Canadian Mesonet Portal Update (v2026.04.05): Pro Version & More!
This release introduces the Pro Version of the Canadian Mesonet Portal, a major expansion of the platform focused on deeper data access, and advanced analysis tools. Alongside the Pro Version, we’ve delivered significant improvements across all versions to real-time capabilities and overall system responsiveness.
Pro Version of the Canadian Mesonet Portal
The Pro Version is designed as a dedicated space for more advanced, experimental, and research-focused tools within the Canadian Mesonet Portal. It provides structured access to high-demand resources (such as API-based data downloads and historical datasets) in a way that ensures the reliability and performance of the broader platform are maintained. You can access the Pro Version of the Canadian Mesonet Portal via the following steps:
Step 1: Click on the access button in the top right of the Canadian Mesonet Portal webpage.
Step 2: Input your provided API key. You can request an API key by contacting nmp@uwo.ca. API keys are available at no cost for non-commercial research and educational use. Organizations or individuals seekign to use the API for commerical purposes will require a data licensing agreement with the Northern Mesonet Project.
Step 3: You should now see that your access has been updated to include our Pro features!
Pro users also gain access to an enhanced Data Quality Dashboard, offering detailed insight into station health and instrumentation issues. This includes the ability to filter by network, instrumentation issue, and error type, making it easier to diagnose data anomalies and support research workflows. More details on upcoming Pro Version features, including our Data Download API and forecast verification tools, will be provided in a separate post shortly!
New Layers (All Versions)
- New base maps, including satelite, OpenStreetMap have been added.
- The "Rotation Track" layer from MRMS has been added.
- The "Extrapolated Radar" layer from Environment Canada has been added, along with the ability to animate the next hour of extrapolated layer (in 6 minute increments).
Minor Additions & Changes (All Versions)
- "Measurements" are now referred to as "Observations".
- Weather stations that stop reporting will now disappear off the map.
- GeoTIFF data is now being used for the MESH + Rotation Track + Lightning layers, leading to performance improvements.
- A "live" indicator has been added to the timeline.
- You can now make the map fullscreen!
- An option to display your location has been added to the map.
- Faster query response times.
