From 9b52067a1ff90454327f4524ac0402c0cc895c68 Mon Sep 17 00:00:00 2001
From: Elias Sadek <elias.sadek@metoffice.gov.uk>
Date: Tue, 17 Dec 2024 11:39:14 +0000
Subject: [PATCH] cube data is optional

---
 lib/iris/cube.py | 5 ++++-
 1 file changed, 4 insertions(+), 1 deletion(-)

diff --git a/lib/iris/cube.py b/lib/iris/cube.py
index 902999b112..fe497ef228 100644
--- a/lib/iris/cube.py
+++ b/lib/iris/cube.py
@@ -1190,7 +1190,7 @@ def _walk_nodes(node):
 
     def __init__(
         self,
-        data: np.typing.ArrayLike,
+        data: np.typing.ArrayLike | None = None,
         standard_name: str | None = None,
         long_name: str | None = None,
         var_name: str | None = None,
@@ -1251,6 +1251,9 @@ def __init__(
             A list of CellMeasures with dimension mappings.
         ancillary_variables_and_dims :
             A list of AncillaryVariables with dimension mappings.
+        shape :
+            An alternative to providing data, this defines the shape of the
+            cube, but initialises the cube as dataless.
 
         Examples
         --------