---
id: open-radar-data
version: "0.8.0"
license: MIT License Copyright (c) 2022-2023 openradar Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy of this software and associated documentation files (the "Software"), to… (full text in the JSON record)
license_treatment: permissive
maintenance: active
---

# open-radar-data — Provides utility functions for accessing data repository for openradar examples/notebooks

License: permissive · Maintenance: active · Downloads: 81.9K/mo

## What it is and what it does

Open-radar-data is a data distribution package that manages a registry of sample weather radar and lidar datasets for use in openradar examples and notebooks. It wraps the pooch library to handle downloading, caching, and local path retrieval of these datasets, so users can focus on analysis rather than data management.

The package maintains a registry file listing available datasets (single sweep PPI, RHI, and complete volume files in various source formats) and provides a simple fetch interface that downloads files on first use and returns cached local paths on subsequent calls. Users can override the default cache location via an environment variable if needed.

Use it for:

- Download and cache sample radar data for reproducible openradar tutorials and example notebooks.
- Retrieve pre-curated weather radar datasets for algorithm development and testing without manual file management.
- Access lidar data alongside radar data for multi-instrument research workflows.
- Integrate standardized sample datasets into automated data processing pipelines.

## Worth the install?

AI-flagged interpretation of the facts above — verify before relying.

Provides a registry and download utility for accessing sample weather radar and lidar datasets used in openradar examples and notebooks, with automatic caching.

Yes, if you are working with openradar or need sample weather radar/lidar data for research or examples. The package is actively maintained, has no security vulnerabilities, low install friction, and a permissive license. It solves a real problem—centralized, versioned access to shared datasets—for the openradar community.

## Install

pip install open-radar-data
uv add open-radar-data
poetry add open-radar-data

## Installing open-radar-data

Before you install: Low install friction with a single lightweight dependency (pooch). Active maintenance with recent commits and no known vulnerabilities.

License in practice: MIT License permits free use, modification, and distribution with minimal restrictions—suitable for both academic and commercial projects.

Quickstart:

pip install open-radar-data

from open_radar_data import DATASETS
filepath = DATASETS.fetch('sample_sgp_data.nc')
print(filepath)

Requires Python 3.9 or later; internet connection needed to download datasets on first fetch.

Verify before relying:

- Total number and size of available datasets in the registry
- Performance characteristics when fetching large radar volume files
- Whether datasets are updated regularly or represent a static snapshot

## Package facts

- License: MIT License Copyright (c) 2022-2023 openradar Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy of this software and associated documentation files (the "Software"), to… (full text in the JSON record) (permissive)
- Python support: supports_current
- Install friction: low
- Maintenance: active
- Downloads: 81.9K/month (top 15,000 on PyPI)
- Known vulnerabilities: none known

## Tags

radar data download cache, weather radar sample datasets, openradar data registry, lidar data repository, scientific data fetching, data-distribution, weather-radar, scientific-data

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