NOTICE: WAVEWATCH III® v6.07 released on GitHub
21st March 2019
We have moved to an open development paradigm using GitHub, which
means users and developers are no longer required to submit requests
for usernames and passwords to access our software package.
The WAVEWATCH III®
project page is
here.
The latest release (currently at 6.07) is available
as a compressed tarball or zipfile from the project page.
To help users and developers navigate the new repositories, we have
created two sets of guidelines in GitHub to help you navigate our
community modeling framework, one for users and the other for
developers:
- If you are a user and would like to access the code for
applications and do not plan to engage in development work, see the
User Guide.
- If you are a developer and would like to add a new feature to the
code, see the
Developer
Guide.
The
WW3 GitHub wiki hosts a description
of the model, its main features, output options, user
and developer guides, technical documentation and latest news.
Let's Go Modeling!
The WAVEWATCH III® Development Group
The operational ocean wave predictions of NOAA/NWS/NCEP use
the wave model WAVEWATCH III®
using operational NCEP products as input.
Detailed description of the WAVEWATCH III® model
and source code
distribution.
The model is run four times a day: 00Z, 06Z, 12Z, and 18Z. Each run starts
with 9-, 6- and 3-hour hindcasts and produces forecasts of every hour from the
initial time out to 120 hours, and then forecasts at 3-hour intervals
out to 180 hours.
The global wave model consists of global and regional nested grids.
As background information, a list of selected references
and a chronological list of model changes are
available. Finally, validation data are available for the multigrid model.
Click on image to enlarge
Forecast Zones
Click to open the Product Viewer for the selected
zone (latest model run)
NOAA WAVEWATCH III® Hindcast and Reanalysis Archives
MMAB currently maintains two classes of WAVEWATCH III®
hindcasts.
- A thirty-year hindcast generated from the
NCEP Climate Forecast System Reanalysis and Reforecast (CFSRR)
homogeneous dataset of hourly high-resolution winds. The time
period covers from 1979 through 2009. This is a true hindcast
generated with a single version of the model and a statistically
consistent forcing wind field, and is suitable for use in climate
studies.
- An ongoing data set produced by rerunning the model from the
operational wind fields to produce best-estimate nowcast datasets.
This is a statistically inhomogeneous hindcast data set, because the
underlying models are periodically updated. Therefore this data set
should not be used for climate studies.
Detailed descriptions of the hindcasts and reanalyses,
with links to the datasets,
validation statistics from buoy match-ups, and visualizations of the
model data fields, can be found in the
WAVEWATCH
III® Hindcast and Reanalysis Archives
WAVEWATCH III® Tutorials
Two COMET
modules are available regarding WAVEWATCH III® and analysis of ocean swell:
Registration is free for the courses.
Disclaimer
While WAVEWATCH III® is an operational model, we cannot guarantee the
timeliness or accuracy of the model data and figures offered on this site.
Please see our disclaimer for more information.
Questions or Comments?
We welcome any questions or comments you may have on the WAVEWATCH III®
system.
Sign up for the
MMAB mailing list
for updates and information on these products.
For questions or problems with the website please
contact us.
|
www.nws.noaa.gov 
Click on image to enlarge