View Full Version here: : Cloud Free Night
Cloud Free Night forecast maps (http://www.cloudfreenight.com/map.view) and meteograms (http://www.cloudfreenight.com/meteogram.view)are now available for the next five days.
Just swipe horizontally to display the extended meteogram.
The satellite loop (http://www.cloudfreenight.com/satellite.view&sata=1) also loads faster and displays the last four hours of ten-minute images.
A new map (http://www.cloudfreenight.com/map.view)was introduced today to CFN.
Precipitable Water (http://www.cloudfreenight.com/map.view) represents the water content in the (column above) atmosphere.
Imagine if all the available moisture above you actually precipitated to the ground, then the (precipitable water) value would represent the amount of rainfal.
Higher precipitable water = Lower transparency.
This new map (http://www.cloudfreenight.com/map.view)in conjunction with the Water Vapour satellite (http://www.cloudfreenight.com/satellite.view) image should give you a good indication of your transparency conditions.
Precipitable Water is available for both GFS and ACCESS-R/ACCESS-G on all regions.
CFN has a few options to plot your location (http://www.cloudfreenight.com/meteogram.view)on the various forecast maps (http://www.cloudfreenight.com/map.view) and satellite (http://www.cloudfreenight.com/satellite.view) images.
1. You can start typing the first few characters of the nearest city/town or a postcode nearby. A drop down menu will appear and give you the list of locations available in the CFN database.
2. If your device's GPS (http://www.cloudfreenight.com/map.nopin)is activated then CFN can read your coordinates (http://www.cloudfreenight.com/map.nopin) directly.
A red pulsating cross will overlay any map (http://www.cloudfreenight.com/map.view) you navigate to and will remain until you close the website or choose a different location.
CFN now supports overlays for the various forecast map types.
1. Select the base layer by selecting any map type.
2. Click on the padlock icon of any other type to overlay it on top as a 50% transparency blend.
There are many possible combinations so experiment.
You can still change location, map time, map type of the underlying map or even the forecast model on the fly (GFS/ACCESS). All touch functionality is preserved.
To change the overlay type to another map click on the padlock of any other button. To go back to the normal viewing click again on the golden padlock to disable it.
Blending the two maps is easier than flicking back and forth between them and you can change the time while still in blend mode.
As an example, the illustration shows a blend of the Surface Wind with the Jet stream Map overlay that could be an indication of the seeing forecast. The areas of good seeing are blue and darker with shorter wind vectors.
Shiraz
02-06-2016, 12:02 AM
excellent product - seems to be very accurate. Thank you.
strongmanmike
02-06-2016, 12:10 AM
Yes excellent indeed :thumbsup:
How should one interpret the predictions when the two lines (GFS & ACCESS) on the Meteogram diverge and completely disagree...? :)
Mike
skysurfer
02-06-2016, 05:19 AM
This is also a nice one: Meteoblue (https://www.meteoblue.com/en/weather/forecast/week/canberra_australia_2172517) with very extensive data.
AndrewJ
02-06-2016, 12:47 PM
I was thinking the same thing last night when Access noted near 100% cover and GFS showed zero ( GFS was correct )???
Then i looked at the detailed plots
Ref attached plots for today
It seems that in some cases, low middle and high cloud are all low but total cloud is very high????
( last night, i had a set of zero, zero, zero, 100% )
Andrew
If the predictions from GFS and ACCESS disagree you can choose to either disregard one model (i.e. GFS because it is a US global model compared to to the more accurate Australian regional model) or look at the yr.no meteogram (European global model) for further comparison. Cloud Free Night presents the forecast (and observed) information to assist you in making the best decision for your planned activities.
This situation has been observed once before and is most likely associated with the recent upgrade to the ACCESS-R model. If you were looking at Mount Burnett's meteogram last night you would not have seen this anomaly which was probably due to fog being predicted by the model for locations near the coast (e.g. Melbourne and Geelong) and somehow counting towards the total cloud cover value. This situation will require further investigation and possible modification to the meteogram, and be clarified once the updated model documentation is released by the Bureau of Meteorology.
AndrewJ
02-06-2016, 02:40 PM
Ahh OK. Makes sense for this mornings data, esp when you look at the RH% as well.
I can't seem to see any way to get history for yesterday to see if it was also that high for the Melbourne Access model at the time the big discrepancy was there.
Andrew
strongmanmike
02-06-2016, 04:03 PM
Cheers, so ACCESS is likely to be more accurate..?
Mike
I don't know about the fog scenario, but for SE QLD weather, the ACCESS has been spot on in numerous occasions in recent months when GFS had incorrectly predicted a totally clear night.
The last four days of ACCESS-R model data used to create the meteograms are available for download from the Bureau of Meteorology server, but only the latest model data and meteograms are available from the Cloud Free Night website. The ACCESS-R model data from the last 24 hours has been saved offline for further investigation.
ACCESS-R model forecasts are more accurate (compared to GFS) over the Australian region for the next 72 hours.
strongmanmike
02-06-2016, 07:38 PM
Excellent thanks, thought so :thumbsup:
Mike
AndrewJ
02-06-2016, 08:02 PM
Just as a follow up, we have massive fog here now ( 8PM melb time )
and about 10km inland from coast.
The Access model shows low cloud at 94% and total cloud at 100%, whereas last night there was no fog, low cloud was nil and total cloud was very high.
Certainly looking like "possible" fog due to high RH% is part of the calcs.
All good fun. Hope the feedback helps refine the models.
Andrew
wastro
02-06-2016, 08:11 PM
Where is here?
AndrewJ
02-06-2016, 09:14 PM
Near the intersection of Burke/Toorak rds and the Sth Eastern feeway
Andrew
CFN has a few useful shortcuts that you may use when viewing the site on a tablet or a mobile phone. These touch events will also work seamlessly on a desktop computer equipped with a mouse or a touchscreen monitor.
1. If you swipe horizontally the top banner of the website you will navigate between the Meteogram (http://www.cloudfreenight.com/meteogram.view), Map (http://www.cloudfreenight.com/map.view) and Satellite (http://www.cloudfreenight.com/satellite.view)pages, which are the main sections on CFN. So keep swiping left or right. The section will wrap around when reaching the limit.
2. Sometime it is also very handy to quickly toggle between the global GFS model and the more accurate local ACCESS model. To quickly swap between the two models, just run your finger over the model name on the top left hand side of any map (http://www.cloudfreenight.com/map.view).
3. Finally, in the satellite section (http://www.cloudfreenight.com/satellite.view)you can trigger the animation on (http://www.cloudfreenight.com/satellite.view&sata=1) or off (http://www.cloudfreenight.com/satellite.view&sata=0)by swiping the map horizontally. It will start playing or stop if already playing.
The meteograms (http://www.cloudfreenight.com/meteogram.view)have new colors.
ACCESS data (http://www.cloudfreenight.com/meteogram.view) is green and GFS data (http://www.cloudfreenight.com/meteogram.view) is blue where applicable. The total cloud lines are also bold and clearly visible.
Top level clouds are purple, mid level clouds are brown and low level clouds are red.
Both short term (Days 1-3) and long term (Days 3-5) meteograms (http://www.cloudfreenight.com/meteogram.view)are now updated and live.
You can also use the two new buttons right under the meteogram (http://www.cloudfreenight.com/meteogram.view)graphs to switch between (Days 1-3) and (Days 3-5) or you can just swipe the meteogram (http://www.cloudfreenight.com/meteogram.view)picture horizontally.
Make sure to check the Meteogram Help page (http://www.cloudfreenight.com/map.help&sct=meteogram) for more information.
strongmanmike
15-06-2016, 08:47 AM
Excellent, truly a great resource!
Mike
Another useful blend (http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/showpost.php?p=1253575&postcount=4)is a combination of Total Cloud (http://www.cloudfreenight.com/map.view) with Pressure/Rainfall (http://www.cloudfreenight.com/map.view) overlay. It will highlight potential precipitation nicely in the areas of total cloud coverage. Many combinations of blends (http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/showpost.php?p=1253575&postcount=4)are available for all models so feel free to experiment.
dannat
16-06-2016, 10:17 AM
thanks cfn
In the map sequences, this morning in NSW over the blue mountains range and central tablelands, you can see cloud areas with defined, sharp edges that do not move with the other cloud layers. It is very likely these are low level fog layers. Blinking between the total cloud map and the low level cloud map reveals the difference (mid and high level layers are empty).
This is further confirmed by the satellite loop aus_vis in the same time period. Here's a loop showing fog (http://www.cloudfreenight.com/images/sat_fog_loop.gif) this morning in NSW over the range and central tablelands.
The fog can be easily identified as it is fairly stationary in contrast of all other cloud layers. It also dissipates in situ and does not drift dramatically. The shape of the fog is also consistent with the contour of the valleys and topography in the range.
https://youtu.be/8RxTEDtntiU
So if you happen to see a 100% cover in your meteogram or total map cloud and it doesn't add up to the sum of all the other layers, then your probability of fog will be increased.
You can now check the progress (http://www.cloudfreenight.com/map.view&stbox=1#schedules) of both downloading the new data from the BoM and the local processing of the data generating the pictures for both Maps (http://www.cloudfreenight.com/map.view)and Meteograms (http://www.cloudfreenight.com/meteogram.view). Click on the icons looping arrows or downward arrow, respectively update and download, to view the starting time, time elapsed and a progress pie chart for each process.
strongmanmike
27-06-2016, 11:48 PM
Looking at the ACCESS-R Meteogram What is the relationship between the %ages for Low, Middle and High cloud cover and the Total cloud cover figure? ie. the three cloud cover columns (low, middle and high) often don't add up to the Total cloud cover %, why is that? Eg. Tues night in Canberra is showing zero% Low, Middle and High cloud up to 01:00 but 72% Total cloud from 22:00..?
Mike
This situation has been observed a number of times already and is most likely associated with the recent upgrade to the ACCESS-R model. I believe this anomaly is due to the model trying to predict fog conditions and somehow counting this value towards the total cloud cover. It appears the model is not correctly handling some fog/low cloud conditions. This situation is currently under investigation and will be clarified once the updated model documentation is released by the Bureau of Meteorology.
We now have Fog maps (http://www.cloudfreenight.com/map.view)and meteograms (http://www.cloudfreenight.com/meteogram.view)for both ACCESS-R and ACCESS-G models. The Fog map will revert to a Low Cloud map when switching to the GFS model.
We also added a new region, South East Australia, for both Map forecasts (http://www.cloudfreenight.com/map.view) and Satellite images (http://www.cloudfreenight.com/satellite.view).
Phil Hart
03-07-2016, 10:31 PM
Don't think too hard about the exact numbers would be my advice. In the model's complex view of the world, the high cloud may be in the same place as the low cloud therefore it doesn't add anything to the total cloud cover.
If the model sees the high cloud in only the places where the low cloud is not, then the two figures might add together. But in general that will not be the case.
Phil
Phil Hart
03-07-2016, 10:41 PM
Sorry I didn't reply to this earlier but important to note this.. the Meteograms are a very quick and convenient way to grab a cloud forecast but you really must look at the maps if you want to understand the forecast and the differences.
One model (or just one model run) might have an area of low cloud stopping 10km short of your location, and another might have it directly over you. Such small differences are just random fluctuations (noise) in the model output and rarely indicative of real weather, but they will show as a big divergence when viewed as a point forecast via the Meteogram.
A quick look at the map over a few time steps will help separate model signal from noise ;). The actual weather that arrives might be something different again.
But yes, if the map shows a big and consistent difference between GFS and ACCESS in the 1-3 day forecast, then it's maybe 70-30 odds for ACCESS better (wild indicative guess). Once you're looking 3-5 days ahead, then it's 50-50 either way.
Phil
The forecasts maps can now be animated. There is a play (http://www.cloudfreenight.com/map.view&mapa=1)/stop (http://www.cloudfreenight.com/map.view&mapa=0) button on the top right of the map viewport. Press to play (http://www.cloudfreenight.com/map.view&mapa=1), press again to stop (http://www.cloudfreenight.com/map.view&mapa=0). Or you can use the side menu button "MAP Loop/MAP Image" identical to the satellite page.
The time increment for the playback is currently 3h. Swiping the map horizontally will stop (http://www.cloudfreenight.com/map.view&mapa=0) the playback and the time will revert automatically to your previously selected time.
The map (http://www.cloudfreenight.com/map.view) touch events are unchanged while playing so you can change anything on the fly: region (AUS, SEAUS, QLD, etc...), model (GFS/ACCESS) , map type (Cloud, Fog, Wind, etc...) seamlessly. If you plan to lock and overlay maps it will play the selected blend.
The frame rate will greatly depend on your graphic hardware. It was tested on various devices and proved to be very fast on any desktop PC and recent tablets or mobile phones with no issues whatsoever, reasonably fast to a little slow on much older devices. If your display is jittery on old mobile phones pressing the map (http://www.cloudfreenight.com/map.view) button in the menu will resync the loop in most cases.
Blended maps (http://www.cloudfreenight.com/map.view&ovt=wind300) will be more taxing on your hardware. In any case CFN will adjust the fps automatically if your graphic hardware cannot sustain the desired frame rate.
Have fun and let us know of any issues.
The Satellite image (http://www.cloudfreenight.com/satellite.view) has also a play (http://www.cloudfreenight.com/satellite.view&sata=1)/stop (http://www.cloudfreenight.com/satellite.view&sata=0) button now.
We now have the NICT HIMAWARI-8 Loop (http://www.cloudfreenight.com/satellite.himawari8)available on CFN, showing you a much wider context animated satellite map (http://www.cloudfreenight.com/satellite.himawari8)for the asia pacific region.
You'll find that the CFN navigation menus were slightly modified in the Meteogram (http://www.cloudfreenight.com/meteogram.view)and Satellite (http://www.cloudfreenight.com/satellite.view)pages. The side menus are now shorter and less cluttered. All the external link buttons have been grouped under two new buttons called "EXTERNAL RESOURCES (http://www.cloudfreenight.com/meteogram.view&stbox=3#metres_pane)".
All the links to external resources will show up in a popup window along with any other content.
Under the meteogram (http://www.cloudfreenight.com/meteogram.view) page we added a link to the OzForecast ADFD (http://ozforecast.com.au/cgi-bin/weather.cgi?location=Canberra.ACT&forecast=adfdmeteogram)meteogram.
The YR.NO meteogram (http://www.yr.no/place/Australia/Australian_Capital_Territory/canberra/hour_by_hour_detailed.html) is also available from the popup page.
The map page (http://www.cloudfreenight.com/map.view) menu will be changed soon as well so keep an eye on this thread for an update.
Any issues, please let us know.
Sol-Skysailor
13-07-2016, 06:23 PM
Hello cfn,
Since you wanted feedback....
I found it really really good :thumbsup:, in accuracy as much as can be expected, in simplicity of the presented data, and in no-claim ‘just present data’ concept –had liked that from the start.
I prefer no cookies. Prefer it not to default to my location; it's really annoying esp. when I'd be observing somewhere else.
Instead I wish it would let me set multiple bookmarks of locations or displays or refinements, so that only one click would get me to location 1 of the particular display I like. Another occasion or on the same weekend, just one click would get me to location 2 etc. Then I’d make a decision.
About the ‘seeing’ I’d prefer it displayed; I don’t want to have to fiddle with overlays or anything.
Being a firm fan, I knew immediately what cfn was but others have a valid point. On the other hand it could be your way of familiarising users with cfn such that soon we’d be saying cfn and forgetting what it stands for!
Not sure how useful this would be: somewhere that shows a trend plot of the actuals? (Could be of academic interest to also see actuals vs forecasts but no matter.)
In your development for mobile devices please remember us big-screen lap-toppers (we're mobile too but), and Maccas.
THANK YOU cfn. You’re doing a great service to the astronomy community.
Sol
You mean the ability to save locations in a "favorite" list? That's interesting. Will look into this when implementing login and user profiles.
Unfortunately there is no way at this stage to have a seeing index. The next best thing is blinking the wind and jetstream maps. That's how the map overlays came to be. You can view both in one screen. Until we have something better that's all we can do.
CFN is easier to type than Cloud Free Night. :)
We don't keep any history of past data. We currently have limited resources and have to be smart about it. We generate over 4GB of images every 24h. It is a lot of processing and the server is idle maybe 5% of the time each day. And that's not counting any users browsing the site. So maybe in future if we have room to expand and more funds.
Desktop PCs are the easy part to develop for but we'll never leave anybody behind whatever device they use to access CFN.
Hence the lack of seeing index. We don't manufacture an index. We present raw data. The user makes up his mind and own forecast based on this data. That's what CFN is about. Presenting data, not delivering a weather forecast.
Sol-Skysailor
14-07-2016, 10:23 PM
Hi cfn, I was meaning simple browser bookmarks that I would view say 2-3 tabs for my cfn favourites (could then look back and forth without needing a reload when in a bad internet area).
Hoping not to have to login, it’d be a big disincentive for me. But of course it’s up to what you need to do.
Also, top marks for seeking inputs from users and actually listening. Good work.
Regards
Sol
You can already do this by bookmarking any existing meteogram location and save it in your favourites or add it to your home screen on your mobile device.
Customizing CFN for a user means the site needs to know who's using it. The easiest way is to authenticate a user. We're working into automating this while keeping it secure. We don't want to make this harder than it needs to be. But each user having a profile on CFN means they could start building their list of sites and do what you've mentioned earlier.
Phil Hart
15-07-2016, 10:17 PM
You can already do this? Here's my bookmarked URL for my place:
http://www.cloudfreenight.com/index.php?fuseaction=meteogram.book mark&city=Mount%20Glasgow
(http://www.cloudfreenight.com/index.php?fuseaction=meteogram.book mark&city=Mount%20Glasgow)
Phil
Sol-Skysailor
16-07-2016, 09:18 PM
Hi, Thanks cfn and Phil for checking.
Didn't use to work; always back to default.
But just now checked, works now.
Although after bookmarking (each with its proper address on the address bar in the same way as yours)
and then calling each up, now all of them (each with its correct location on the cfn screen) have just
http://www.cloudfreenight.com/meteogram.view
on the address bar and the same Cloud Free Night -Meteogram.... at the tab.
Hope this description makes sense.
I can work with this, it's ok, it just seems odd.
Cheers
Sol
The location selected stays in memory until you close your browser or explicitly change it. The session is shared within the tabs or other browser windows. So this is why you can't have multiple locations selected in one session.
PS: I thought I'd expand on this as not to confuse anybody. It is expected and it is the default behaviour of your browser. When you open your browser a session is started.
Your location doesn't change when you navigate from the meteogram page to the map or satellite page. This is what is called a session variable. If you open another tab within the same browser window then the same original session is shared with the newly opened tab. So if you navigate to a new location from any of the open tabs, it will also change your location in the other tabs. If you have n tabs opened they all will show the same location. The session will time out eventually so your location will defaults back to Melbourne/Victoria if you leave the page unattended. You'll have to use the bookmark again.
If I understand you correctly what you are asking is to have three separate locations in memory within one session. Currently not supported but we will definitely look into it as a feature after we conduct the survey if there is enough interest.
A few more meteogram locations were added.
NSW: Parkes (http://www.cloudfreenight.com/meteogram.bookmark&city=Parkes)
VIC: Wonthaggi (http://www.cloudfreenight.com/meteogram.bookmark&city=Wonthaggi), St Arnaud (http://www.cloudfreenight.com/meteogram.bookmark&city=St%20Arnaud), Latrobe Valley (http://www.cloudfreenight.com/meteogram.bookmark&city=Latrobe%20Valley), Alexandra (http://www.cloudfreenight.com/meteogram.bookmark&city=Alexandra).
Some fairly significant changes done this week-end to CFN. Please let us know of any issues.
First the map (http://www.cloudfreenight.com/map.view)types menu is shorter containing only the most used types. All the other map types are now accessible in a popup window by clicking the button "Other Map Types (http://www.cloudfreenight.com/map.view&stbox=2#mapres_pane)". This became necessary as we have been increasing the number of buttons over time and will allow for future expansion.
Finally you can now also select your state/region, location and latitude and longitude from any page: meteogram (http://www.cloudfreenight.com/meteogram.view), map (http://www.cloudfreenight.com/map.view)or satellite (http://www.cloudfreenight.com/satellite.view).
Clicking on the Australian map icon (http://www.cloudfreenight.com/meteogram.view&stbox=2#locations_pane) on the top left of your screen or the "Location (http://www.cloudfreenight.com/meteogram.view&stbox=2#locations_pane)" / "Region (http://www.cloudfreenight.com/map.view&stbox=2#locations_pane)" buttons from the side menus will open a popup window.
The postcode/suburb search now supports direct entry of known astronomy sites (e.g. crago, wiruna, etc...).
The latitude and Longitude fields will display the values of the latest GPS use or location selected (red pin). You can enter a set of latitude/longitude in decimal degrees as a manual input as well if you wish to override these values.
The current selected meteogram location is also displayed with a link on top of that popup window.
Really appreciate all the effort put into this. Just no other way to use ACCESS otherwise.
Is there any way to bookmark specific settings? It seems strange having to re-specify location etc each time through.
I still can't get my head around having the shortest time periods furtherest away from NOW. Would suggest 3, then 6, then, 12 etc away from centre, with arrows replaced by + or -
An animation function to advance 3hrs at a time in a loop like the old ACCESS pages would be extremely helpful.
Feel like I'm nitpicking about the golden egg though TBH. :thanx:
You can already bookmark (http://www.cloudfreenight.com/meteogram.bookmark&city=Brisbane)your preferred location.
No need to use the buttons. Just slide the map sideways.
You can animate (http://www.cloudfreenight.com/map.view&mapa=1)the forecast map already and it is advancing in increments of 3h. More info (http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/showpost.php?p=1260124&postcount=32)here.
Redshift13
18-07-2016, 08:11 AM
This assumes the site is being viewed on a mobile device - not always the case.
Touch events work also on any desktop PCs equipped with a mouse or a touch screen monitor.
Redshift13
18-07-2016, 08:32 AM
That's really good info to know (although not totally intuitive for laptop/desktop users I'm guessing).
Thanks Robert - keep up the great work. :thumbsup:
The cursor shape should change on a desktop computer when you hover above an area that has a touch event so there is a visual feedback. All mobile touch events degrade gracefully to mouse events on desktop computers. Any issues let us know.
The following meteogram locations (http://www.cloudfreenight.com/meteogram.view)were added to our database.
VICTORIA:
Gisborne, Porepunkah, Torquay, Warragul.
QUEENSLAND:
Gold Coast, Mackay, Rockhampton.
WESTERN AUSTRALIA:
Katanning.
SOUTH AUSTRALIA:
Victor Harbor.
As of this morning CFN has new forecast maps (http://www.cloudfreenight.com/map.view) with a better use of screen space and extended boundaries. The wind maps (http://www.cloudfreenight.com/map.view&ovt=wind10m) were optimised as not to display wind vectors in areas of still air.
It's been a while since last post and there's been a lot of development on myCFN (http://www.cloudfreenight.com/member.login) and Cloud Free Night (http://www.cloudfreenight.com/) in general.
Some of you might have noticed the higher resolution forecast maps (http://www.cloudfreenight.com/map.view) on CFN (http://www.cloudfreenight.com/)this morning.
These maps are based on the ACCESS-City model and are available for selected regions (i.e. VT - Victoria/Tasmania, SY - Sydney, BN - Brisbane, PH - Perth and AD - Adelaide up to 36h. Then the maps revert to ACCESS-R up to 72h then ACCESS-G from 72 up to 120h.
Atmos
16-09-2016, 08:54 AM
Looks like it is coming along nicely. Now only if CFN would take clear sky requests :P
Well... we're all volunteers and astro photographers ourselves so we're all in the same boat unfortunately and lately let's say that the conditions were more than ideal to test and debug the radars implementation. But if you happen to know where to submit clear skies requests please do share, we're all ears. :)
Kunama
16-09-2016, 09:34 AM
Like the site but I would really like the ACT region map to place ACT and its environs more centrally on the map........
Hi Matt, regions were designed to maximise coverage in overlaps between states. ACT is a state but it is embedded in the NSW/SEAUS regions and accounts for a very small surface of the lot. If ACT were to be centered on the map you'd duplicate large parts of VIC and miss out on parts of Northern NSW as well as SEQLD. What do you have in mind?
Kunama
16-09-2016, 09:49 AM
I find I use the VIC Region map as it shows the ACT and its surrounding areas better than the ACT or NSW one which cut of the lower 1/3 of ACT. The Vic one does the job well though.
Yes - ACT and most of southern NSW will show up in the VIC maps. If you're located in the southern area of the ACT then it is your best choice. To make a specific map for ACT would require considerable additional resources, currently not within our budget. If support increases in future we'll be able to extend coverage and provide additional services. Our only limitation at the moment is CPU power and we have to work within very tight boundaries.
Phil Hart
16-09-2016, 10:25 PM
Worth pointing out that the domains of the ACCESS-City models are set by the Bureau. While CFN can crop in from that for the maps, we can't expand out to beyond that.
Phil
AndrewJ
18-09-2016, 03:35 PM
One question
I was inAdelaide during the week but couldnt post a reply.
I noted that in the meteograms, the day 3 rain forecast was very different in the day 1-3 screen, vs the day 3-5 screen.
Any reason why????
ie are the 1-3 models different to the 3-5 models.
Andrew
Yes. The Days 1-3 meteogram would be displaying data from the higher resolution ACCESS-R (regional) model while the Days 3-5 meteogram would be displaying data from the ACCESS-G (global) model. The ACCESS model name will appear in the title (or top right corner) of the meteogram.
Phil Hart
18-09-2016, 04:46 PM
And just to add that this last week has been a very challenging one for the models (not just BoM ACCESS). The rapid development of the low pressure systems was proving difficult to pick in advance - I've rarely seen such large and late swings in forecast rainfall.
Phil
marc4darkskies
20-09-2016, 09:18 PM
It seems you have to register to use CFN now?
The bookmarks do not work any more but you can still click through the menus to get the info.
wastro
21-09-2016, 10:34 AM
Cloud Free Night is undergoing changes with the addition of new features and an improved myCFN service (http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/showpost.php?p=1271372&postcount=1). If you would like to become a beta tester please PM me.
Is now a supporter's choice. Go into your control panel and set the swiping direction to your preferred setting. A few users are more comfortable advancing time by swiping to the left like an image gallery so this is now available. The default direction is still increasing time to the right.
In myCFN you can set up to 10 favourite locations. Go to your control panel and click on "Edit myCFN Locations". One click on the location will toggle the selection to black (selected) or blue (unselected). Once you have selected all your locations, tick the checkbox on the top left corner of the location you want to appear first in the list. This location will also be the first meteogram to load when you sign into myCFN.
In myCFN you also have access to high resolution forecast maps for the first 36h in 1h increment.
So you basically get the forecast from 1h up to 36h with the ACCESS City model.
If your current time selection is anywhere between 1h and 36h and you press the play button it will play every hour for the first 36h and loop over. A very efficient way to quickly check the forecast in high res over the next day and a half.
If your current time is just over 36h it will play from 36h up to 120h every 3h and loop over, ideal for the next few days forecast.
Finally if your current selection is just over 120h you will play from 120h up to 240h every 6h for the long term forecast.
Sol-Skysailor
27-09-2016, 06:47 PM
Owww… That just wrecked my multi-site tabs. I had it nicely set up and was grinning: site 1 meteogram, bookmark it in cfn, bookmark it on browser (Chrome); new tab ditto site 2, new tab ditto site 3. Anytime, I could call up 3 tabs. Quick-as and no cookies. (Actually, just like BoM location-specific tabs I bookmarked.) Now it defaults to personal mycfn in-your-face that I do not want to get personal about. Or defaults to Home with general info. IMHO I think quick and easy public-access first, straight to data, is the key, such as for many popular sites.
Can’t it be like, say, IIS where unobtrusively at a corner you could login when you want to?
Anyway. I’m plenty appreciative so this is in no way a complaint. It’s a feedback. Like, fewer grins.
myCFN provides you with up to 10 bookmarks and no login required.
wastro
27-09-2016, 07:39 PM
I encourage you (and anyone else) to complete the Cloud Free Night Feedback Survey (http://www.cloudfreenight.com/survey.list). You will be registered for myCFN and rewarded with 3 months of Supporter access to all features (http://www.cloudfreenight.com/faq.list&fq=30). You can then judge for yourself how much better it is having multiple (myCFN) favourite locations, compared to browser bookmarks, and check out the new features.
Robert
Expanding on this so there is no confusion.
What you are trying to achieve is bookmark multiple locations in different tabs in your browser. This will work initially when you click on the first bookmark, but as soon as you click on the second bookmark the location in your first tab will also change to the second bookmark. There is no way around that. It's a default behaviour of your browser.
You mentioned the added step of having to login. With myCFN you don't even have to login. That's the beauty of it. All you get is one encrypted link that when clicked will log you in automatically and set the site to whatever your locations and settings are.
You can add this link as an ICON to your home screen on any mobile phone or tablet. If you are using CHROME you can also run it as a web application by adding it to your Windows Desktop. If you are on IE you can add it to your desktop as well. So any which way you think about it, there is no login or bookmarking required.
Straight to the data it is. But we do it even better. Straight to your data. No popular site does it as easily and as efficiently as we do.
myCFN supporters can now choose which Map Types they want to display and whether they want them in the main menu or in the popup window under "Other Map Types". Check your control panel in myCFN.
Supporters can have up to 10 locations bookmarked in myCFN. Go to your control panel and select all the meteograms you want in your list then tick the one you want to set as your main meteogram location when you login.
All the locations will be plotted accordingly on all maps, radars and satellite views. They are also clickable, so just selecting one will bring the corresponding meteogram directly from the map.
myCFN supporters can now set their default home page. This page will be the first page showing up when you click on your login link. You can set it in your control panel.
myCFN supporters can now display all the forecast maps available with better use of screen space by grouping them.
You can have two selection sets. For example, all the clouds related maps in one set and all the other maps in the second set. The "Other Map Types" button becomes a switch and the sidemenu will update on the fly. No more popup window.
Swiping up and down will loop within each set, so it is now much faster and convenient to cycle through all the cloud layers.
To activate this go to your control panel, select all the maps of interest, then tick them accordingly to separate them in two subsets.
Great work on how this is coming along, particularly myCFN Robert and crew. A couple of queries please:
1. I'm still not smart enough to save a simple Bookmark in Chrome on my Win 10 desktop to go straight to a Meteogram for one of my 4 set up locations (Brisbane ideally). In "Edit my Default Home Page" I have chosen the "Meteogram" button, and in myCFN settings I have bookmarked the "Update Login Link" URL, however it just takes me to the "myCFN Link" page when I select that bookmark? :question:
(is this another smartphone vs PC user interface thing??)
2. For the meteograms, could I suggest most people would call a given night by the day proceeding it, not the new day starting at midnight. Would it be possible (and popular) to move the day lettering to the left to denote the name of the day before midnight please? (e.g. Today is Monday. If I look at a meteogram right now Mon night isn't obvious - Tue 4 Oct is the first designation - suggest move text to the left 6 hours and use designation of current day)
wastro
03-10-2016, 12:35 PM
Thanks for the feedback.
1. Using Chrome (or any browser) on Windows 10 desktop go to "View & bookmark Login Link" and save page as bookmark on your Bookmarks bar. When you next start your browser just click myCFN on Bookmarks bar and you will be taken to your Default Home Page. This is exactly how I do it with the Meteogram as my default home page.
2. For the meteogram, I'm going to try centering the date label over the 12 noon time. That should give a better association of the day with the forthcoming night?
Thanks Robert
1. I'm still stuck - if I drag the "View & bookmark Login Link" or click on it and bookmark that page I still go straight to the page below rather than a meteogram. Perhaps I'm not saving cookies or something correctly? (Did realise I didn't have my default location ticked however - figured that one and fixed.)
2. That would be much more intuitive I believe. :thumbsup: (thanks for connsidering)
This could happen if you have multiple tabs opened and you are already signed in.
If you open a browser from scratch from the encrypted link it will authenticate you then display your choice of home page.
If you open that link again and you're already signed in then it will display the bookmark page for that link.
Hope this clarifies the issue.
This is interesting - I seem to be able to get straight to the Brisbane meteogram if I open the link in a new Chrome "Incognito window", as long as it is the only open window.
I'm not sure I'd always remember to do this - probably just do the extra click to get where I need to.
Because a new session is started, only one cloud free night website tab is opened and incognito will not cache the page.
As per previous post, if you use the link from your desktop and no (signed in) session is active then the link will take you to your meteogram page.
If not it will take you to the bookmark page for the link. If it wasn't the case you would never be able to bookmark your link as it would take you to the meteogram page as soon as you've clicked on it.
The encrypted link is a mechanism to sign you in easily and take you where you want quickly. You still have the option to go to CFN, enter your email and password in the login panel if you choose to.
Thanks Robert. Not intuitive, but I have reproduced a successful "direct to meteogram" access as you said from a desktop icon when not previously signed in.
The day is now aligned with 12 noon as per feedback.
What is not intuitive? How would you have us modify the automated login?
Thanks Robert - I find that very helpful - hope others do too.
I have no knowledge of working with browsers and security, but would hope/expect a bookmark in Chrome would take me straight to meteograms just as well as a desktop icon. Not something I've encountered before, but if a requirement for robust security will accept as a given.
sharptrack2
06-10-2016, 07:32 AM
Hi,
I don't want to step on any toes and I certainly don't want to offend... but,
RobF,
The link supplied simply references your profile, so if you copy the link into the "URL" field of your bookmark (right click and "edit"), it will automatically open the page with the preferences you set up under your profile. There is a selection under your CFN profile that defines the start page, and you can select meteogram. The only caveat is that you then have to select the model you want to look at, or change location if you are interested in somewhere other than your default location. I would post a screenshot but I'm at work at the moment and cannot sign in properly :( .
I hope this helps...
Couldn't have said it better.
Robert, the link is a process that logs you in and takes you to your preferred home page, so not a simple bookmark technically. There is a little logic behind what it does, this is why it might take you somewhere you don't expect given the initial conditions. (e.g. are you already signed in or not, do you have multiple browser windows already opened?)
I'll do some snapshots and provide a little more info on how to add to favourites, add to home screen or add to windows desktops.
Kevin, if you wish myCFN to remember the last location you visited and set that up in your link overriding the default location when you exit the system we can do that too. Let me know if it's of any use.
I'm sure they will. It was a great idea.
sharptrack2
06-10-2016, 08:33 AM
Thanks Rob,
The current logic works for me, I'm most often looking for opportunities at home, or very nearby, so my default location is preferred. The rest of the community would have different views depending on their needs. One aspect would be if your planning a trip to Coonabarabran in a couple of weeks, and you would like to see that location first when you logged in. Seems like a bit more logic would be required... and choices made by a person in their profile. Maybe a tick box to "Remember last location"? That leaves it in the person's control :shrug: .
You currently can tick Coonabarabran as your preferred location in your locations to achieve this. To remember the last location visited we could add a toggle in the control panel to override the default location and leave it up to each user.
This is now implemented in your control panel as "Remember/Forget Last Location Visited". If you choose "Remember" the next time you log into myCFN you'll default to the last region/state and location you last viewed. If you set it to "Forget", which is also the default, the system will default back to your preferred location as set in your profile.
sharptrack2
06-10-2016, 02:15 PM
Great feature add! I like that implementation.
So far my predictions for my immediate area are running about 80% accurate, 90% of the time... I love the access to the higher resolution data!
Well done CFN!
Thanks guys. I see a bookmark opened things exactly as expected this evening, so maybe I just had it confused with multiple open windows the other night. Will keep playing and learning. Very happy to have ACCESS data on hand again.
myCFN supporters have access to enhanced playback for their animations. It is much faster and smoother. It also plays across a far wider time range.
Overlaid map animations (golden lock) might be a little taxing on older tablets' video hardware (iPads/Android). It is a limitation due to lack of RAM available or video hardware. This does not affect desktop computers.
There is now a toggle to throttle the animation mode to a lower setting for playback on legacy devices in your control panel.
Try which setting works best for you.
Good to hear. The encrypted link is the best way to securely access myCFN. It is also the simplest way. One click login.
The ACCESS-City data is great. Playing the first 36h will give you a very high resolution forecast for every hour. It is to date one of the best features on myCFN.
I encourage everybody to give it a go (www.cloudfreenight.com/survey.list).
We have increased our meteogram locations to 101 (http://www.cloudfreenight.com/member.mycfn).
All these locations are plotted on the satellite maps (http://www.cloudfreenight.com/satellite.view), radar maps (http://www.cloudfreenight.com/radar.view), forecast maps (http://www.cloudfreenight.com/map.view) (GFS/ ACCESS-City, ACCESS-R, ACCESS-G).
All meteograms go from 24h (ACCESS-City) up to 240h (ACCESS & GFS).
Any issues, let us know.
Thank you for your continued support.
A quick screen capture of the four main areas of myCFN.
Meteograms / ACCESS-City Maps/ Satellite and Radar centered on Wiruna (ASNSW premier dark site) captured this evening in real time in Chrome on a standard ADSL connection (~4mbit/s).
https://youtu.be/IqMH6jvGSMo
This is an accessibility feature for members who may have issues seeing combinations of colors.
You can now rotate the color palette of any meteogram (http://www.cloudfreenight.com/meteogram.view), forecast map (http://www.cloudfreenight.com/map.view), satellite image (http://www.cloudfreenight.com/satellite.view) or radar image. There are 10 predefined settings but we can tweak this if needed.
On myCFN in your control panel there is a new link to toggle the "Color Edit" mode. Once this is set you can navigate the site and change your colors by repeatedly pressing the button "COLOR HUE". This will rotate the color space from 0 to 360 in increments of 36.
When you're done go back to your control panel and click "Apply & Save Display Colours". myCFN will retain your individual color settings for each section every time you log back in. It is that simple.
Hi Robert
How exactly do you become a supporter? I get the feeling you've been so polite about not pushing people into this it doesn't actually say anything about it? (other than the donate area, which doesn't clarify how much and how to pay?)
Presumably email is the current method?
wastro
10-04-2017, 06:31 PM
You are right that I do not push people to become a CFN Supporter. Rather the value (through personal experience or word of mouth) of the CFN service should be sufficient motivation. I have sent you an email reply...
Latest locations added in SA (Arkaroola) and NSW (Armidale). We now have a total of 107 forecast locations (http://www.cloudfreenight.com/member.mycfn) available nationwide.
Every meteogram location comes with a new feature under the "FORECAST" button available in your meteogram (http://www.cloudfreenight.com/meteogram.view)and dark sky (http://www.cloudfreenight.com/darksky.view) sections. A link to a PDF file containing the official (location or area) forecast from the BoM. The files are updated at least twice daily.
There still seems to be some confusion as to how to sign into myCFN as a member or a supporter. Just click on your login link and you're in. The authentication is automated.
We've made it so easy for you that you don't have to remember your password or even make one up. All you have to do is remember the email address you've used to contact us or fill in the survey.
From there on the site will generate your profile and send you an encrypted login link to get in. Simple as that.
If you happen to lose your login link or password just go to cloudfreenigth.com and click on the little myCFN icon (top right next to the moon phase) then on the link that says "Forgot your password? (http://www.cloudfreenight.com/member.pwdreminder)" on the same page.
Enter your email and a new link will be sent to you. Click on it and you're in. Once you're in you can go and change your password but you don't have to if you don't want to. Just use the link. If you email us asking for your password we can't give it to you because we don't know it and it is encrypted.
Now best thing about the encrypted link is that you can bookmark it, add it to your desktop or to your home screen on your computer, iPad, iPhone, Android Tablet, etc... It is easier to click on an icon and let myCFN do all the hard work for you rather than going to cloud free night, login with your email and password then go and check your map or meteogram.
myCFN has a built-in profile for each user. You can select and customise your locations list, your default home page and more. So make your life a lot easier. Use it. It's all in your profile settings.
PS: Really there isn't any good reason for using cloud free night as a public user. You are missing out on a whole lot of functionality. Registration is also free. We need a registered email so we can identify you as a user and remember your custom settings as well as providing you with a 'one click' easy login. That's all. Some of you may feel the survey is intrusive so let's clarify a few things.
1) we don't ask any personal details.
2) we only ask questions about what you use or don't use on CFN so we can improve in areas that are popular and not waste time on features nobody wants.
So if you are currently using the site as a public user, do yourself a favour. Log in and enjoy a much better service still for free.
There was an issue with transfering sessions between an app and the safari browser on iOS. This caused the user to be logged out when using a screen shortcut. Now you should be presented with a screen and an icon to press when using an iPhone. This will correctly open a safari browser window and sign you in correctly. As far as we're aware the bug is not present on android tablets or android phones using Google chrome but please let us know if it is the case and you are having any issues. Thank you for your support.
CFN now features a climate (http://www.cloudfreenight.com/climate.view) section showcasing various climate data from 1911 to present. There is a comprehensive help file on how to use it. This is for public access as well as registered users. The functionality and animations/navigation is consistent with the rest of the site. Please check it out and let us know your feedback. Thank you.
The Cloud Free Night service is moving to a new home. We will minimise disruption during the server migration. Thank you for your continued support.
Cloud Free Night is now running on a new server. The server migration was completed with no disruption to the CFN service. Thank you for your continued support.
New Zealand region has now been added to CFN.
The following meteogram locations are available:
Auckland
Wellington
Christchurch
Dunedin
Queenstown
Lake Tekapo
Geocoding and GPS are also working on the region.
Any issues or questions, please let us know.
Thank you.
Auckland
Wellington
Christchurch
Dunedin
Queenstown
Lake Tekapo
Just a quick refresher as we've now extended the service to New Zealand that is still relevant to Australian users.
Swiping any map horizontally will change the time by increasing/decreasing it or even starting/stopping an animation.
Swiping any map vertically up or down will change the type (forecast model, map type, satellite type, radar range, etc...) and cycle through all of them.
So you don't need to click or look for any button on a smaller display, may it be a small phone screen or a larger tablet.
Easy to remember: time is horizontal, type is vertical.
Happy swiping.
Cloud Free Night is currently updating its map regions, including a new Central Australia region. Thank you for your continued support.
We've now completed the climate section on CFN and added two new maps: cloud cover and pressure. These maps are available for all regions. NT and Central Australia are still in the process of updating.
The cloud cover is of interest to astronomers as it will give you historical data and help you decide where to build your next observatory. The section integrates with the rest of the visualisation on the site, so you can change map types/time or animate in the same way. All geocoding and locations will also work seamlessly.
Have a browse around and let us know of any issues.
Thank you.
Atmos
17-07-2017, 08:34 AM
Haven't really been able to check it out yet but it sounds fantastic :)
Robert, is there any way old fogies like me can zoom in on their iPhone?
All I seem to end up doing is changing the display type or timeframes. :question:
The map image captures all touch events in defined block areas (top left and right, middle) so the device's default gestures are overridden (zooming, pinching, rotating, dragging, etc...). No plans to have zooming at this stage. Zooming will work if your fingers are anywhere outside of the map so on the tablet with a larger display you could. But not on a smaller screen display.
Ok, at least I didn't miss something.
It is hard to see detail at times on my ageing iPhone 5. I'd gladly give up swipe functionality to be able to zoom in and move around to be honest.
Just being picky. I'll live. :)
Will look into possibility of disabling swipe functionality as a user option to default back to device's gestures.
Added this as per RobF request. This is now active for members and supporters on meteograms, forecast maps, dark sky, radar and climate.
Implementation as follow.
Tapping once (click) on the tile will activate/disable your device's gestures. So it's just a toggle between your mobile device or the website to control touch events. By default the app will override your device's gestures.
Here's an example for the meteograms:
1_ tap once on the meteogram tile to activate pan/zoom.
2_ use one finger to slide the whole page up or down or use two fingers to zoom in or out or pan.
3_ while zoomed in tap the tile once again to disable your device's gestures.
4_ now swiping up or down will change the time and model in your zoomed up view.
5_ tap once again to activate zoom/pan. Zoom out or pan your view.
Navigating to another page will toggle control back to CFN again.
You can now also zoom on forecast maps and satellite maps close up and retain swiping functionality.
Triggering an animation will reset your display to full screen but one tap on the tile while it's animating will allow you to zoom in and pan while the map or satellite animation is playing.
Give it a go and let us know of any issues. Tested on iOS and Android.
Awesome. Thanks very much Robert.
Location labels are now layered as fonts on top of the maps and will change colors based on the underlying map in order to make them more legible. The old maps are slowly being refreshed as we speak. The new labels won't degrade during zooming and can be turned on/off from your control panel. They are visible by default on the map, satellite, climate and radar sections.
The radar icons have also changed to reflect the types of radar in line with the BoM legends.
High Resolution Doppler Radar
Dedicated Weather Watch
Shared with Windfinding
Let us know of any issues. Thanks.
We've made some significant changes to the animations playback on CFN. We've recently introduced the zooming functionality. Now you can also swipe the animations horizontally to interact with them while they're playing.
This works on the following sections: forecast maps, radar and satellite images and climate maps.
Check the video below to see it in action:
https://youtu.be/FqcX3jyiu54
Here's how it works:
1_ Press the play button top right (maps/climate) or swipe left/right to start the animation (satellite/radar)
2_ While the animation is playing click on the map (mouse down) or put one finger on your mobile device.
3_ Drag/move to the left to decrease time, to the right to increase time.
4_ Release (mouse up) or lift your finger to resume the animation.
So clicking on the map will pause the animation, moving left or right will scrub the timeline.
The position you click on the map will determine the initial time. So right will be the last frame in your selected time range, left corresponding to the first frame.
The time ranges and forecast models, map or satellite types and radar ranges are all explained in our FAQ. This will work with every time range, any forecast model, any satellite type and any radar range.
This will also work on mobile devices, although the frame rate and performance will greatly depend on your device's capabilities.
Please let us know of any issues and pass on the details of your phone or tablet if you are having any problem. Scrubbing is available publicly so is zooming.
Thanks again for your continued support.
Some radar, mslp & cloud animations
https://youtu.be/2MGldGOruFU
Jetstream and Wind data is now available directly in the meteogram tiles.
Cloud Free Night is now running on a new server with additional resources from a new service provider.
Cloud Free Night features (for Supporters only) forecasts from the recent BoM ACCESS-C model upgrade (resolution increased from 4km to 1.5km). Please check both the total and high cloud forecasts together with the latest satellite imagery.
A couple of PDF files showing the difference between ACCESS-C (APS2) and ACCESS-R over the same time period.
NSW - Wind 10m (http://www.liveweather.com.au/pdf/myCFN_map_ACCESS-C_vs_ACCESS-R_nsw_wind10m_2017_12_23_at_06_20pm .pdf)
SWWA - Temperature 2m (http://www.liveweather.com.au/pdf/myCFN_map_ACCESS-C_vs_ACCESS-R_swwa_temp2m_2017_12_23_at_06_24pm .pdf)
NT - Low Cloud (http://www.liveweather.com.au/pdf/myCFN_map_ACCESS-C_vs_ACCESS-R_nt_ccl_2017_12_23_at_06_23pm.pdf)
SWWA - ACCESS-C (APS2) Total Cloud Cover vs. Satellite Day+Night (http://www.liveweather.com.au/pdf/myCFN_map_swwa_ACCESS-C_TotalCloudCover_Satellite_Day_Nig ht_2017_12_23_at_06_53pm.pdf)
Phil Hart
23-12-2017, 08:22 PM
The new models are starting to get scary in terms of resolution displayed. Accuracy in at least some conditions also very impressive! Will be interesting to watch.
Phil
Taking into account differences in projection, region boundaries and timing, yes, it is definitely pretty close.
Cloud Free Night (http://www.cloudfreenight.com) has moved to a new home with a lot more resources so we could accommodate for our fast growing user base and the significant increase in load due to additional data processing with the latest high resolution model updates from the BoM.
As a result some of you might have experienced a short outage during DNS propagation and on-going updates of all the zone files. It should be done now. If anybody out there is still experiencing connectivity issues please contact Robert at rdahni@metvis.com.au .
There are a few added control icons to the interface that might require you clearing your browser cache and reloading the site.
Also stay tuned for more functionality releases coming very soon.
Some of you might have noticed a new icon on the top right corner of the screen under the moon/star icon.
Depending on which section you're in (map/satellite/radar/darksky/meteogram) and which model or time range you are looking at you can now display a range of tiles in a flattened layout with a variety of combinations. If you like to see everything in one view and be able to zoom and pan at will then this is for you.
Here's how it works.
In the meteogram and dark sky sections:
Select GFS or ACCESS.
Clicking on the icon will bring up a button to display all GFS meteograms or all ACCESS meteograms for your selected location.
In the map section:
Select the model, map type and time first.
For ACCESS:
If you are within the range +1h to +36h you can:
Plot all ACCESS-C maps from +1h to +36h in 1h increments.
Plot ACCESS-C vs. ACCESS-R from +3h to +36h in 3h increments.
Plot ACCESS-C vs. ACCESS-R vs. GFS from +3h to +36h in 3h increments.
Plot ACCESS-C vs. Satellite from +1h up to the latest satellite image.
Example 1:
I want to see how close the cloud model predictions match the day+night satellite image.
1_ Select a Cloud layer from the map section.
2_ Go to the satellite section and select day+night.
3_ Click on the layout icon and select "DISPLAY ACCESS-C vs. SATELLITE".
Example 2:
I want to evaluate the seeing conditions for a given time period.
1_ Go to map and select wind.
2_ Click the gold lock on Jetstream (this will overlay the jetstream).
3_ Click on the layout icon.
4_ in the menu select "DISPLAY OVERLAY SIDE BY SIDE"
The wind and jetstream tiles will be plotted side by side for your selected model and selected time range. You can compare any other maps from any other model this way.
Time ranges:
For all ACCESS models:
Selected time between +1 and +36 will plot +1 to +36 [ACCESS-C]
Selected time between +36 and +120 will plot +3 to +120 [ACCESS-R/G]
Selected time between +120 and +240 will plot +120 to +240 [ACCESS-G]
For all GFS model:
Selected time between +3 and +120 will plot +3 to +120 [GFS]
Selected time between +120 and +240 will plot +120 to +240 [GFS]
*tip: The plotted ranges correspond to the animation ranges.
In the satellite section:
Clicking on the icon will plot the selected satellite type over the time range selected (2h, 4h or 6h).
In the radar section:
Clicking on the icon will plot the selected radar range (512,256,128 or 64km if available) over the time range selected (1h or 3h).
Have a play around. Any questions, issues or requests please let us know.
Thanks again for your continued support.
Spookyer
27-12-2017, 08:25 PM
HI there, I am a supporter, how does one view the Access C maps, my maps are titled Access R on the dark sky tab?
Just like to say great service, I only use the Dark Sky and map animation myself which are great.
Cheers
Brett
If you are viewing day 1 for any location's darksky or meteogram then you are looking at the ACCESS-C model.
It is important for you to have a look at the meteograms, maps and satellite to have a better idea of what your conditions will be. Relying on one product only can lead to errors.
Keep in mind that although very close none of the prediction models are right all the time. Get into the habit of checking the satellite maps as well to confirm and see what's coming, which direction, how fast, etc... then you can get a feel for it.
Sometime it's about the timing. You might have a clear patch that coincides with nighttime only to find out that the cloud behind it moved faster or slower and you end up having your clear sky during the morning or afternoon instead of the night you've planned.
myCFN has a variety of tools to help you make up your mind. We don't give you weather forecasts. What you see presented is the unaltered raw data. It's up to each user to interpret it as best as they can and make an informed decision.
sharptrack2
28-12-2017, 02:11 PM
G'day CFN,
I just noticed what might be a bug in the meteogram display. :question:
When in 1-3 day view, total cloud % displays properly, but when you switch to 1 day view, the high cloud % seems to be ignored.
I switched locations and the issue follows. :shrug:
Really like the new panels display, great for my new side project in the new year, to map reliability and consistency of the forecast. :thumbsup::D
Phil Hart
28-12-2017, 02:29 PM
This seems to be a characteristic of (or issue with) the new high-res models rather than any issue with CFN. Your observation is correct and we have noticed the same thing. Not helpful for our purposes.. so for the moment you need to be careful when looking at total cloud in the short-term/high res models. Applies to the map view too :shrug:
Phil
sharptrack2
28-12-2017, 02:35 PM
Thanks!
Duly noted. A minor inconvenience once you figure it out and rely on the individual columns.
Appreciate the quick response!
This is being addressed and will be rectified soon. It seems there is an anomaly in the BoM data with the highres ACCESS-C APS2 latest update. The Total Cloud Cover layer is missing the High Level Cloud Cover layer. For the time being the work around is to check ACCESS-R for the same time period until Robert creates a new derived cloud field and documents it accordingly. The issue is already in the raw data from the BoM and we don't modify any raw data.
The High Cloud Cover layer on its own is correct.
ACCESS-C vs. ACCESS-R High Cloud Cover (%) (http://www.liveweather.com.au/pdf/myCFN_map_ACCESS-C_vs_ACCESS-R_nsw_cch_2017_12_28_at_06_46pm.pdf )
The Total Cloud Cover layer is incorrect as it contains only middle and low clouds.
ACCESS-C vs. ACCESS-R Total Cloud Cover (%) (http://www.liveweather.com.au/pdf/myCFN_map_ACCESS-C_vs_ACCESS-R_nsw_cct_2017_12_28_at_06_45pm.pdf )
You can overlay the High Cloud Cover onto the Total Cloud Cover with the gold padlock to get the right cloud coverage in the mean time.
Plotting side by side
ACCESS-C Total Cloud Ccover (%) ACCESS-C High Cloud Cover (%) (http://www.liveweather.com.au/pdf/myCFN_map_ACCESS-C_nsw_cct_cch_2017_12_28_at_06_53pm .pdf)
We will post when the new cloud field is updated.
These displays now include myCFN locations.
The Total Cloud Coverage (%) now includes the High Cloud Coverage (%) for the ACCESS-C models (i.e. ACCESS-VT, ACCESS-SY, ACCESS-BN, ACCESS-DN, ACCESS-PH and ACCESS-AD).
A fix was implemented to set the total cloud amount to the high cloud amount if the high cloud amount was greater than the total cloud amount for any grid point.
The Forecast Maps, Meteograms and Dark Sky sections were updated accordingly.
The dark sky series layout now displays each corresponding scrollable table for moon phase, cloud coverage and seeing conditions (jetstream/surface wind).
We now have weather cameras, all sky cameras and webcams integrated with myCFN in the forecast maps, meteograms, darksky, radar and satellite sections for our supporter base.
Please review the following two short videos for a quick demo. More information to follow. FAQ will be updated soon.
https://youtu.be/asDA9vZ8mGc
https://youtu.be/tXysinVw6vc
Here's the network of 85 cameras currently active on myCFN.
You can choose your preferred cameras in your control panel and add them to your list the same way you select your myCFN meteogram locations.
Each meteogram location will pick up nearby cameras automatically but you can choose which one you want to display on the maps.
All camera pages display the camera names and a list of nearby cameras at the top. Clicking on any name will link to the next camera in the list.
No overlay
Only cardinal points are plotted on top of the current camera FOV.
Display Overlay
Other cameras within a given radius in Km are plotted directly on top of the camera FOV with corresponding distances in Km. Click on the camera icon to navigate to the next camera in that general direction.
Astronomy Mode
Your favourites meteogram locations (myCFN locations) are plotted directly under the cameras FOV in the approximate direction along with a distance in Km. Click on the meteogram icon to navigate to the location meteogram. Only your selected cameras are plotted on top of the current camera FOV when in Astronomy Mode. Only your selected cameras are plotted on the forecast maps, satellite and radar sections when Astronomy Mode is selected.
Storm Mode
Nearby Radars are plotted directly above the cameras FOV in the approximate direction along with a distance in Km for storm chasing. Click on the radar icon to navigate to the radar map. All BoM and airfield cameras in the network are plotted on top of the current camera FOV within a given radius in Km. All available cameras in the network are also plotted on the forecast maps, satellite and radar sections when Storm Mode is selected.
Any questions don't hesitate to contact us.
You can browse cloudcams freely but if you want to save your preferences you can set up a list up to 20 cameras in your control panel. These cameras will be plotted on all your maps when you are in Astronomy Mode.
As an example if you are interested in the weather around Wiruna, Rylstone airport and Bathurst airport would be a good match.
We've just added a new product to display Synoptic Charts (http://www.cloudfreenight.com/synoptic.view).
Members and Supporters can respectively view the past 7 days and 14 days.
The maps will animate the same way as the satellite maps. So you can play/stop and scrub.
You can also display a flat series layout like all the other sections.
See PDF here (www.liveweather.com.au/pdf/myCFN_synoptic_chart_IDY00030_2018_ 01_27_at_04_01pm.pdf).
These charts are currently available from your forecast map and satellite sections.
Any questions or issues please let us know.
Thanks again for your continued support.
There is now a LUNAR ECLIPSE button on CFN in the map side menu available to anyone. Select your region then click on the button. This will take you to a page displaying a small list of maps centered on the approximate time of the beginning of the event. The maps will switch to ACCESS-C the next update when the date enters the 36h range provided the model is available for your region. They will then automatically follow the current time and date until the end of the event.
The direct link is: http://www.cloudfreenight.com/event.lunar_eclipse.
Good luck and email us any photos you manage to take.
ACCESS-C maps are all available now.
Here's a list of the latest run of high resolution forecasts (where available) for tonight's eclipse.
VIC (http://www.liveweather.com.au/lunar_eclipse/vic/vic.pdf)
NSW (http://www.liveweather.com.au/lunar_eclipse/nsw/nsw.pdf)
SEQLD (http://www.liveweather.com.au/lunar_eclipse/seqld/seqld.pdf)
NQLD (http://www.liveweather.com.au/lunar_eclipse/nqld/nqld.pdf)
TAS (http://www.liveweather.com.au/lunar_eclipse/tas/tas.pdf)
SA (http://www.liveweather.com.au/lunar_eclipse/sa/sa.pdf)
SWWA (http://www.liveweather.com.au/lunar_eclipse/swwa/swwa.pdf)
NWWA (http://www.liveweather.com.au/lunar_eclipse/nwwa/nwwa.pdf)
CAUS (http://www.liveweather.com.au/lunar_eclipse/caus/caus.pdf)
NZ (http://www.liveweather.com.au/lunar_eclipse/nz/nz.pdf)
NT (http://www.liveweather.com.au/lunar_eclipse/nt/nt.pdf)
Any issues with the links let us know.
Phil Hart
31-01-2018, 11:59 AM
Fascinating and complex forecast for Vic for tonight.. and many other areas of the country I think! Very interesting to watch the weather and the eclipse! ;)
If you're not looking at the ACCESS City models via CFN you're not looking at the best forecast tools.. :thumbsup:
Phil
Latest update of high resolution forecasts (where available) for tonight's eclipse. You might clear your browser cache to download the latest PDF file.
VIC (http://www.liveweather.com.au/lunar_eclipse/vic/vic.pdf)
NSW (http://www.liveweather.com.au/lunar_eclipse/nsw/nsw.pdf)
SEQLD (http://www.liveweather.com.au/lunar_eclipse/seqld/seqld.pdf)
NQLD (http://www.liveweather.com.au/lunar_eclipse/nqld/nqld.pdf)
TAS (http://www.liveweather.com.au/lunar_eclipse/tas/tas.pdf)
SA (http://www.liveweather.com.au/lunar_eclipse/sa/sa.pdf)
SWWA (http://www.liveweather.com.au/lunar_eclipse/swwa/swwa.pdf)
NWWA (http://www.liveweather.com.au/lunar_eclipse/nwwa/nwwa.pdf)
CAUS (http://www.liveweather.com.au/lunar_eclipse/caus/caus.pdf)
NZ (http://www.liveweather.com.au/lunar_eclipse/nz/nz.pdf)
NT (http://www.liveweather.com.au/lunar_eclipse/nt/nt.pdf)
Any issues with the links let us know.
I seems there might be a stable clear patch north of Melbourne around Heathcote/Mt Burnett.
https://youtu.be/mWOfOFfZFRA
We experienced our biggest traffic spike yesterday showing some interest in the event forecast. This one was put together rather quickly given the short notice and a late decision for a trial run. We're working on automating the system to provide high resolution forecasts to the public (no login required) during future selected events but we need your input. It would be greatly appreciated if you can find the time to fill in the poll in this thread (http://www.iceinspace.com.au/forum/showthread.php?t=164419) and give us some feedback (or email robert (rdahni@metvis.com.au)) so you can assist us in including requested features into the process. Thanks again for your support.
Just a quick recap on the most efficient way to navigate the forecast maps and satellite images.
Maps:
The buttons 1d, 6h, 3h and 1h either sides of the NOW button will increment or decrement the time on the map viewport by the time value of the button.
If you need to view a large range of maps don't click repeatidely the 1h button. Click on 3h, 6h or 1d to move forward or just play the animation and hold the mouse down (or your finger) on the map. This will pause the animation. Dragging your mouse or finger left and right will change the map time much faster without running the risk of being flagged as an automated bot or spider.
Satellite:
The buttons 2h, 4h, and 6h will not change the time on the satellite viewport so there is no point clicking them repeatidely. They only set the time range for the animation playback. Again, once the animation is playing you can drag the image to pause, fast forward or rewind.
Hope this clears any confusion.
Thank you.
PS: Another way to visualise all maps within a given time range is to click the "flat layout" icon top right under the moon/star icon. That will display all the maps you want to view in one screen that you can pan or zoom.
By default the forecast map animation ranges are as follow:
+1h to +36h - ACCESS-C
+36h to +120h - ACCESS-R/G
+120h to +240h - ACCESS-G
There is now an icon at supporter level to play the whole 10 days range.
This will toggle "All Animation" or "Range Animation". GFS works the same way.
So if you want to quickly check the maps for the next 10 days regardless of the model just select "All Animation", Play then scrub the map viewport back and forth across the whole range.
CFN now features a separate area for Canberra and its surroundings.
The corresponding satellite maps are also offset and centered on ACT.
Any issues please let us know. Thanks for your continued support.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UK-kKIucxF8
There was an issue with the animation range icon not displaying properly. This now has been fixed. Please let us know if any problems.
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=UK-kKIucxF8
We've added additional webcams to NZ so go to your control panel to check them out. The total is now spread over 10 locations. Auckland, Christchurch, Dunedin, Lake Tekapo, Milford Sound, Napier, Picton, Queesntown, Tauranga and Wellington.
Satellite playback ranges have been extended as follow:
Public: 2h to 3h
Member: 4h to 6h
Supporter: 6h to 12h
Forecast maps boundaries were revisited to include more coverage. In addition to significant changes in WA,NSW and SA a new ACT area was created. All the maps have been updated and synced now so any problem with your location pins or geocoding please let us know.
We've added new meteogram locations bringing the total from 141 to 170.
The recent additions are listed below:
VIC Meteogram locations
Colac, Echuca, Horsham, Lysterfield, Mornington, Orbost and Werribee.
NSW Meteogram locations
Arcadia, Batemans Bay, Bega, Ben Lomond, Binda, Coffs Harbour, Cooma, Corndale, Henty and Moree.
QLD Meteogram locations
Mount Tamborine and Oak Valley.
NT Meteogram locations
Humpty Doo, Katherine, Tennant Creek and Yulara.
SA Meteogram locations
Murray Bridge.
TAS Meteogram locations
Claredon, Fonthill, Mount Pleasant, Rosevale and Ulverstone.
The high resolution forecast is now available here (http://www.liveweather.com.au/wiruna/). Good luck.
We've added another 43 meteogram locations taking the total from 170 to 213 locations.
VIC Meteogram locations
Hamilton, Mount Buller, Mount Hotham and Sale.
NSW Meteogram locations
Bathurst, Broken Hill, Cobar, Coolah, Dubbo, Griffith, Norah Head and Tweed Heads.
QLD Meteogram locations
Birdsville, Charleville, Goondiwindi, Hervey Bay, Ipswich, Maleny, Mareeba, Maryborough, Proserpine, Springbrook and Weipa.
NT Meteogram locations
Jabiru, Palmerston, Wadeye and Wurrumiyanga.
WA Meteogram locations
Bunbury, Bussleton, Exmouth, Newman and Port Hedland.
We've added another 43 meteogram locations taking the total from 170 to 213 locations.
SA Meteogram locations
Mount Barker, Port Lincoln and Whyalla.
TAS Meteogram locations
Campbell Town, Devonport, New Norfolk, Queenstown, Scottsdale, Smithton, Strahan and Swansea.
High resolution forecasts are freely available at:
NSW/ACT
http://www.liveweather.com.au/canberra/
VIC
http://www.liveweather.com.au/thebriars (http://www.liveweather.com.au/thebriars/)/
http://www.liveweather.com.au/mtburnett/
QLD
http://www.liveweather.com.au/avocavale/
The cloud free night service is now served over https. We've transfered all our feeds and content over to SSL including your browsing experience and personal profiles. Any issues, please let us know.
Thank you for your continued support.
There is now a toggle in your control panel to display or disable the Facebook feed on the side in myCFN. It is on by default. Although it is a secure feed, some of you might prefer not to be linked to Facebook.
Meteogram locations now number >200 in Australia with 65% freely available to registered members. Please contact us (https://www.cloudfreenight.com/corporate.contactus) if you have any issues or questions.
Meteogram locations now number >200 in Australia with 65% freely available to registered members. Please contact us (https://www.cloudfreenight.com/corporate.contactus) if you have any issues or questions.
We often get asked why, in the meteogram (https://www.cloudfreenight.com/meteogram.view)/darksky (https://www.cloudfreenight.com/darksky.view), sections the first 36h of ACCESS-C data differ from the ACCESS-R data. Which one is right? Or GFS says it will be overcast but ACCESS says it is going to be clear. Is it going to be clear or cloudy?
The short answer is that they are different models and updated at different times during the day. So as well as looking at different models you also might be looking at different time frames.
There are two small fine prints at the bottom of the graphic tiles. On the bottom left, the date of the bitmap generation and on the bottom right the time. This is your first hint to know if you are looking at new or old data. To see when the data gets updated check our F.A.Q. (https://www.cloudfreenight.com/faq.list)
GFS and ACCESS are different models. ACCESS seems to get it right more often than not for regional Australian weather. If the two models are in accordance then the odds are better than if they say two opposite things.
You cannot make a decision about a clear night by looking at one product only. For example don't base your decision solely on a clear meteogram (https://www.cloudfreenight.com/meteogram.view)or map forecast (https://www.cloudfreenight.com/map.view). Have a look at the satellite (https://www.cloudfreenight.com/satellite.view)and radar (https://www.cloudfreenight.com/radar.view)maps. Play a short animation. If a storm front is approaching chances are it is not going to be clear whether you like it or not.
So to recap there are many different tools on CFN (https://www.cloudfreenight.com/member.mycfn) to help you make an informed decision to plan your night. Have a look around and don't rely on only one source of information.
Cloud Free night was recently moved to https to increase security. In the process all data and XML feeds were also moved to SSL. We recently optimised a lot of the processes and gained a significant amount of speed in displaying maps and tiles. Give it a go. I'm sure you'll find a net improvement in usability and responsiveness, even more so on mobile platforms. Finally we've halved the questions in our survey making it easier to register for a free trial. Thanks again for you continued support.
Three new weather cams were added to myCFN.
Camden Airport & Moss Vale
Handy if your meteogram locations are around Campbeltown, Belanglo, The Oaks, South western Sydney area or Wollongong area.
Murrurundi Gap
Newcastle, Bretti, Lostock, Coolah, Tamworth, Chaffey Dam, Hunter valley area, etc...
Two new weather cams were added to myCFN.
Mount Boyce
Handy if your meteogram locations are around Katoomba, Crago or Blue Mountains area.
Mildura Airport
Mildura, Swan Hills area, etc...
Thanks for all your hard work Robert
(Weren't you supposed to be retired!? :))
All weather cameras (103) are now accesssible at member level. You can go to your control panel and select which ones you want to plot on your maps.
We now offer historical data (https://www.cloudfreenight.com/files/myCFN_map_archive.pdf) for supporters in the forecast map section. It is currently available for total clouds and pressure/rainfall. We will shortly add Wind and Jetstream.
Here's how to use it:
1_ go to the forecast map section.
2_ select a map type.
3_ a button called "ARCHIVE 00 06 12 18" will appear in the menu if the map type selected has historical data (https://www.cloudfreenight.com/files/myCFN_map_archive.pdf).
Click on 00, 06, 12 or 18 to get the corresponding UTC run in PDF format.
The PDF file will list all the tiles for the model selected (GFS, ACCESS-C, ACCESS-R or ACCESS-G) for the region selected (AUS, SEAUS, CAUS, NQLD, SEQLD, ACT, NSW, VIC, SA, TAS, NZ, SWWA, NWWA, NT) for the map type selected (Total Cloud, Pressure/Rainfall, Wind 10m, Wind 300hPa) for the time range selected (36h, 72h, 96h, 120h, 240h).
You can view/download and save the file to your hard drive.
New files will be generated each time a new run is completed and will overwrite the old files.
Any issues let us know. Thanks.
Surface Wind (https://www.cloudfreenight.com/files/myCFN_map_archive_TAS_wind10m.pdf) and Jet stream (https://www.cloudfreenight.com/files/myCFN_map_archive_TAS_wind300.pdf) were added to the historical data section.
You can now embed a variety of CFN products on your own webpage.
ACCESS/GFS maps from +3h out to +120h, any satellite map from any state or region and any meteogram for all public locations.
Click here to get started (https://www.cloudfreenight.com/member.hotlink)
Select a product and its settings, a preview image will show you what you can expect on your website.
When done, type in the page you want the image to appear in the following format:
http://www.mywebsite.com.au/mydirectory/
and press "VALIDATE". After checking access to your webpage you'll be presented with a bit of code to copy/paste in your web page HTML and the map will load on your web page.
This service is available publicly. No need to register or login.
Any issues let us know. Thanks.
You might want to check your control panel as more cameras were added in the western plains of NSW, around Armidale, Sydney CBD, Canberra/ACT and Northern NSW, Bretti, Lostock etc...
There was a bug, fixed now, that prevented the PDF generation for the archives. Let us know of any issues.
Avoca Vale High Resolution forecast is now online at: http://www.liveweather.com.au/avocavale/
Additional meteogram locations will be available shortly. Please contact us if you would like a meteogram for your home town or observing site.
There is a new forecast map called "Evaporation" now available in your control panel. The map will need to be activated before you can view it. Models covered are ACCESS-C/R/G from 1h up to 10 days. Any issues let us know. Thanks.
There is a new column called "EVAP (mm)" now available in your meteogram. Models covered are ACCESS-C/R/G from 1h up to 10 days.
Kevnool
07-09-2018, 08:22 AM
Its always cloud free in the desert.
Just be good to see some clouds at night.
Cheers
New meteograms were added in NSW and VIC bringing the total to 240 meteogram locations.
New South Wales
Bulahdelah
Cessnock
Cowra
Mudgee
Tea Gardens
The Rock
Victoria
Eildon
Ellinbank
Hazelwood
Healesville
Kyneton
Locksley
Marysville
Rhyll
Yea
A new map called Solar Irradiance was added to your control panel. Handy if you have solar panels and want to know when to use your aircon or not this summer. Time ranges covered 1d to 10d, ACCESS-C/R/G where available, GFS as well. All information is in the FAQ. Any issues please let us know.
myCFN_map_ACCESS_aus_solar_2018_10_ 07_at_01_34pm.pdf (https://www.cloudfreenight.com/files/myCFN_map_ACCESS_aus_solar_2018_10_ 07_at_01_34pm.pdf)
Solar Irradience data is now also available for any location in your meteogram section. It covers the same time ranges and models as your cloud meteograms.
myCFN_meteogram_ACCESS_vic_melb_201 8_10_07_at_01_42pm.pdf (https://www.cloudfreenight.com/files/myCFN_meteogram_ACCESS_vic_melb_201 8_10_07_at_01_42pm.pdf)
Spring Star Party (2-6 November 2018) is available on a CFN syndicated web page at http://www.liveweather.com.au/nhill/ This gives you a quick look at the relevant CFN (including Supporter level) products without having to login... You can always go to Cloud Free Night (https://www.cloudfreenight.com/) for further information.
We have updated the regions to include the following capital cities (Melbourne, Sydney, Canberra, Brisbane, Darwin, Perth, Adelaide and Hobart).
The new forecast maps and satellite images will give you a closer look at what is happening in these city areas if you live close or in the nearby suburbs and country towns.
The time range is +1h to +36h ACCESS-City model only.
Any issues let us know.
The region selection panel will list the cities if you are looking at an ACCESS-C model and your time range is within the first 36h. All forecast maps and all satellite image types are available.
We added three new meteogram locations:
LMDSS - (Leon Mow Dark Sky Site) VIC
Yarram - VIC
Wallaroo - SA
Next time you login to myCFN, please Edit your Profile, add your Club(s) and Location (City, Postcode, State and Country), to enable us to better understand the geographical spread of users. We're constantly working on refining meteogram locations and map areas to benefit the most users and knowing in which areas you are located helps us tweaking our locations grid to cover the states both inland and coastal areas more efficiently so we're trying to not leave anyone out. Thanks for your help and support.
Meteograms:
Meteograms time range has been extended to day 5 to 10 for members.
Maps:
Forecast maps are extended as well for members up to 240h.
Climate
Climate maps average were revised as follow to include the lastest (2017) data:
Climate Classification
Beginning year remains at 1911
End year changes from 2015 to 2017
Trend maps updated from 1911-2015 to 1911-2017
Yearly increment changes from 5 to 1
Climate Reanalysis
Beginning year changes from 1981 to 1982
End year changes from 2015 to 2016
Yearly increment remains at 5
Climate Average
Beginning year changes from 1911 to 1913
End year changes from 2015 to 2017
Yearly increment remains at 5
Any issues let us know. Thank you.
53 new meteogram locations were added bringing the total to 300. 3 x Member, 50xSupporter.
Victoria
Birchip Victoria
Corryong Victoria
Edenhope Victoria
Mallacoota Victoria
Mortlake Victoria
Ouyen Victoria
Wedderburn Victoria
New South Wales
Glen Innes New South Wales
Grafton New South Wales
Inverell New South Wales
Kempsey New South Wales
Narrabri New South Wales
Nyngan New South Wales
Scone New South Wales
Tenterfield New South Wales
Tumbarumba New South Wales
Tumut New South Wales
Walcha New South Wales
Walgett New South Wales
West Wyalong New South Wales
Yamba New South Wales
Queensland
Biloela Queensland
Clermont Queensland
Gayndah Queensland
Georgetown Queensland
Junabee Queensland
Miles Queensland
Moranbah Queensland
Richmond Queensland
Rolleston Queensland
St George Queensland
Taroom Queensland
Warwick Queensland
Northern Territory
Barrow Creek Northern Territory
Daly Waters Northern Territory
Kulgera Northern Territory
Ngukurr Northern Territory
Western Australia
Southern Cross Western Australia
South Australia
Clare South Australia
Cleve South Australia
Coober Pedy South Australia
Edithburgh South Australia
Glendambo South Australia
Hawker South Australia
Keith South Australia
Kingscote South Australia
Lameroo South Australia
Leigh Creek South Australia
Oodnadatta South Australia
Port Augusta South Australia
Port Pirie South Australia
Robe South Australia
Tarcoola South Australia
Wudinna South Australia
Yunta South Australia
Tasmania
Cradle Mountain Tasmania
Dover Tasmania
53 new meteogram locations were added bringing the total to 300. 3 x Member, 50xSupporter.
Cloud Free Night celebrates 3 years of continuous service to the Australia & New Zealand astronomy and photography communities.
Saturnine
02-03-2019, 12:18 AM
A big thanks for your continued improvements, the new south coast NSW locations will be of much value for me.
Thanks to the support of our growing community, the cloud free night service is now free effective immediately. Information is available in our FAQ (https://www.cloudfreenight.com/faq.list&fq=30).
All you need to do is head to www.cloudfreenight.com (https://www.cloudfreenight.com), fill in the feedback survey to register for myCFN, edit your profile and add your location: suburb/postcode, to continue Supporter access. If you are an existing member, just check or add location information to your profile to obtain Supporter access. Thanks again for all your continued support over the past three years.
Of course any further (optional) donations to be made towards the development and maintenance of the CFN service are most welcome.
Clear skies.
Startrek
07-04-2019, 04:29 PM
Thanks CFN
Appreciate that your service is now free
CFN an integral part of my overall visual astronomy and astrophotography kit
Cheers
We now have a better system in place to manage support and enquiries regarding the Cloud Free Night service.
If you're in WA,NT or SA talk to Ian at ian @ cloudfreenight.com
If you're in TAS, VIC or NZ talk to Robert at robert @ cloudfreenight.com
If you're in ACT, NSW or QLD talk to Marc at marc @ cloudfreenight.com
If you can't access CFN because you have lost your password or your login link go to: https://www.cloudfreenight.com/member.pwdreminder (https://www.cloudfreenight.com/member.pwdreminder) and enter your registered email address.
You will receive a link. Click it and bookmark it or add it to your home screen on your mobile phone.
If you want to update or change your existing password go to your profile page and edit your details there.
All ACCESS-C meteograms previously up to 24h are now extended to 36h.
Any issues let us know. Thanks.
The following locations were added in NSW:
Bundook
Burrawang
Crago
East Gresford
Murrumbateman
Wattle Flat
Wyangala Waters
Bowen Mountains remains but Crago is the location of the observatory.
Any issues let us know. Thanks.
New camera added for Bunbury Airfield in WA.
Four meteogram locations were added bringing the total to 315.
Minimay - vic
Bango - nsw
Wallaroo - nsw
Winton - qld
An additional wind layer at 100m to assess your seeing conditions.
Spookyer
13-06-2019, 05:54 PM
Hey there, have noted my links to CFN are broken and when I go to the main site it looks quite a bit different to what I am used to. Am I doing something wrong or has the site just radically changed?
You are not doing anything wrong. The website has "radically changed". No login required. Feedback email info@cloudfreenight.com
(info@cloudfreenight.com)
AstralTraveller
14-06-2019, 11:01 AM
Brett,
You may notice some logos at the bottom of the home page. They include some of the really big players in Australian geospatial and remote sensed data and are behind ArcGIS and ENVI product suites. I don't know what help they are providing but their resources and expertise are considerable. I mentioned this development to our geospatial data officer and she was pleased but not surprised. She knows the founder of esri and says he is a really nice person.
Esri Australia is the official local distributor of IDL, which is a registered trademark of Harris Geospatial Solutions for their Interactive Data Language software, used by astronomers worldwide. They provided in-kind support (particularly at the start of the CFN service) for the licensing of IDL on the CFN server, to download the vast amounts of data and generate the content for the CFN website.
Animation controls added to display of last 12 hours of satellite images. Location labels added to forecast maps and satellite images. Website re-design. Work in progress. Feedback info@cloudfreenight.com
Camelopardalis
01-07-2019, 11:22 AM
So now it always defaults to Victoria :screwy: ???
Seems like a retrograde step to me, and the other roughly 80% of Australia’s population...
We had to re-build the CFN website from scratch. It is still a work in progress. Stay tuned for the rapid improvements...
Camelopardalis
01-07-2019, 04:12 PM
Oh no! Hope the re-build goes well :thumbsup:
Allan_L
01-07-2019, 04:23 PM
I'm still not getting location labels on the cloud Map.
Makes it a little difficult to work with.
BUT
Great site, always improving.
Hope the upgrade goes well. :thumbsup:
Sorry about that. This will be rectified by this evening.
casstony
01-07-2019, 05:05 PM
We have the most clouds so we need it more than you northerners :)
Camelopardalis
02-07-2019, 12:53 PM
If only that were true :shrug: this week is looking very cloudy...typical for New Moon :sadeyes:
Animation controls to display the last 12 hours of satellite images, ability to show/hide location labels, and the remembering of user settings complete the update of the Satellite page. Website is still undergoing a re-build. No login required. All products and functionality available to everyone. Feedback welcome info@cloudfreenight.com
Remembering user settings added to Map, Meteogram, Satellite and Radar pages. Show/hide location labels added to Map, Satellite and Radar pages. Animation controls added to Satellite and Radar pages. Website undergoing a re-build. No login required. All features, forecast maps and meteograms, and satellite and radar images available to everyone. Feedback welcome info@cloudfreenight.com
Cloud Free Night has had a facelift and is now mobile-friendly with extensive testing on iPhone and Samsung Galaxy mobiles. Feedback welcome info@cloudfreenight.com
CLOUDCAM is back and redesigned!!! The Cloud Free Night Camera display is now available. The most comprehensive set of links to cloud camera (e.g. aviation weather cameras, all sky cameras, webcams, etc.) images around Australia (over 200 locations and 500 camera images)
JeniSkunk
09-02-2020, 06:33 PM
Bug report on the cameras for SE QLD.
4 NE NSW sites are listed under SE QLD.
Byron Bay, Cabarita, Kingscliff, Yamba.
The CFN SE QLD region covers NE NSW for consistency with other CFN products. The organisation of the Cloud Camera regions and locations may change as coverage is extended to the remaining areas of Australia and New Zealand.
Xeteth
09-02-2020, 07:45 PM
Just wanted to say a huge thank you for the CFN service, it's an awesome tool that I've used a ton. Cheers!
Craig_
20-08-2020, 05:20 PM
Bumping an old thread but any update on when full CFN service past the three day view will be restored? Very much missing it...
Unfortunately it is not known when upgraded ACCESS-G global model data (migrating to new service infrastructure) will be made available for download. There are alternative forecasts (Yr, meteoblue, Clear Outside) available from links on the Meteogram page...
Craig_
20-08-2020, 05:50 PM
Thanks. So the ACCESS-G model data is required for GFS/ACCESS/ACCESS-C like the site used to have? (And still has out to three days.)
ACCESS normally displays forecasts from ACCESS-R (regional) for Days 1-3 and ACCESS-G (global) for Days 4-10 (currently unavailable). ACCESS-C normally displays forecasts out to +36 or +42 hours for capital city domains. GFS (global) displays forecasts for Days 1-10 but is currently limited to Days 1-3. It was simplest to reduce the maximum number of forecasts days available in CFN from 10 to 3 while ACCESS-G is unavailable.
Craig_
20-08-2020, 06:36 PM
Right, makes sense, thanks. Hopefully ACCESS-G is back soon.
*** LATEST NEWS *** CFN website updated!!! All ACCESS model forecast maps and meteograms are currently unavailable. The latest GFS model forecasts for the next seven days are still available. Unable to download any ACCESS (city, regional or global) model data from the Bureau of Meteorology. Unknown when upgraded ACCESS model data will be made available. There are alternative forecasts (Yr, meteoblue, Clear Outside) for meteogram locations available from links on the Meteogram page"
- CFN Team (28 September 2020)
strongmanmike
14-01-2021, 10:13 AM
Does anyone know which other weather sites are using Access-R data for their cloud predictions..?
Mike
TrevorW
14-01-2021, 10:18 AM
We had a nice clear night last night here in Perth only problem were the winds gusting to 70kph :)
wastro
14-01-2021, 10:22 AM
From the Cloud Free Night Facebook page:
Where can you display Bureau of Meteorology ACCESS model forecast maps now they are no longer available in Cloud Free Night? WeatherWatch, Australia's first private weather forecasting company, feature the MetCentre (https://metcentre.weatherwatch.net.au/ (https://metcentre.weatherwatch.net.au/?fbclid=IwAR36fgRnTNSC_G4DbqhoKYBMx 4hLWSpPXn6dh8b_em_cd89uSOs_FZ7NAsQ) ) where a Pro subscription ($8/month) is required to display the ACCESS model forecasts (including the high resolution ACCESS-C model). Meteologix (https://meteologix.com/au/model-charts/aus (https://meteologix.com/au/model-charts/aus?fbclid=IwAR2knwT8hwfBigygIRYfZF FvXcW1EsSaoYtCrNN92UWeSrlAm02NHQxrP kc)), an international weather forecasting company, feature ACCESS-G model forecast maps and meteograms (no subscription required). GFS and ECMWF model forecasts can also be found on the WeatherWatch and Meteologix websites
strongmanmike
14-01-2021, 10:25 AM
Cheers Robert :thumbsup:
Mike
Startrek
14-01-2021, 01:34 PM
The Access model was very reliable, it’s a shame it’s no longer available
The GFS is only a guide and I don’t solely rely on it.
I totally understand that meteorology cost money and we can’t expect high level highly reliable forecasting for free
At least the satellite is still available which is great
*** LATEST NEWS *** ACCESS model forecasts will be available in Cloud Free Night very soon, replacing the GFS model forecasts...
peter_4059
01-05-2021, 09:28 PM
Fantastic news. Those other sites are a pain.
Startrek
01-05-2021, 09:33 PM
Thanks CFN
I had a lot of confidence with the Access model and is pleasing to hear that’s it’s available again soon
GFS was hit and miss , I had many nights over the past 6 months where GFS showed a perfectly clear night and cloud rolled in later into the evening. I’m sure it was due to the forecasts not being updated regularly enough
Looking forward to the Access model again
Cheers
Avid CFN user
AstralTraveller
02-05-2021, 11:47 AM
This news has made my Sunday. I agree with Peter: the interface on cfn is streets ahead of the other sites. Thank you cfn team. :thumbsup:
AdamJL
02-05-2021, 12:01 PM
Interesting. I prefer using Cloudy Nights. CFN doesn't seem to show me data for a very specific location and the GUI for CFN is a bit messy.
GFS is ok as a backup and confirmation for Aussie users, but ACCESS was always best at picking the tricky onshore moisture conditions for SE Qld. Great news.
*** LATEST NEWS *** The Cloud Free Night service and website have been updated. ACCESS model forecasts out to three days are now currently available, replacing the GFS model forecasts. With the upgraded ACCESS model data, there have been some changes to the content and timing of the service - CFN Team (3 May 2021)
peter_4059
04-05-2021, 06:29 PM
Just wondering if the new service is working? When I open my metogram link I just get a blank page now.
wastro
04-05-2021, 07:10 PM
Reload/refresh the browser (e.g. Shift F5). The new service is working!!!
Startrek
04-05-2021, 07:24 PM
I use CFN on my iPhone
Deleted it and reloaded it , still no meteogram, only satellite, maps etc ...
Any ideas ?
wastro
04-05-2021, 07:31 PM
CFN is a website not an app. On Android just reloaded the page and the ACCESS model forecasts appeared. GFS products were removed. Model choices should be ACCESS-C and ACCESS-G. Try clearing your browser history/cache?
peter_4059
04-05-2021, 07:53 PM
Same for me!!!!
Allan_L
05-05-2021, 11:23 AM
Disappointing to see the 7 day forecast gone. Especially since we are planning a dark site trip in 7 days.
Or am I missing something?
wastro
05-05-2021, 12:37 PM
ACCESS-G model data is available out to ten days. CFN is still a work in progress. The number of forecast days is expected to be extended soon...
Startrek
05-05-2021, 04:29 PM
Emailed Robert at CFN and he advised to clear your web history and reload CFN
It worked , I can choose Access C or Access G
Access C is still a work in progress as you can only look at one day at a time to 3 days ahead
I hope they rectify the 3 day forecast on one page for Access soon
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