DWD Open Data
German weather service's open data server with forecasts, radar, observations and climate archives
Quick Overview
| Company | Deutscher Wetterdienst (DWD) |
|---|---|
| Category | Weather API Providers |
| Headquarters | Germany, Germany |
| Founded | Not stated |
| EU Presence | Yes - Germany (EU) |
| Data Location | Germany (public body; server location not stated) |
| Open Source | No |
| GDPR Compliant | German public body (EU) |
| Self-Hosting | No |
| Main Features | Model forecasts, radar data, current measurements and observations, climate data, WMS and WFS via GeoWebService, RSS change notices |
| Pricing | Mostly free by legal mandate; price list exists for other products |
| Best For | Data engineers and researchers who process raw national data themselves |
| Replaces | Tomorrow.io |
Detailed Review
The Open Data page says DWD has a legal mandate to make weather and climate information available mostly free of charge. It is a file server, with weather data under a directory tree at opendata.dwd.de/weather and climate data under a separate climate area.
There is no friendly developer portal here: you work with formats, grids and directory listings.
What is on the server
The server offers model forecasts, radar data, current measurements and observations, plus a large amount of climate data. Some datasets come through the GeoWebService in OGC-compatible WMS and WFS formats.
Changes are announced by RSS feed and in a climate data centre change log.
Service level
The page warns that service and availability levels cannot be guaranteed. Businesses that need higher reliability can ask for secure access through the Geospatial Data Service.
Aviation-certified data comes only from the aviation meteorology department.
Building on top
Parsing grids and directory listings takes experience, so many developers reach DWD data through wrappers or through aggregators that ingest it. Open-Meteo, listed here, names DWD among its source models.
Plan for the work of schema changes and file naming conventions if you consume the server directly.
Limitations to Consider
There is no JSON point-forecast API in the official offer read; users must parse files or rely on a third-party wrapper such as Open-Meteo, which ingests DWD models. The page does not name a licence or an attribution rule, so check the conditions of use. Availability is not guaranteed.
Who Should Use DWD Open Data
Meteorology-literate teams and researchers who need German national model, radar and climate files.
Pros and Cons
Pros
- Official national weather service data
- Mostly free by statute
- Radar and climate archives
- OGC WMS and WFS access
- Change feeds available
Cons
- No guaranteed availability
- Raw files, not a point API
- Licence wording not on the page read
- Aviation data separate
Alternatives to DWD Open Data
Other European weather api providers worth comparing before you decide:
Open-Meteo
Switzerland · Open-source weather API merging national model data, free for non-commercial use
Stormglass
Sweden · Weather and marine API with euro plans from €19 per month
Meteomatics
Switzerland · St. Gallen API with 1,800+ parameters and 1 km Europe model
Windy API
Czech Republic · Point, map and webcam APIs from the makers of Windy.com
See all European weather api providers or compare them directly against Tomorrow.io on our alternatives page.
Frequently Asked Questions
The page says DWD has a legal mandate to provide its information mostly free of charge, with a price list for the rest.
No. The page says service and availability levels cannot be guaranteed.
The page read describes files and OGC services, not a JSON point API.