1) You're confusing temperature prediction (which is indeed not bad, and is what most people want) with wind prediction.
2) Yes, the models are 3D, but the data is 2D and is sparse. I'm fully aware of the airport wind data, and it's not even close to being enough, because the number of airports itself is very limited, especially outside of the US.
No, wind prediction is a major part of weather forecasts, and are particularly critical for aviation. I don't think I missed your question here. You seemed to want to get raw data... and I wanted to make sure you knew that there is already a community (weather underground.)
2) Yes, the models are 3D, but the data is 2D and is sparse. I'm fully aware of the airport wind data, and it's not even close to being enough, because the number of airports itself is very limited, especially outside of the US.