Takeaway: the MSC GeoMet (eccc-*) cloud
agrees noticeably more closely with HRDPS across
mean wind, gusts and wind direction than either Weather
Underground PWS or Tempest do — tighter scatter around the 1:1 line,
pooled fit slopes closer to 1, and direction roses with much higher
≤30° |Δ| share. MSC SWOB stations are professionally sited
(open exposure, standard 10 m mast, regular calibration, away from
buildings and trees), so they sample the same air the model resolves on
its grid. WU and Tempest devices are mostly rooftop or backyard installs
at varying heights, often sheltered or channelled by local obstacles,
which both attenuates measured speeds and rotates the apparent direction
— so the wider, more biased clouds for those two networks probably
reflect siting and sensor quality at least as much as
any real model error. For paragliding spot decisions: when an MSC
station is nearby, trust it; when only PWS/Tempest are available, expect
under-reads and direction wander unless the station is known to be on an
exposed mast. To check any single station yourself — see how much it
under- or over-reads versus HRDPS, look at its direction agreement, and
decide whether to rely on it — open its
windmeter quality page (from the
All stations list above, or
by clicking “How good is this windmeter?” in the map’s live-wind panel).
Each block below pools
every paired hour from every exported station of one
type (MSC GeoMet, Weather Underground, or Tempest). The coloured line is
one combined origin fit measured ≈ m × forecast on the
pooled pairs (zeros excluded from the slope fit). Networks cover
different sites and climates — this is a descriptive comparison, not a
strict A/B test.
Hourly UTC bins; newest HRDPS run wins when archives overlap. Mean/gust axes: 0–50 and 0–70 km/h. Direction roses: measured speed mapped to radius with outer ring at 70 km/h. Scatter and rose dot opacity increases from calm toward √(2)×axis (or √(2)×70 km/h on roses) using √(measured²+forecast²).