Introducing CSSL Weather Intelligence

We are excited to introduce CSSL Weather Intelligence, the next generation of (and new name for) the Canadian Mesonet Portal.

CSSL Weather Intelligence brings together weather observations, numerical weather prediction models, severe weather information, and historical event data in a single interactive platform. The new platform represents a major expansion of the Canadian Mesonet Portal, with new data sources, analysis tools, visualization capabilities, and ways to explore weather across Canada and beyond.

As part of this transition, the platform has moved to weather.cssl.ca and is now organized into three main sections: Forecasting, Observations, and Historical. These sections are designed to make it easier to move between forecast guidance, current conditions, and analysis of past weather events.

 

Accounts and Beta Access 

To access the full range of CSSL Weather Intelligence features, an account is now required. Accounts are currently free of charge, and we intend to keep access as open as possible. However, as the platform grows, the cost of maintaining the servers and infrastructure required to provide these services may mean that a small fee could be introduced in the future.

For now, we are inviting users to sign up as beta testers and help us evaluate the new platform. Beta testers will have free access to the full suite of features and will have an opportunity to provide feedback as we continue to improve CSSL Weather Intelligence.

Sign up for a free CSSL Weather Intelligence beta tester account!

While beta testers will have full access to all features of CSSL Weather Intelligence, access to the platform does not include permission for commercial use. The data, tools, and services provided through CSSL Weather Intelligence are intended for research, education, operational, and personal use. Commercial use, including using the platform or its data as part of a paid service or commercial product, is not currently permitted without prior written permission from the Northern Mesonet Project. Please reach out to us at nmp@uwo.ca if you're interested in a commercial licensing agreement.

This release represents a significant step forward for the platform, but it is still actively being developed. We welcome feedback on bugs, usability, data availability, and new features that would make CSSL Weather Intelligence more useful for research, forecasting, severe weather analysis, and general weather monitoring.

 

What's New?

The major changes in this release are summarized below:

General

  • Renamed from Canadian Mesonet Portal to CSSL Weather Intelligence.
  • Site has moved from meso.cssl.ca to weather.cssl.ca.
  • New login and authentication system.
  • New viewing options, including dual mode and swipe mode.
  • Additional basemap options, including a no-basemap option for accessibility and printing.
  • The site is now divided into Forecasting, Observations, and Historical sections.
  • Raster values (radar, forecast models, satellite, etc.) now appear on hover.
  • Hotkeys for easy menu navigation and arrow keys for quick timeline scrubbing / runs selection have been implemented.

Forecasting

  • HRDPS, HRRR, RDPS, GFS, and ICON are now available, along with a range of native parameters, and storm-related parameters calculated by CSSL.
  • New viewing controls: run selection, opacity, low-threshold cutoffs, and custom colourmaps.
  • Forecast wind barbs and contours can now be plotted, with adjustable contour density.
  • Profiles (soundings and hodographs) have been added in both point and box form.
  • A forecast creator/drawing tool is now available.
  • A GIF exporter is now available.

Observations

  • Individual radar stations across Canada, plus a selection of U.S. radars near the border, are now available.
  • U.S. AWOS stations are now viewable.
  • Lightning now uses the National Lightning Detection Network via MRMS.
  • Polygon-based ECCC alerts are now interactive.
  • Alerts, satellite, lightning, and max hail size are now tied to the timeline, so all observations can be scrubbed through time.
  • Graphs now indicate your current position in the timeline.
  • Forecast outlooks from CSSL, ECCC, and Nadocast are now viewable.
  • Sensor heights are now viewable for weather stations.
  • Weather stations update much faster when using the timeline.
  • You can now have multiple tabs in the side panel open, allowing for quick switching between surface weather stations or forecasts.

Historical

  • Lightning, alerts, and max hail size are now tied to the timeline, so any weather day can be replayed in the Severe Storm Summaries section.
  • Severe Storm Summaries now includes comprehensive forecast comparison tools.
  • The NTP tornado database and NHP hail database have been integrated into Severe Storm Summaries.
  • Download options have been added for weather station data.