I'm trying to find and use data involving total cloud cover %. I have downloaded data from NCEI/NOAA specifically here and I'm plotting it like this:
import xarray as xr
import numpy as np
import matplotlib.pyplot as plt
import pygrib
import cartopy.crs as ccrs
import cartopy.feature as cfeature
#loading dataset ForecastTestDate.grb2
#filtering by atmosphereSingleLayer level
ds=xr.open_dataset('gfs_3_20220402_0000_000.grb2', engine='cfgrib', filter_by_keys={'stepType': 'instant', 'typeOfLevel': 'atmosphere'})
#showing level info
ds
#tcc is one of the data variables for atmosphere
#tcc = total cloud cover
fig,ax=plt.subplots()
im=ax.imshow(ds.tcc)
fig.colorbar(im, orientation='vertical')
plt.show()
Obviously this is a lot of cloud and it is a lot more than is shown on zoom earth for the same day. I assume that that the total cloud cover % is inverted? Is this common practice and/or will it be the same for the other datasets from the same database?