Weather and climate forecasting services

Whether you need weather or climate information six hours, days or months out, our accurate forecasts can help you with operational requirements and decision making.

Forecasting services underpinned by experienced meteorologists 

Whether you need weather or climate information six hours, days or months out, our accurate forecasts can help you with operational requirements and decision making.  

And whether you’re after regular ongoing forecasting services, or a localised one-off forecast we’re here to help. We can provide our forecasts in many formats customised for your needs.

NIWA currently works with clients across many sectors, including the primary sector, energy and infrastructure companies, emergency management, central government, television – and even Emirates Team New Zealand! 

Types of forecast information, resolution and timescales available

  1. New Zealand Convective Scale Model (NZCSM): Ultra-high resolution (1.5km), short-term (48-hour) weather forecasting.
  2. New Zealand Ensemble System (NZENS): High-resolution (4.4 km), 5-day forecasting using 18 different model members to provide probabilistic forecasts.
  3. Optimal Seamless Forecast (OSF): Medium-range (10 days) forecasting using a model that seamlessly stitches together NIWA’s weather modelling and selects the best-performing model at the different time scales.
  4. NIWA35: a sub-seasonal model that gives daily-to-weekly rainfall, soil moisture, and drought forecasts 35 days into the future, to identify forecast themes, trends, and anomalies and inform longer-term decision making. 
  5. Seasonal Climate Outlook (SCO): Seasonal forecast indications of rainfall, temperature, and hydrological conditions three months into the future. Based on global models with data translated into a New Zealand context.
  6. Climate change projections: Data that indicates likely changes in seasonal temperature, rainfall, and wind patterns across the country through to the end of the 21st century to help different sectors plan and prepare for New Zealand’s future climate. More about this here and here.

Find out more about accessing the above types of forecast data here or go straight to our forecast data request form here.

In-house proprietary modelling informed by continual research and international partnerships

Our forecasting capability is underpinned by decades of research experience, as well continual improvements informed by our international collaborations. Read about our forecasting research and our involvement in the Momentum Partnership led by the UK Met Office.

High Performance Computing Facility 

Our forecasting operations leverage NIWA’s High Performance Computing Facility (HPCF), which is overseen by a dedicated 24/7 support team.

Find out more

Use the links below for more detail about the services we offer. Alternately you can email Chris Brandolino, Principal Scientist Forecasting and Media.

Forecasting services