Lake Ontario Operational Forecast System (LOOFS)

Notice of NOS OFS product changes

As of September 9, 2024, the names of the model output files will officially be transitioned to the following format:

  • Stations: OFS.tCCz.YYYYMMDD.stations.[nowcast|forecast].nc
  • 2-D surface field output: OFS.tCCz.YYYYMMDD.2ds.[n|f]HHH.nc
  • 3-D field output: OFS.tCCz.YYYYMMDD.fields.[n|f]HHH.nc
  • 3-D field output on a regular grid: OFS.tCCz.YYYYMMDD.regulargrid.[n|f]HHH.nc
    • Where:
  • OFS refers to the name of the model (e.g. cbofs, sfbofs, leofs)
  • [nowcast/forecast] or [n/f] denotes either the nowcast or forecast results
  • YYYYMMDD refers to the date of the model run
  • CC refers to the cycle of the day (e.g. 06, 12)
  • HHH is the nowcast or forecast hour (e.g. 001, 002)

Starting April 1, 2024, model output files with both the existing and the new file formats will be made available here for users to update and test code used to automate the download of the model output.

(Please click on the map pins below to access the time series plots)

The Lake Ontario Operational Forecast System (LOOFS) was jointly developed by NOAA/National Ocean Service's (NOS) Center for Operational Oceanographic Products and Services (CO-OPS) and Office of Coast Survey (OCS), the Great Lakes Environmental Research Laboratory (GLERL), the NOAA/National Weather Service's (NWS) National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) National Central Operations (NCO), and the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth.

The new LOOFS uses the Finite Volume Community Ocean Model (FVCOM), coupled with an unstructured grid version of the Los Alamos Sea Ice model (CICE), to provide users with higher resolution of nowcast (analyses of near present) and forecast guidance of water levels, currents, water temperature, ice concentration, ice thickness and ice velocity out to 120 hours, four times per day. By invoking advanced model schemes and algorithms, LOOFS is expected to generate a more accurate model output than the former LOOFS, whose model core was the Princeton Ocean Model (POM). Please note that CO-OPS is distributing ice-related products only in a digital NetCDF format. No graphical products are provided.

The NWS and NOS work together to run LOOFS operationally on NOAA's High Performance Computing System (HPCS). By running on NOAA's HPCS, LOOFS has direct access to National Weather Service operational meteorological products that are required for reliable operations.

For more information about LOOFS, please visit please click here.

For more information about FVCOM, please click here.

Disclaimer
The Lake Ontario Operational Forecast System (LOOFS) has been implemented by NOAA's National Ocean Service (NOS) to provide the maritime user community with short-term predictions of water levels, water currents, and water temperatures of the Lake Ontario. LOOFS uses a numerical hydrodynamic model to generate the nowcast and forecast information; therefore, they should be considered as model-generated nowcast and forecast guidance. For more detailed information related to the OFS disclaimer, please visit at the Disclaimers web page.