New multi-model worldwide model viewer now available as a Beta release

[Paul]

Some exciting news for our Extra subscribers to share today, our new model viewer is now available as an Alpha release. For now, it's available through the website, but It'll ultimately be included as part of the Radar Extra (V8) app, so it will be accessible through that as well as the site as part of our plan to extend the functionality of the app to include many more features beyond the radar. 

The new viewer is zoomable, has data right across the world, and on the initial launch, has model data from the UKV, ECMWF, GFS, Netwx (SR and MR), Met Office Global and ECMWF EPS available on it,  with more to come soon. Currently, there are a limited number of chart types available on there, but we'll be adding new ones frequently from next week onwards as we move through our Alpha and Beta development stages. 

Some screenshots of it in action:

 

 

If you're a subscriber, you can access it here:

https://www.netweather.tv/extra/models/

Please note that it is an Alpha release, so there may be bugs, occasional missing data, performance issues etc. So, please shout if you encounter any issues, and let us know if you have any feedback you'd like to share.

I'll update this thread as we add more features, chart types etc , so if you'd like to be notified of those, please follow this topic. 

[Paul]

A few updates this morning:

Known issues:
Occasional feint grid lines when using the screenshot tool
Pixelated rainfall on the hi-res models
Lots of temperature labels in places (near the equator as an example, and particularly on the Met Office global  model)
No scales being shown
Occasional  times when contour labels aren't shown

FAQ's

Is this available to both radar extra and extra full subscribers?
Yes - currently all chart types are available to all subscribers. In the future, some chart types will only be available to full subscribers. 

Will we be adding more chart types and models?
Yes to both - there'll be more chart types being loaded in regularly from next week. New models will follow later - we already have Arome and Hirlam almost ready to go, as an example.

Which run is being shown for each model? 
The latest run is shown by default, you can also view the previous run by choosing that option from the settings menu (bottom left). We will start to display the run time etc soon and hope to make additional runs available to view.

Can I share screenshots on the community, social media etc?
Yes, but please do credit them to netweather. 

Edited April 23, 2023 by Paul

[Met4Cast]

This is fantastic, AROME will definitely be a welcomed addition! 

One behaviour issue I'm noticing is when I change chart type the chart seems to think i'm holding down the mouse button afterwards so when I move the mouse over the map it automatically moves all over the place. I'm using the latest Safari version on a Macbook. 

[Obese John]

Oh wow! 

This will ruin my future plans, as I can sit and play with the model output all day, and across the globe. 

 

Marvellous stuff. My wife will now be a Netweather widow. 

 

[Mapantz]

Nice addition, but I still have the problem of gridlines showing up at all zoom levels, just like the radar. Only happens on the dark grey and world imagery maps.

[Paul]

Thanks @Met4Cast - is the bug you're seeing happening every time or randomly?

@Obese John - welcome to the community, send our apologies to your wife!

@Mapantz - that bug is probably best dealt with in the original thread you made. It's still on our list, but we've been unable to reproduce and haven't had other reports of it happening frequently or without changes to the zoom setting in the browser. 

[Met4Cast]

11 hours ago, Paul said:

Thanks @Met4Cast - is the bug you're seeing happening every time or randomly?

@Obese John - welcome to the community, send our apologies to your wife!

@Mapantz - that bug is probably best dealt with in the original thread you made. It's still on our list, but we've been unable to reproduce and haven't had other reports of it happening frequently or without changes to the zoom setting in the browser. 

Hi Paul, 

It happens every single time I change any of the chart parameters. 

[Falconjet]

Hello, I've noticed the new viewer for UKV precipitation now shows cumulative precipitation for the previous hour or previous 3 hours as appose to precipitation snapshot.

Any chance you could provide an instantaneous precipitation rate (precipitation snapshot) as per the original UKV chart viewer?

Thank you! 

Mark. 

 

[Paul]

@Falconjet - thanks for the feedback, we can definitely add that chart type.

[Falconjet]

3 minutes ago, Paul said:

@Falconjet - thanks for the feedback, we can definitely add that chart type.

@PaulThank you! That's brilliant! 

[The PIT]

Just had another look at it this morning

Needs a plus and minus button to zoom in. Okay you can use the mouse but would be still a  useful addition.

No scale for the colours which would be useful as most of the numbers are missing.

On wide screen the bottom scroll bar is off the bottom of the screen.

Edited April 23, 2023 by The PIT

[Paul]

@The PIT - thanks for the feedback. Good point about the zoom buttons, we'll get those added.

Scales are on the way, hopefully next week. There's a bug with the contour labelling which is limiting it at times, which should also be sorted soon.

In terms of the slider at the bottom, the map is designed to match the height of your screen, scrolling the page down a tad, so it's all in view should show everything. That said, we may look at making the scroll bar sticky, so it's always in view.

[Paul]

@Met4Cast - we've put a fix in for the Safari bug you've been seeing, please could you take a look when you get the chance, and let me know if it's working better for you now?

[Mapantz]

UKV precipitation no longer working

[Paul]

It won't work on 0 hours as that data isn't available. Other time slots should be fine

[Paul]

@Falconjet - we've switched the precipitation to use the rate rather than accumulation on the UKV now. The scale is a bit high right now, so it looks more lively than on the static ukv maps, but we'll sort that soon. 

[Falconjet]

3 hours ago, Paul said:

@Falconjet - we've switched the precipitation to use the rate rather than accumulation on the UKV now. The scale is a bit high right now, so it looks more lively than on the static ukv maps, but we'll sort that soon. 

@Paul Brilliant! Many thanks for that prompt changeover

[Mapantz]

The radar app just updated, which now shows the model viewer. There's no controls though.

Edited April 25, 2023 by Mapantz

[Paul]

I can't recreate that. Does it happen if you access through whatever browser you're running?

[Mapantz]

Works with Edge, not Samsung Internet.

[Paul]

Samsung internet seems so buggy. We'll have a look, but as ever recommend not using it.

[Mapantz]

Never had an issues with it. It's the fastest browser I have used on an Android device, and I certainly won't use anything else.

Just installed Opera browser to test.. no controls on that either.

Edited April 25, 2023 by Mapantz

[Paul]

It's because it's not reporting the correct window height. If you open the menu and go to release notes, you'll likely see the controls there. We place them at the bottom of the map and the size of the map is based on the height the browser says the window is. 

[Mapantz]

Oh well. Just not going to use it then. 

But you have to remember, not everybody wants to use the 'main' browsers. I've never had any issues with any other sites.

[Paul]

I've said we'll look at it. It's an alpha version. We're developing it, but we're not here 24/7 to fix your issues within 5 minutes, I'm afraid.