Archived Required Commands
-d = Date. The date of the model run in the format of YYYY-mm-dd.
(i.e. December 25th, 2025 should be entered as -d 2025-12-25)
-r = Run. The model runtime in UTC (0, 6, 12, 18).
(i.e. for the 12z run set -r 12)
Globally Valid Commands (valid for both “latest” and “archived”)
-t = Type (Default=primary).
This determines the type of variables and levels.
Types
1) primary
2) secondary
-f = Final Forecast Hour (Default=384).
The last hour the user wishes to download in the dataset. GFS0P25 has 384 forecast hours.
-s = Source (Default=noaa).
Selects the primary data server to use. If the primary server is unavailable the client will rotate and try other servers.
Server Choices For Latest Data
noaa - NCEP/NOMADS
aws - Amazon Web Services
google - Google Cloud Servers
Server Choices For Archived Data
aws - Amazon Web Services
google - Google Cloud Servers
-cdir = Custom Directory (Default=None).
If the user wishes to build their own directory to hold the data files set -cd directory_branch_path. The default path is f:GFS0P25/ATMOSPHERIC.
-cr = Clear Recycle Bin (Default=False).
For users who want to ensure old files are completely deleted when automating data retrieval set -cr True. Setting -cr True clears your recycle bin with each run of the script. This ensures if any old files are moved to the recycle bin are deleted if they are not already.
-wb = Western Bound - The western bound for subsetting the data range is from -180 to 180 degrees longitude. (Default=-180)
-eb = Eastern Bound - The eastern bound for subsetting the data range is from -180 to 180 degrees longitude. (Default=180)
-nb = Northern Bound - The northern bound for subsetting the data range is from -90 to 90 degrees latitude. (Default=90)
-sb = Southern Bound - The southern bound for subsetting the data range is from -90 to 90 degrees latitude. (Default=-90)
-v = Variables(Default=[‘geopotential_height’, ‘temperature’, ‘relative_humidity’, ‘u-component_of_wind’, ‘v-component_of_wind’])
The list of variables the user wants to query.
Primary Variables
best_lifted_index
absolute_vorticity
convective_precipitation
albedo
total_precipitation
convective_available_potential_energy
categorical_freezing_rain
categorical_ice_pellets
convective_inhibition
cloud_mixing_ratio
plant_canopy_surface_water
percent_frozen_precipitaion
convective_precipitation_rate
categorical_rain
categorical_snow
cloud_water
cloud_work_function
downward_longwave_radiation_flux
dew_point
downward_shortwave_radiation_flux
vertical_velocity_(height)
field_capacity
surface_friction_velocity
ground_heat_flux
graupel
wind_gust
high_cloud_cover
geopotential_height
haines_index
storm_relative_helicity
planetary_boundary_layer_height
icao_standard_atmosphere_reference_height
ice_cover
ice_growth_rate
ice_thickness
ice_temperature
ice_water_mixing_ratio
land_cover
low_cloud_cover
surface_lifted_index
latent_heat_net_flux
middle_cloud_cover
mean_sea_level_pressure
mslp_(eta_model_reduction)
ozone_mixing_ratio
potential_evaporation_rate
pressure_level_from_which_parcel_was_lifted
potential_temperature
precipitation_rate
pressure
mean_sea_level_pressure
precipitable_water
composite_reflectivity
reflectivity
relative_humidity
rain_mixing_ratio
surface_roughness
sensible_heat_net_flux
snow_mixing_ratio
snow_depth
liquid_volumetric_soil_moisture_(non-frozen)
volumetric_soil_moisture_content
soil_type
specific_humidity
sunshine_duration
total_cloud_cover
maximum_temperature
minimum_temperature
temperature
total_ozone
soil_temperature
momentum_flux_(u-component)
u-component_of_wind
zonal_flux_of_gravity_wave_stress
upward_longwave_radiation_flux
u-component_of_storm_motion
upward_shortwave_radiation_flux
vegetation
momentum_flux_(v-component)
v-component_of_wind
meridional_flux_of_gravity_wave_stress
visibility
ventilation_rate
v-component_of_storm_motion
vertical_velocity_(pressure)
vertical_speed_shear
water_runoff
lated_snow_depth
wilting_point
Secondary Variables
absolute_vorticity
clear_sky_uv-b_downward_solar_flux
cloud_mixing_ratio
plant_canopy_surface_water
uv-b_downward_solar_flux
vertical_velocity_(height)
graupel
geopotential_height
ice_thickness
ice_water_mixing_ratio
ozone_mixing_ratio
pressure
relative_humidity
rain_mixing_ratio
snow_mixing_ratio
liquid_volumetric_soil_moisture_(non-frozen)
specific_humidity
total_cloud_cover
temperature
u-component_of_wind
v-component_of_wind
vertical_velocity_(pressure)
vertical_speed_shear
-l = Levels (Default=[1000, 925, 850, 700, 500, 400, 300, 250, 200, 100, 50, 10])
The default setting of levels assume pressure levels are being used and that the category is set to primary.
-ct = Convert Temperature (Default=True).
When set to True any temperature fields are converted from Kelvin to either Celsius or Fahrenheit.
-tu = Temperature Units (Default=Celsius).
When -ct True this is where you declare the units for temperature to be converted to.
-lt = Level Type (Default=pressure).
This corresponds to the type of level.
Primary Levels: 1000, 925, 850, 700, 500, 400, 300, 250, 200, 100, 50, 10
Secondary Levels: 875, 825, 775, 725, 675, 625, 575, 525, 475, 425, 375, 325, 275, 225, 175, 125, 7, 5, 3, 2, 1
Level Types
pressure
mean_sea_level
hybrid
entire_atmosphere
boundary_layer
low_cloud_layer
middle_cloud_layer
high_cloud_layer
convective_cloud_bottom_level
low_cloud_bottom_level
middle_cloud_bottom_level
high_cloud_bottom_level
convective_cloud_top_level
low_cloud_top_level
middle_cloud_top_level
high_cloud_top_level
convective_cloud_layer
tropopause
max_wind
isothermal
highest_tropospheric_freezing_level
height_above_ground
surface
height_below_ground
sigma_layer
sigma_level
entire_atmosphere_(considered_as_a_single_layer)
pressure_above_ground
potential_vorticity_surface
–process This flag when set to True will process the data in addition to downloading the data. (Default=True)
–proxy = Proxy Server (Default=None).
Client assumes user is not trying to download data through a proxy server.
If you are using a proxy server you can define it by using --proxy https://proxy-server-address:proxy-server-port
–netcdf = Converts GRIB data into netCDF4 and saves a netCDF (.nc) file. (Default=False). Set to True to create netCDF files.
Additional Relevant Flags when –netcdf True
–ncdir = Defines the local directory where the netCDF (.nc) file saves to. (Default=GFS0P25/NETCDF).
–ncfname = Defines the filename for the netCDF (.nc) file. (Default=gfs_0p25.nc)
Commands Only Valid for “latest”
-cd = Clear Data (Default=False).
Only for wxdata-gfs 0p25 latest
Archived Clients Automatically Clear Old Data
When set to False the scanner safeguard that prevents repetative downloads is enabled. Set -cd False to disable this safety feature.
WARNING: When this feature is disabled and the user submits too many requests in a short period of time the user risks being rate-limited by the data server. If the user gets rate-limited, the user should wait approximately 5-10 minutes and retry downloading the data.
Complex Example
1) Download the latest GFS0P25 for 2-meter temperature and 2-meter relative humidity from Amazon Web Services
- Use a proxy server of address: `https://proxy-server-address:proxy-server-port`
2) Subset the data to reflect CONUS [-130, -65, 50, 20] = [west, east, north, south]
3) Create a netCDF (.nc) file of the data called gfs0p25_t2m_rh.nc saved at Weather_Data/GFS0P25/NETCDF.
Linux Shell:
# Define our coordinates so we don't pass in negative numbers into the command
western_bound=-130
eastern_bound=-65
northern_bound=50
southern_bound=20
wxdata-gfs 0p25 latest -lt height_above_ground -l 2 -v temperature -v relative_humidity \
-s aws -wb=$western_bound -eb=$eastern_bound -nb=$northern_bound -sb=$southern_bound \
--netcdf True --ncdir Weather_Data/GFS0P25/NETCDF --ncfname gfs0p25_t2m_rh.nc \
--proxy https://proxy-server-address:proxy-server-port
Windows Powershell:
# Define our coordinates so we don't pass in negative numbers into the command
$WESTERN_BOUND=-130
$EASTERN_BOUND=-65
$NORTHERN_BOUND=50
$SOUTHERN_BOUND=20
wxdata-gfs 0p25 latest -lt height_above_ground -l 2 -v temperature -v relative_humidity `
-s aws -wb=$WESTERN_BOUND -eb=$EASTERN_BOUND -nb=$NORTHERN_BOUND -sb=$SOUTHERN_BOUND `
--netcdf True --ncdir Weather_Data/GFS0P25/NETCDF --ncfname gfs0p25_t2m_rh.nc `
--proxy https://proxy-server-address:proxy-server-port