States and Puerto Rico).

      Input Query Name Example Value  Description
      zipCodeList 20910 The zip code of the area for which you want NDFD grid points.
      startDate 2020-04-27 The beginning day for which you want NDFD data.   If the string is empty, the start date is assumed to be the earliest available day in the database. This input is only needed if one wants to shorten the time window data is to be retrieved for (less than entire 7 days worth), e.g. if user wants data for days 2-5.
      numDays 7 The number of days worth of NDFD data you want. If the string is empty, numDays is assumed to be the full amount of daysi in the database. This input is only needed if one wants to shorten the time window data is to be retrieved for (less than entire 7 days worth), e.g. if user wants data for days 2-5.
      Unit e,
      m      		 The unit data is to be formatted in. The default value is U.S. Standard, or English units ("e"). A string value of "m" will return data in Metric, or SI units (The International System of Units). If the string is empty, data will be returned in U.S. Standard units, thus the input is only needed for metric conversion.
      format 12 hourly,
      24 hourly      		 There are two formats.   The “24 hourly” format returns NDFD data summarized for a 24 hour forecast period running from 6:00 AM to 6:00 AM.   The “12 hourly” format summarizes NDFD data into two 12 hour forecast periods per day that run from 6:00 AM to 6:00 PM and 6:00 PM to 6:00 AM
      XMLformat DWML,
      TSML      		 The XML encoding type data is returned in. Value can be either TSML or DWML. If not specified, the default value is DWML.

      A sample query string follows:

      https://digital.weather.gov/xml/sample_products/browser_interface/ndfdBrowserClientByDay.php?zipCodeList=20910+25414&format=24+hourly&numDays=7

      Summarized Data for a Subgrid Defined by a Center Point: Returns DWML or TSML encoded NDFD data for a rectangle defined by a center point and distances in the latitudinal and longitudinal directions.

      Input Query Name Example Value  Description
      centerPointLat 39.00 The WGS84 latitude of the center or the rectangle for which you want NDFD grid points.   North latitude is positive.
      centerPointLon -77.00 The WGS84 longitude of the center or the rectangle for which you want NDFD grid points.   West longitude is negative.
      distanceLat 50.0 The distance from the center point in the latitudinal direction to the rectangle's East/West oriented sides.
      distanceLon 50.0 The distance from the center point in the longitudinal direction to the rectangle's North/South oriented side.
      resolutionSquare 20.0 The default resolution for NDFD data is typically 2.5km. However, users can request latitude and longitude values for resolutions greater ( 5km, 10km, 15km, 20km, etc.) than the native resolution so as to reduce the number of points returned.
      startDate 2020-04-27 The beginning day for which you want NDFD data.   If the string is empty, the start date is assumed to be the earliest available day in the database. This input is only needed if one wants to shorten the time window data is to be retrieved for (less than entire 7 days worth), e.g. if user wants data for days 2-5.
      numDays 7 The number of days worth of NDFD data you want. If the string is empty, numDays is assumed to be the full amount of days in the database. This input is only needed if one wants to shorten the time window data is to be retrieved for (less than entire 7 days worth), e.g. if user wants data for days 2-5.
      Unit e,
      m      		 The unit data is to be formatted in. The default value is U.S. Standard, or English units ("e"). A string value of "m" will return data in Metric, or SI units (The International System of Units). If the string is empty, data will be returned in U.S. Standard units, thus the input is only needed for metric conversion.
      format 12 hourly,
      24 hourly      		 There are two formats.   The “24 hourly” format returns NDFD data summarized for a 24 hour forecast period running from 6:00 AM to 6:00 AM.   The “12 hourly” format summarizes NDFD data into two 12 hour forecast periods per day that run from 6:00 AM to 6:00 PM and 6:00 PM to 6:00 AM
      XMLformat DWML,
      TSML      		 The XML encoding type data is returned in. Value can be either TSML or DWML. If not specified, the default value is DWML.

      A sample query string follows:

      https://digital.weather.gov/xml/sample_products/browser_interface/ndfdBrowserClientByDay.php?centerPointLat=38.0¢erPointLon=-97.4&distanceLat=50.0&distanceLon=50.0&resolutionSquare=20.0&format=24+hourly&numDays=7

    Once the REST Service returns the XML document back, the client can then parse the XML using any number of open source software packages.

    All latitude and longitude values provided as input or in the output XML are based on the World Geodetic System 1984 (WGS84). For more information on the NDFD spatial reference system see the NDFD Spatial Reference System page.

    NDFD XML Web Service Constraints, Guidelines, and Best Practices

    Please consult the NDFD Web Services Use Guidelines to ease strain on the NDFD XML Web Service.

    What if I prefer not to use a RESTful service to access NDFD web services?

    Please refer back to the following web pages:

      NDFD XML Web Service SOAP Home page

    WHAT'S NEW: NWS NDFD XML Web Services Change Notices

    Below are listed recent change notices for the NWS NDFD XML Web Service. A complete listing is available. An RSS feed of the change notices is also available. These notices are used to announce major changes such as resolution changes, schema changes, new services, new meteorological elements offered, etc.

    NDFD-XML: Five Experimental Aviation Weather Elements added to NDFD XML Web Service
    Five new Aviation elements will be added for dissemination through the NDFD XML Web Service. They will be available for points in the Conus and Puerto Rico sectots. For more information see the Product Description Document (PDD). These experimental elements will be available for comment through May 23, 2023. These elements include Ceiling Height (defined as the lowest cloud base, measured in feet, where the cumulative sky cover is > 50%, and uses the threshold for the qualitative term “broken” or “BKN”), Visibility (values are consistent with information in the weather and hazard grids. Units are statute miles (SM) with a resolution of 0.25 SM from 0 to 1.50, inclusive, and a resolution of SM from 2 to 10 SM, inclusive. Values > 10 SM are set to 10 SM), and Low Level Wind Shear. There are 3 separate Low Level Wind Shear elements: Height (the top of the low-level wind shear layer), Wind Speed, and Wind Direction. The name of the elements in the service are "ceil", "vis", "llwsdist", "llwswindspd", and "llwswinddir", as seen here in the WSDL (https://digital.weather.gov/xml/SOAP_server/ndfdXMLserver.php?wsdl).

    NDFD-XML: New AWS NDFD XML Web Service (digital.weather.gov/xml) to limit the number of lat/lon points in a query to 100 to limit resource strain on the web service. For more information, see our NDFD XML Web Service Use Guidelines page at https://digital.weather.gov/xml/mdl/XML/Design/WebServicesUseGuidelines.php.


    NDFD-XML: AWS NDFD XML Web Service at Full Resolution
    The new NDFD XML Web Service (digital.weather.gov/xml) is at full resolution for points queried in the CONUS sector. The spatial and temporal resolution in the NDFD as compared to the operational system on graphical (graphical.weather.gov/xml) will be available at 2.5km spatial resolution for all forecast times and at 1 hour temporal resolution for the first 36 hours from NDFD issuance time (on graphical, the spatial resolution is 5km and 3 hourly). These are the finest spatial and temporal resolutions at which Weather Forecast Offices in the Conterminous United States (CONUS) provide forecasts. More information is here in the Technical Implementation Notice and also: here.

    NDFD-XML: AWS NDFD XML Web Service to offer a new XML format encoding for the NDFD XML Web Service: Time Series Markup Language (TSML).
    The new AWS version of the NDFD XML Web Service (digital.weather.gov/xml) will offer TSML as an encoding option. This second option of XML formatting is an Open Geospatial Consortium (OGC) recognized International encoding Standard, unlike DWML. Because of this, TSML offers greater interoperability: the ability of different information systems, products, or applications, whose interfaces are understood, to connect with other products or systems. TSML also defines the semantics of observational (in the NDFD case, forecast) data as a timeseries for data exchange. TSML profiles the Observations and Measurements standard to define a result of type timeseries. TSML allows the encoding of many latitude/longitude points as a collection (tsml:Collection) of observation members with each geographic point denoted as the feature of interest. The TSML schemas can be found at http://schemas.opengis.net/tsml. The TSML schema version currently used is 1.2. To return XML encoded in TSML, there is a new query parameter 'XMLformat'. This query parameter must be set to TSML in the request. If XMLformat is not used at all, it defaults to the older DWML encoding.

    NDFD-XML: RTMA elements removed from AWS NDFD XML Web Service
    The 6 Real Time Mesoscale Analysis elements, and 4 associated uncertainties, will be removed from the new AWS NDFD XML web service (digital.weather.gov/xml). These are Real-time Mesoscale Analysis Precipitation (precipa_r), Real-time Mesoscale Analysis GOES Effective Cloud Amount (sky_r), Real-time Mesoscale Analysis Dewpoint Temperature (td_r), Real-time Mesoscale Analysis Temperature (temp_r), Real-time Mesoscale Analysis Wind Direction (wdir_r), Real-time Mesoscale Analysis Wind Speed (wspd_r), Real-time Mesoscale Analysis Error/Uncertainty for Temperature (utemp), Real-time Mesoscale Analysis Error/Uncertainty for Dewpoint Temperature (utd), Real-time Mesoscale Analysis Error/Uncertainty for Wind Speed (uwspd), and Real-time Mesoscale Analysis Error/Uncertainty for Wind Direction (uwdir).

    NDFD-XML: Snow Ratio added to NDFD XML Web Service
    The new Snow Ratio element will be added for dissemination through the NDFD XML Web Service. For more information see the Product Description Document (PDD). This element will be available throughout the winter season. This element is defined as the ratio of snow accumulation to its melted liquid equivalent. The name of the element in the service is "snowratio", as seen here in the WSDL (https://digital.weather.gov/xml/SOAP_server/ndfdXMLserver.php?wsdl).

    Information on different NDFD XML web service versions

    URLs that begin with 'graphical.weather.gov/xml' go to the coarse-resolution (3-hour, 5km) legacy operational NWS servers. This service has NDFD elements that were operationally available when upgrades to this on-prem service were frozen about 2016. A list of elements available for this version of the NDFD XML Web Service is here: NDFD Elements on graphical

    URLs that begin with 'preview.weather.gov/xml' go to the fine-resolution (1-hour, 2.5km) experimental on-prem NWS servers. This has all NDFD elements available at lower resolution on graphical, in higher resolution form. It also contains NDFD elements that were experimentally available at finer resolution when upgrades to the on-prem service on graphical were frozen about 2016. A list of elements available for this version of the NDFD XML Web Service is here: NDFD Elements on preview

    In response to performance issues on both on-prem XML web services listed above (graphical and preview), the NWS was testing NDFD XML web services for new NDFD elements on Amazon Web Services (AWS). For more information, see: NDFD on AWS. The AWS version of the NDFD XML web service is this current one, hosted on this page at https://digital.weather.gov/xml/. Prior, to April 2022, it disseminated only those elements (20) the NDFD had developed since 2016. It also did not disseminate the "Weather At A Glance", 12 hourly, or 24 hourly summary products.

    URLs that begin with 'digital.weather.gov/xml', as of April 2022, now access the fine-resolution (1-hour, 2.5km) prototype servers on AWS. This service now provides the newer (post-2016) NDFD elements that are not available via the on-prem (graphical and preview) NWS services. It also contains the full suite of all available NDFD elements. A list of the NDFD elements available for this version of the NDFD XML Web Service is here: NDFD Elements on digital

    Point of Contact Information for NDFD XML Web Service Issues

    To submit a ticket for an issue with the NWS XML Web Services, please email the NOAA ServiceNow Platform at nsdesk@midatl.service-now.com.
     
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