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What is earth.nullschool.net?
earth.nullschool.net is a free, browser-based visualization tool that animates global weather, wind, ocean, and pollution data on an interactive world map. It renders forecast output from supercomputers as flowing particle streams, so you can watch wind patterns, ocean currents, or atmospheric chemistry move across the globe rather than reading numbers off a table. The data refreshes roughly every three hours.
It is not a forecasting service that writes text or issues warnings. It is a viewer for scientific model output, aimed at people who want to see how the atmosphere and oceans are behaving right now or at a chosen past or future time.
What you can actually look at
The site organizes data into modes, each with its own overlay options:
- Air — wind speed, temperature, relative humidity, dew point, wet-bulb temperature, precipitation, CAPE (storm energy), precipitable water, mean sea level pressure, UV index, and wind power density, at several pressure levels from the surface up to 10 hPa.
- Ocean — surface currents, peak wave period, significant wave height, sea surface temperature and its anomaly.
- Chem — carbon monoxide, carbon dioxide, sulfur dioxide, nitrogen dioxide, dust and sulfate extinction, and particulate matter (PM1, PM2.5, PM10).
- Particulates — a focused view of aerosol and particulate data.
- Space — space weather, including aurora visibility probability.
- Bio — biological indicators such as bleaching alert areas.
You can switch projections (Equirectangular, Orthographic, Waterman Butterfly, and others), toggle a coordinate grid, turn animation on or off, and use HD mode for sharper rendering.
Who gets the most out of it
| If you are… | Useful because… |
|---|---|
| A student or teacher | Wind and current animation makes circulation patterns visible instead of abstract |
| A sailor, pilot, or paddler | Quick sense of wind and wave fields before checking an official forecast |
| A journalist or communicator | Striking visuals for explaining a storm, smoke plume, or heat pattern |
| An air-quality or climate watcher | Particulate and chemistry layers show where pollution is moving |
| A curious generalist | No account, no cost, and it loads fast |
The trade-off is precision. Animated particles show direction and relative strength well, but this is a global model view, not a local forecast. For decisions where safety or timing matters, treat it as context and confirm with an official meteorological or maritime source.
A practical first step
Open the site, pick Air mode, leave the overlay on wind speed, and click anywhere on the map. A panel appears showing the exact values at that point. Then switch the overlay to temperature or PM2.5 and click the same spot — comparing two overlays at one location is the fastest way to understand what the tool is telling you. If you want a second opinion on the same conditions, Windy presents comparable global model data with a different interface, and Ventusky offers another take.
How often is the wind and weather data updated on earth.nullschool.net?
Data on earth is refreshed every three hours. The site describes its animated map as showing current wind, weather, ocean and pollution conditions as forecast by supercomputers, with that three-hour update cycle.
What that means in practice
- Not live sensors. You are seeing model forecast output, not a real-time reading from a station near you. A "current" view is the most recent model run, so it can lag actual conditions by a few hours.
- Forecast, not just now. The same time controls let you step forward, so a three-hourly cadence is the resolution you should expect when scrubbing through the coming days.
- Good for patterns, weaker for timing. Three-hour steps are fine for watching a front move across a region, but they will not tell you that a squall line reaches your town at 4:15 pm.
A concrete scenario
If you are planning a coastal sail or a long cycle, check the latest run in the morning, then note the three-hour steps through the afternoon to see whether wind builds earlier or later than your plan assumes. For anything safety-critical, treat it as one input and confirm with an official national weather service forecast for your exact location.
Next step
Open the site, use the date and time controls to confirm which run you are viewing, and switch units to match your local convention before comparing it with another forecast.
Can I view past or future weather conditions on earth.nullschool.net?
Yes. The site is built around a time slider, so you can move backward and forward from the present rather than only seeing a live snapshot. The menu shows a Current Conditions button alongside a Choose Date control, and a date/time readout that can be switched between Local and UTC.
How the time controls work in practice
- Choose Date opens a date picker so you can jump to a specific day instead of dragging the slider.
- Current Conditions returns you to the present moment.
- Start/Stop Animation plays the forecast forward, which is the easiest way to watch a system develop.
- The Data Source and Scale controls sit next to the time controls, so you can tell which model run and which time scale you are looking at.
Past versus future: what to expect
| Direction | What you get | Typical use |
|---|---|---|
| Past | Archived forecast/analysis fields, useful for reconstructing what conditions looked like | Checking what a storm looked like before it arrived, comparing a past event to a current one |
| Future | Forecast fields from supercomputer models, updated periodically | Trip planning, watching a developing weather system, checking wind or wave forecasts |
The site states the map is updated every three hours, so the forward view is a rolling forecast rather than a long-range outlook. Treat the far end of the forecast as less certain, as you would with any model output.
A concrete example
Say you are planning a coastal sailing trip for the weekend. Start on Current Conditions, switch to Wind animation to see the general flow, then use Choose Date to step forward to your travel day. Switch the overlay to Waves or Peak Wave Period and the height layer to a surface or low-level pressure level to see whether the picture changes with altitude. If a system looks marginal, step backward a day or two to see how it has been evolving — a rapidly deepening pattern is a different risk than a steady one.
Choosing your view
- If you want weather history for a specific event, go backward and use the date picker rather than the slider.
- If you want planning guidance, stay in the forward half and check the same date at more than one overlay.
- If you are comparing your local time with a model run, switch the readout between Local and UTC so you do not misread the timestamp.
As a next step, open the site, press Choose Date, and pick tomorrow — then toggle between Wind, Temp and one ocean overlay to see how the same moment looks across different variables.
What types of data layers are available on earth.nullschool.net, such as wind, ocean, or pollution?
earth organizes its animated global map into modes, each with its own overlay list. The modes named on the site are Air, Ocean, Chem (atmospheric chemistry), Particulates, Space (space weather), and Bio (biology). Wind and ocean currents are the animations most people recognize, but they sit inside a much larger set of selectable layers.
H3 What you can actually put on the map
- Air: wind speed animation, plus overlays such as temperature, relative humidity, dew point, wet bulb temperature, 3-hour precipitation accumulation, CAPE (convective available potential energy from the surface), total precipitable water, total cloud water, mean sea level pressure, a "misery index," UV index and erythemal dose rate, and instantaneous wind power density. Pressure-level choices include surface and 1000, 850, 700, 500, 250, 70, and 10 hectopascals.
- Ocean: ocean surface currents animation, peak wave period animation, and overlays for significant wave height, sea surface temperature, sea surface temperature anomaly, and bleaching alert area.
- Chem: carbon monoxide surface concentration, carbon dioxide surface concentration, sulfur dioxide surface mass, nitrogen dioxide, dust extinction (aerosol optical thickness at 550 nm), organic matter aerosol optical thickness, and sulfate extinction.
- Particulates: particulate matter under 1 μm, under 2.5 μm, and under 10 μm.
- Space: probability of visible aurora.
- Bio: bleaching alert area.
H3 How to choose a layer
Think in terms of the question you are asking, not the menu. For "will it be windy where I'm sailing or cycling this afternoon?", use the wind animation with the surface or 850 hPa level. For "is the air unhealthy today?", switch to Particulates and compare PM 2.5 with PM 10; the gap between them hints at whether coarse dust or fine combustion particles dominate. For coastal swimming, diving or surfing, Ocean currents plus significant wave height and sea surface temperature is the practical combination.
One caveat worth knowing: overlays are not all measured the same way. Some are surface values, some are pressure-level values, and the chemistry and particulate layers are model-based concentrations rather than local sensor readings. Treat the map as a global overview and a way to spot patterns, then check a national or local forecasting service before making a decision that depends on your exact street or harbor.
A useful next step: open the site, pick your mode, then use the date and time controls to step through the forecast rather than judging a single frame. Comparing the same layer at two different times often tells you more than staring at one snapshot.
Is earth.nullschool.net free to use, and does it have a mobile app?
Yes to both. The site is free to use, and a mobile app exists.
Free use
- The site is an interactive animated map of wind, weather, ocean, and pollution conditions, with no pricing signals or payment options on the page.
- It offers a menu for modes (Air, Ocean, Chem, Particulates, Space, Bio), overlays, projections, units, and timezone settings, plus a "support this site" option — suggesting donations rather than paid tiers.
Mobile app
- The settings area includes a "get the app!" link, confirming an app alongside the web version.
- The page also mentions a "Nullschool App" and a newsletter, and links to Facebook, Bluesky, YouTube, and Instagram.
Practical next step If you mainly want quick local wind or wave checks on a phone, try the app; for deeper exploration — switching between surface and 1000–10 hPa levels, or comparing PM2.5 with dust extinction — the desktop browser is easier. The site notes data updates every three hours and offers a classic version if the main page does not load correctly.
For related official sources, see nullschool.net and earth.nullschool.net.
How accurate is the forecast data on earth.nullschool.net compared to other weather services?
earth.nullschool.net is best understood as a visualization layer over forecast model output, not as a forecasting service that produces its own predictions. The accuracy you see therefore depends on the underlying model and the variable you are viewing, not on the site itself.
What the site actually shows
Its menu lets you switch between Air, Ocean, Chem, Particulates, Space and Bio modes, and within each mode choose an overlay such as wind speed, temperature, relative humidity, mean sea level pressure, ocean currents, significant wave height, sea surface temperature, or particulate matter. You can also step through forecast times and change the vertical level, from surface up to 10 hPa.
That structure matters for accuracy comparisons:
- Wind and pressure fields are the most reliable overlays, because global models handle large-scale dynamics well and these variables are directly forecast.
- Temperature, humidity and precipitation are reasonably trustworthy for broad patterns, but precipitation in particular is patchy at local scale.
- Chemistry and particulate overlays (carbon monoxide, nitrogen dioxide, dust, PM2.5) come from different model systems and are generally coarser and less certain than basic weather variables.
- Space weather and biology modes are niche products with their own specialized sources and uncertainty profiles.
How it compares with other services
| Aspect | earth.nullschool.net | Typical consumer weather apps |
|---|---|---|
| What it is | Animated global visualization of model output | Point forecasts for a chosen location |
| Strength | Seeing global flow, patterns and connections at once | Deciding whether to carry an umbrella tomorrow |
| Local precision | Limited; you read values off a moving global map | Usually tuned for city or neighborhood level |
| Update rhythm | Refreshed regularly, on the order of hours | Often hourly or more frequent |
| Best use | Context, education, pattern spotting | Daily planning |
A useful rule of thumb: if you want to know whether it will rain on your street at 4 p.m., a local forecast service will beat this site. If you want to understand why — a frontal system sweeping across a continent, a plume of dust crossing an ocean — this site is far more informative than a text forecast.
A practical test
Pick a day with a clear weather event near you, such as a cold front or a windy afternoon. Check the wind and pressure overlay here, then compare it with a national meteorological service such as the National Weather Service for the United States, or a global model viewer like Windy. If the broad pattern matches but the timing or local intensity differs, that is the normal gap between a global model visualization and a locally calibrated forecast — not a sign the site is wrong.
For official warnings and safety decisions, always go to the responsible national agency rather than an animated map.
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