WindRose Studio
User Guide
Welcome in WindRose Studio
WindRose Studio is a professional tool designed to support rigorous environmental and atmospheric analyses based on ERA5 reanalysis data.
The application guides the user through the correct preparation, inspection and quality assessment of meteorological datasets, with a specific focus on wind climatology, data completeness, temporal consistency and spatial coherence.
WindRose Studio interprets GRIB files, reconstructs their temporal and spatial structure, detects inconsistencies and missing information, and provides technically sound summaries that can be used with confidence in dispersion modelling, regulatory assessments and environmental studies.
Particular care has been devoted to transparency and reproducibility: every processing step is explicit, every assumption is traceable, and the user always retains full control over the source data and the analysis workflow.
Purpose of the ERA5 Wizard
The ERA5 Wizard supports environmental professionals in planning meteorological data requests from the Copernicus Climate Data Store (CDS) through a structured and methodologically transparent workflow.
The Copernicus portal provides access to global reanalysis data spanning several decades, covering virtually any location on Earth. It offers a rich set of configuration options: spatial domains, temporal ranges, pressure levels, single-level variables, product types and output formats.
For users who are primarily interested in obtaining a coherent meteorological dataset rather than navigating the full technical interface of the CDS, this abundance of options can become a source of uncertainty.
The Wizard was developed to provide orientation within this complexity. It guides the user in defining the essential parameters of an ERA5 dataset:
- the geographic reference location,
- the spatial subregion to be extracted,
- the temporal coverage of the request,
- the set of ERA5 variables appropriate for the intended analytical objective.
These elements determine the spatial extent, temporal completeness and physical meaning of the dataset that will be generated. Making these parameters explicit at the request stage ensures that the downloaded GRIB file reflects a deliberate methodological choice.
The dataset prepared through the Wizard can then be imported into WindRose Studio, where the internal GRIB structure is inspected and the spatial interpretation of the data is performed in the “Analyze GRIB” phase. The Wizard therefore establishes the foundation for a consistent and traceable analytical workflow.​
Analyze GRIB is the core analytical phase of WindRose Studio, where a user-imported ERA5 GRIB file is examined in its raw form to build a transparent, traceable and methodologically sound meteorological dataset.
When an ERA5 GRIB is loaded, WindRose Studio parses every message to determine what variables are present, identify their timestamps and reconstruct the dataset’s actual temporal extent.
Simultaneously, the software computes the effective spatial domain represented by the native ERA5 grid points contained in the file.
From this structural inspection, WindRose Studio derives a continuous hourly meteorological table that reflects exactly what exists in the source dataset, with missing values clearly identifiable and no temporal or spatial interpolation applied. Users can then select how the data should be interpreted spatially - either as a single point reference (nearest ERA5 grid node) or as an area-averaged representation over the effective domain.
This meticulous approach ensures that subsequent analyses - including wind statistics and regulatory exports - are based on a validated and reproducible dataset. Analyze GRIB thus provides a solid technical foundation for environmental assessments, dispersion modelling support and any workflow requiring rigorous meteo data interpretation.
Outputs
WindRose Studio generates a set of analytical and regulatory outputs derived from the validated annual dataset reconstructed during the Analyze GRIB phase.
Each output is computed dynamically based on the configuration selected in the Analyze GRIB tab.
The validated hourly dataset derived from the GRIB file, used as the base reference for all statistical analyses.
Statistical summary of reconstructed wind speed values (minimum, quartiles, mean and maximum).
Annual distribution of wind speed classes aggregated across all directions.
Numerical representation of wind frequency distribution by direction sector and wind speed class, expressed as percentages or absolute counts.
Directional frequency distribution of reconstructed wind speed and wind direction over the main analysis year.
Generation of a SAMSON-like surface file compatible with AERMET/CALMET workflows, based on deterministic transformations of ERA5 variables.
The Settings window defines default statistical configurations, graphical appearance options and report metadata used across the application.
All analytical outputs are generated dynamically based on the configuration active in the Analyze GRIB tab.
Defaults
Define the default wind speed classification scheme (5+1, 6+1 or 7+1) and directional resolution (12, 16, 24 or 36 sectors).
Appearance
Customize graphical elements such as histogram bar color and wind speed class colors for the wind rose.
Station
Define station metadata (code, name, country and elevation) used in exports and reports.
Report
Configure author, organization, regulatory reference and notes included in the generated PDF report.