Please refer to the detailed documentation for the total cloud cover forecast layer data feeds for more detailed information.

Introduction

The total cloud cover forecast layer data feeds provide access to forecast layers for various points in the future, covering the UK and surrounding area, as png images.

Tutorials

The total cloud cover forecast layer data feeds can be used with web services or via the JavaScript API. While it is possible to use neither of these, we recommend that one of these methods is used to check whether the data has been updated since it was last requested. Here we describe how to retrieve forecast layers using both of these methods.

You would like to retrieve a total cloud cover forecast layer for a particular timestep

Via the web services

1. Call the forecast layer web service to check whether the data has been updated since it was last requested and to check which timesteps are available
2. If so, build the url corresponding to the timestep for which you would like a forecast by taking the content of the BaseUrl element in the data returned by the forecast layer capabilities web service and replacing the elements enclosed within curly brackets as described in the detailed documentation .

Via the JavaScript API

1. Call the metoffice.layers.forecast.getCapabilities method to check whether the data has been updated since it was last requested and to check which timesteps are available
2. If so, retrieve the url corresponding to the total cloud cover forecast layer for the time you are interested in