San Francisco Bay Operational Forecast System (SFBOFS)

Notice of directory structure change on the NODD S3 bucket

The NODD AWS cloud is used to disseminate model outputs from National Ocean Service's operational forecast systems (OFS).

  • As of January 1, 2025, the new directory structure will be: /OFS/netcdf/YYYY/MM/DD, where
    • OFS refers to the name of the model (e.g. cbofs, ciofs, dbofs, gomofs, leofs, lmhofs, loofs, lsofs, ngofs2, sfbofs, sscofs, tbofs, wcofs)
    • YYYY refers to the year of the model run
    • MM refers to the month of the model run
    • DD refers to the day of the model run
  • The new directory structure will improve performance while accessing the model outputs.

Starting November 20, 2024, model output files will be available in the current and new directory structures. The current file directory structure is: OFS/netcdf/YYYYMM, where one single folder usually contains over 7000 files and a large amount of memory is required for the THREDDS applications.

The current directory and new structures will co-exist until January 1, 2025, when the current directory structure will be decommissioned.

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

Each of the blue icons represent a different SFBOFS subdomain. Click on an icon to open the main web page of that subdomain.

A San Francisco Bay Operational Forecast System (SFBOFS) has been developed to serve the San Francisco Bay maritime communities. SFBOFS was jointly developed by the NOAA/National Ocean Service's (NOS) Office of Coast Survey and Center for Operational Oceanographic Products and Services (CO-OPS), and the NOAA/National Weather Service's (NWS) National Centers for Environmental Prediction (NCEP) Central Operations (NCO) and the University of Massachusetts-Dartmouth. The NWS and NOS work together to run SFBOFS operationally on NOAA's High Performance Computing System (HPCS). By running on NOAA's HPCS, SFBOFS has direct access to National Weather Service operational meteorological products and USGS' measured river data that are required for reliable operations. As its core ocean prediction model, SFBOFS uses the Finite Volume Coastal Ocean Model (FVCOM).

SFBOFS provides users with nowcast (analyses of near present) and forecast guidance of water levels, currents, water temperature, and salinity out to 48 hours, four times per day. The SFBOFS model domain is divided into two separate subdomains (the San Francisco Bay and the San Francisco Bay Entrance), allowing users to focus on their area of interest. Animation maps of each of the two subdomains as well as time series at particular stations or points of interest are available at over 50 locations for winds, water levels, currents, temperature, and salinity.

SFBOFS is based on a three-dimensional, high resolution model. With the added reliability of running at NOAA's HPCS, SFBOFS will assist U.S. port authorities and mariners to efficiently navigate the San Francisco Bay without compromising safety.

For more detailed information about SFBOFS, please click here to view the SFBOFS Information web page.

For more information about FVCOM, please click here.

The SFBOFS model provides forecast guidance for water levels, currents, water temperature, and salinity within its domain.