SPIKE - Investigate MetOffice Site Level Data API

[devsjc]

There is a Site Level API available from MetOffice. We should investigate what is available from it, and pricing of it and so on.

[devsjc]

@peterdudfield tracking Spike work here on MetOffice site API

[peterdudfield]

suoer

[devsjc]

API

The API allows for site level forecast data. There are three endpoints, hourly, three hourly and daily.

Each endpoint returns forecasts for a site for a specific model run time, which appears to correspoind to the UTC hour of the call time, e.g. calling the API between 1100 BST and 1200 BST returns the model forecast which was run at 1000 UTC.

Hourly endpoint

The hourly data goes in hourly increments up to a 48 hr horizon (~48 steps).

It tracks the following parameters (+ example values):

{
    "time": "2023-06-05T10:00Z",
    "screenTemperature": 31.9,
    "screenDewPointTemperature": 13,
    "feelsLikeTemperature": 32.59,
    "windSpeed10m": 1.73,
    "windDirectionFrom10m": 175,
    "windGustSpeed10m": 5.14,
    "visibility": 34118,
    "screenRelativeHumidity": 43.9,
    "mslp": 100940,
    "uvIndex": 3,
    "significantWeatherCode": 1,
    "precipitationRate": 0,
    "probOfPrecipitation": 0
}

Three hourly endpoint

The three hourly data goes in hourly increments up to a 1 week horizon (~57 steps).

It tracks the following parameters (+ example values):

{
    "time": "2023-06-05T09:00Z",
    "maxScreenAirTemp": 33.62,     
    "minScreenAirTemp": 30.1,
    "max10mWindGust": 5.94,
    "significantWeatherCode": 1,
    "totalPrecipAmount": 0,
    "totalSnowAmount": 0,
    "windSpeed10m": 1,
    "windDirectionFrom10m": 260,
    "windGustSpeed10m": 5.7,
    "visibility": 33966,
    "mslp": 100880,
    "screenRelativeHumidity": 31.3,
    "feelsLikeTemp": 33,
    "uvIndex": 4,
    "probOfPrecipitation": 0,
    "probOfSnow": 0,
    "probOfHeavySnow": 0,
    "probOfRain": 0,
    "probOfHeavyRain": 0,
    "probOfHail": 0,
    "probOfSferics": 0
}

Daily endpoint

The daily data goes in daily increments up to a weeks horizon (~8 steps). Every forecast is made for midnight.

It tracks the following parameters (+ example values):

{
    "time": "2023-06-04T00:00Z",
    "midnight10MWindSpeed": 2,
    "midnight10MWindDirection": 250,
    "midnight10MWindGust": 4.88,
    "midnightVisibility": 28027,
    "midnightRelativeHumidity": 51.94,
    "midnightMslp": 100980,
    "nightSignificantWeatherCode": 0,
    "nightMinScreenTemperature": 16.3,
    "nightUpperBoundMinTemp": 18.18,
    "nightLowerBoundMinTemp": 15.5,
    "nightMinFeelsLikeTemp": 18.85,
    "nightUpperBoundMinFeelsLikeTemp": 18.85,
    "nightLowerBoundMinFeelsLikeTemp": 15.95,
    "nightProbabilityOfPrecipitation": 0,
    "nightProbabilityOfSnow": 0,
    "nightProbabilityOfHeavySnow": 0,
    "nightProbabilityOfRain": 0,
    "nightProbabilityOfHeavyRain": 0,
    "nightProbabilityOfHail": 0,
    "nightProbabilityOfSferics": 0
}

Pricing

The pricing is as follows:

# Calls Per Day	Monthly Cost inc. VAT / £
900	9.60
3600	36.00
18000	168.00
36000	288.00
72000	504.00

We have 739 sites. If we wanted to know e.g. the hourly foecast data, updated at each model init time, that's one call per hour for each new model run per site, making 1 * 24 * 739 = 17,736 calls, putting us in the third payment tier.

However if we instead just desired the forecasts for one model run per day, that would be 1 * 739 calls, putting us in the lowest payment tier.

[peterdudfield]

Amazing, thank you for putting this together