Caribbean Model

[Marcus100]

Hi everyone, I'm new to open source and looking for some guidance on a project idea. I think this is the best place to start :)

I'd like to build an AI weather model focused on the Caribbean, starting with ensemble forecasts. The idea is to combine outputs from open-source models (e.g., GFS, ECMWF deterministic or AI-based approaches) into an ensemble system that produces heatmaps or ensemble map plots for the region.

My background: I'm a Meteorologist and Software Developer with experience using tools like xarray, matplotlib, etc to visualize GRIB/NetCDF data.

Some of the things I am working on that may contribute to the dataset's accuracy:
Incorporate SYNOP data from Caribbean islands for training and validation.
Work on converting data to IWXXM and BUFR standards.

Where I need guidance: I have a broad idea of what I want to do, but I'm unsure how to begin concretely. What's the best way to go about it? Is this the best place to contribute, or should I use Hugging Face?

Thanks in advance for any advice.