Data downloads
Every SkyGrade forecast as files for broadcast, maps, and research. Free to show with credit; apps and other products need a license.
For broadcasters: KML grade contours
Every forecast is available as a KML of filled grade contours, with a compressed KMZ copy. Contours hold up when zoomed to a single market, F areas stay clear, and every shape carries its grade as data so you can restyle it.
Free for broadcast
Plug the KML into Baron Lynx, Max, Google Earth, or your graphics system and show it on air, on your stream, and on your station's free website and social posts. Just credit SkyGrade.
Needs consent and a license
Building SkyGrade into your own products: your station or weather app, an API or data feed, an automated or resold service, a rebranded product, or anything people pay for. Ask us first.
Enter your email once to download.
Current forecasts
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Formats
Every file is the full SkyGrade score field for one forecast: a regular latitude/longitude grid at 0.03° spacing (about 3 km), covering 23–50°N and 125.5–66°W. Values are scores from 0 to 100. Each point is valid at its own local sunrise or sunset, so the grid is not a single moment in time.
GeoTIFF
Single-band float32 raster in EPSG:4326 (WGS84), deflate-compressed and tiled. NaN marks no data. Opens directly in QGIS, ArcGIS, GDAL and rasterio.
NetCDF
CF-1.8 NetCDF-4 with a score variable on lat × lon axes (ascending latitude). Works with xarray, Panoply and most weather tools.
KML grade contours (and KMZ)
Filled grade contours built for broadcast systems such as Baron Lynx and Max, plus Google Earth and most GIS tools. KMZ is the same file compressed. Contours are traced from the full 3 km grid with light smoothing, clipped to the Lower 48, and stored to about 10 m, so they hold up when zoomed to a single market.
- Grades (A–D): four filled bands, on by default. A 78+
#C4124E, B 60–78#F0412A, C 42–60#FF8C2B, D 24–42#FFC47A, at 60% opacity. F is left clear so your basemap shows through. - Detailed grades: all twelve steps from D− to A+ in the SkyGrade colors. Off by default.
- Grade outlines only: just the band edges, for systems where you set your own fills. Off by default.
- Cities: grade and best viewing time for cities over 150,000 people. Off by default.
Every polygon carries its grade, score range, product, valid date and issue time as data fields, so you can restyle or label by grade in your own system. KML downloads ask for an email once per device.
Map graphics
The postable Lower 48 graphic as a 4000 × 2250 JPEG, with and without city labels. State and region versions can be downloaded from the forecast page.
Grade breaks
F < 24 · D− 24 · D 30 · D+ 36 · C− 42 · C 48 · C+ 54 · B− 60 · B 66 · B+ 72 · A− 78 · A 84 · A+ 90.
Update schedule
New files post with each forecast: the initial sunrise forecast at 7 PM CT and the sunrise forecast at 4 AM CT, and the initial sunset forecast at 10 AM CT and the sunset forecast at 4 PM CT. Files are replaced each cycle. Past cycles aren't archived yet, so save anything you need to keep.
How to credit SkyGrade
Any time you share, publish, or build on a SkyGrade forecast, graphic, or dataset, include this credit where people will see it:
Ready-made credit lines
For social posts about a sunrise, swap "Sunset" for "Sunrise." For broadcast, the credit can be on screen or read on air.
Rules
- Keep the SkyGrade logo and credit on graphics you repost. Don't crop, cover, or blur them out.
- If you change the data or graphics (recolor, re-grade, combine with other data), say so.
- Don't imply SkyGrade endorses you, your business, or your content.
- Don't use SkyGrade in a weather app or put it behind a paywall or any paid access without a license.
- The SkyGrade name and logo are for credit only. They aren't licensed for use as your own branding.
License
SkyGrade forecasts, graphics, and data, including KML and KMZ files, are free to show with credit:
- Broadcast and news: plug the KML or graphics into your systems and show them on air, on streams, and on your free website and social accounts.
- Personal, non-commercial use, including social media.
- Education and research.
Putting SkyGrade into your own products needs our written consent and a license first. That includes station and weather apps, APIs and data feeds, automated or resold services, rebranded products, and anything people pay to view or use (subscriptions, paywalls, paid or premium apps, paid newsletters, paid data products). No paywalling.
Full details are in the Terms. Please download files rather than scraping the site.