dataset · Global
NSF NCAR Curated ECMWF Reanalysis 5 (ERA5)
NSF NCAR is providing a NetCDF-4 structured version of the 0.25 degree atmospheric ECMWF Reanalysis 5 (ERA5) to the AWS ODSP. ERA5 is produced using high-resolution forecasts (HRES) at 31 kilometer resolution (one fourth the spatial resolution of the operational model) and a 62 kilometer resolution ten member 4D-Var ensemble of data assimilation (EDA) in CY41r2 of ECMWF's Integrated Forecast System (IFS) with 137 hybrid sigma-pressure (model) levels in the vertical, up to a top level of 0.01 hPa
Visit source ↗Source details
Licence: https://www.ucar.edu/terms-of-use/data
Evidence quality: 55.1
Listed in aws-odr public catalogue API on 2026-10-16; relevance/value screened (haiku).
Metadata checked: 2026-10-14T13:20:00.000Z
What's in it
- Data offered docs-verified
- precipitation · 2 m temperature · top-of-atmosphere radiation · vertical integrals over the entire atmosphere · atmospheric variables on 37 pressure levels · soil model surface parameters · ocean wave model parameters
- Coverage docs-verified
- Global
- Resolution docs-verified
- 0.25-degree latitude-longitude grid; generally hourly
- Update frequency docs-verified
- Monthly, with a 3-4 month lag from realtime
- Formats docs-verified
- NetCDF4
- Access docs-verified
- Open data on AWS S3 (bucket nsf-ncar-era5, us-west-2), anonymous access with --no-sign-request; licence: UCAR terms of use (https://www.ucar.edu/terms-of-use/data)
Useful for
- Use cases llm-inferred
- Long-run rainfall and temperature context for FRA or drainage design where local gauge records are short · Regional surface and soil-parameter context for groundwater recharge or infiltration screening · Climate-context inputs for long-term drought or climate-change allowance assessments
- Audience llm-inferred
- hydrologists · flood consultants · drainage engineers · climate risk consultants · GIS analysts
Limitations
- Constraints llm-inferred
- Global 0.25-degree grid is coarse for catchment- or site-scale UK work and needs downscaling or bias correction · Time span is not stated in the docs; confirm the record length before relying on it · Monthly updates with a 3-4 month lag make it unsuitable for real-time or near-real-time use · Raw NetCDF on S3 needs a local processing pipeline; no API or MCP tool is listed · Licence is UCAR terms of use; check reuse and redistribution terms against client requirements
Evidence
- arn:aws:s3:::nsf-ncar-era5, arn:aws:sns:us-west-2:891377163634:nsf-ncar-era5-object_created
- https://registry.opendata.aws/nsf-ncar-era5/
Check upstream coverage, uncertainty and licence before use. Station observations are not forecasts or design levels.