TUFLOW FV Get Atmos
Introduction
This tutorial demonstrates how to run the Get Atmos Python command line tool using the TUFLOW FV Python Toolbox.
Get Atmos provides tools to download and process climate and weather forecast/reforecast model outputs for usage with TUFLOW FV including:
- Mean sea level pressure
- Wind speed and direction
- Shortwave and longwave radiation
- Air temperature
- Relative humidity
This tool currently supports outputs from ECMWF's ERA5, NCAR's CFSR and (CFSv2) and the Australian Bureau of Meteorology's BARRA2 Reanalysis.
Download Considerations
Please note the following when downloading model outputs:
- The Get Tools submit data requests to the servers hosting ERA5, CFSR and BARRA model outputs. Once submitted jobs are queued for delivery by the external server and download times can be affected by job size, internet speed, server traffic and the server’s processing efficiency. Often it may take overnight for Get Atmos A to complete a download.
- When doing initial downloads for a project it is recommended to first start with some smaller data requests to confirm the model output is suitable. For example, start by downloading a short time period to confirm that your data extent is sufficient to cover your project area.
- From experience the ERA5 data server speed is faster than CFSR. Please consider download speed when evaluating boundary conditions for your TUFLOW FV model.
Requirements And Download
- To download the default data source ERA5 you are required to setup a CDSAPI key via the Copernicus API Webpage. You can alternatively download CFSR/CFSv2 or BARRA2 model output without any additional account setup.
- Install Miniconda and set up the TUFLOW FV Python Environment by following the steps within the TUFLOW FV Python Environment page. If you already have a version TUFLOW FV Python Environment pre February 2026 visit the Get Tools installation and update page before proceeding. If unsure check your version of the TUFLOW FV Python Environment here.
Licensing
Please ensure that your usage of data downloaded using this Python library abides with the license requirements for the selected source.
- To download ERA5 data you must review and accept the Copernicus License. This requires an ECMWF account to accept the license agreement. An account should already have been created when if you set up your CDSAPI key via the Copernicus API Webpage in the Requirements and Download section.
- The Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License for the Bureau of Meteorology's BARRA Reanalysis.
- The Creative Commons Attribution 4.0 International License for NCAR's CFSR and (CFSv2).
Get Atmos Examples
This section provides three examples to guide you through the workflow to download boundary conditions.
| Example | Model Source | Cartesian/Long Lat | Link |
|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | ERA5 | Long/Lat | Download ERA5 model output and post process for longitude latitude TUFLOW FV models. |
| 2 | CFSR | Cartesian (MGA56) | Download CFSR model output and post process for cartesian TUFLOW FV models. |
| 3 | BARRA2 | Long/Lat | Download BARRA2 model output. |
Note: Any of the model sources: ERA5, CFSR or BARRA2 can be post processed to longitude latitude or cartesian coordinates. The above examples are presented to show a selected case from each data source and coordinate type.
Geographic Extent Input
The table below contains examples of how to enter coordinate extents to Get Atmos A for locations across the globe including across the prime meridian, when working in near the international date in the Pacific and when near the equator.
| Number | Example Type | Location | Model Geographical Extents | Get Atmos Input <xmin xmax ymin ymax> |
|---|---|---|---|---|
| 1 | Eastern longitude, northern latitude | Gujarat, India | 68E 75E 20N 25N | 68 75 20 25 |
| 2 | Western longitude, northern latitude | Prince Edward Island, Canada | 65W 61W 45N 48N | -65 -61 45 48 |
| 3 | Eastern longitude, southern latitude | Sunshine Coast, Australia | 152E 154E 27S 26S | 152 154 -27 -26 |
| 4 | Western longitude, southern latitude | Buenos Aires, Argentina | 59W 57W 35S 34S | -59 -57 -35 -34 |
| 5 | Crossing the prime meridian (0 degrees longitude) | Surrey, UK | 1W 1E 51N 52N | -1 1 51 52 |
| 6 | Crossing the 180th meridian (180 degrees longitude) | Fiji | 176E 177W 20S 12S | 176 183 -20 -21 |
| 7 | Crossing the equator (0 degrees latitude) | Central Kalimantan, Indonesia | 110E 116E 4S 1N | 110 116 -4 1 |
The Get Atmos B program has an optional switch called "--wrapto360". This switch is intended for use when the longitude extents are negative values (as in Example 4 above), but the user wishes to convert these to their [0, 360] equivalents. This functionality is summarised for Example 4 above:
- In the default case (without the "--wrapto360" command) the longitude values for Example 4 will range from -59 to -57.
- However, with the "--wrapto360" command included the longitude values for Example 4 will range from 301 to 303.
TUFLOW FV Example Models
To experiment with ERA5 boundary conditions in TUFLOW FV check out the license free Coastal Example Models.
Archive Dataset
If using Get Atmos downloaded prior to February 2026 please refer to the Get Atmos Archive page.
Updating Get Tools
Periodically updates are made to Get Tools to add new features and fix issues. If using a the tfv get tools package installed after February 2026 refer to the Get Tools update instructions here. If unsure of which version of Get Tools is installed on your machine refer to the Requirement and Downloads section.
Conclusion
This page has provided information on how to setup and run the TUFLOW FV Get Atmos. To learn how to use our other Python utilities visit our TUFLOW FV Python Toolbox, TUFLOW FV Get Tide and TUFLOW FV Get Ocean pages. If you have any further queries, feedback or requests for new functionality feel free to get in contact with us via support@tuflow.com.