[netcdfgroup] streaming ncdump?

This may be a *x question, or just totally wrongheaded, but thought
I'd ask: can one stream to netCDF tools (e.g., `ncdump`)? Why I ask:

I've got data on one host which has netCDF configuration problems.
I've got another host on the same LAN which does not. So I thought I'd

me@goodNetCDF:~ $ ssh badNetCDF 'cat /path/to/netCDF/data' | ncdump -h

but that failed. Yes, I know I could just copy the file to /tmp :-)
but I thought I'd ask.

TIA, Tom Roche <Tom_Roche@xxxxxxxxx>