NHC GIS Data via RSS Feeds
Overview
Two NHC Really Simple Syndication (RSS) GIS Data Feeds are available, one for each basin (Atlantic and Eastern Pacific). These feeds provide a method to let users know which GIS datasets are presently relevant and when they are updated on NHC web servers.
Listed below are the GIS data currently found (when available) in the GIS RSS feeds:
- Graphical Tropical Weather Outlook [shp]
- 120h Wind Speed Probabilities (34kt, 50kt, 64kt) [shp] [kml]
- Advisory Summary Information [xml]
- Advisory Forecast Track [shp] [kml]
- Advisory Cone of Uncertainty [shp] [kml]
- Advisory Watches & Warnings [shp] [kml]
- Advisory Wind Field [shp]
- Preliminary Best Track [shp] [kml] & Wind Swath [shp]
- Storm Surge (Probabilities, Exceedance) [shp] [kml]
- Potential Storm Surge Flooding (With and without tidal mask) [GeoTIFF]
Please see the NHC GIS page for more details on the individual files. General information on the NHC RSS feeds is available as well.
Technical
There are many ways to use the GIS RSS feeds to obtain updated GIS data. The simplest method may be to parse the feeds to look for an updated guid or pubDate for the desired title and download the associated link. One can get more advanced and parse the title for storm wallet, atcfID, and/or name since it is in a dedicated format: 'Product [format] - Storm Type NAME (wallet/atcfID)'. Even more advanced usage might utilize the Summary title or ATCF XML file to link into associated weather data. The best method for each user depends on his/her specific needs and tolerance level.
Format (title and guid):
<title>Graphical Tropical Weather Outlook [shp] - Multiple Basins</title>
<guid isPermaLink="false">gis-gtwo-shp-yyyymmddhhmm</guid>
<title>120h 0.5 Degree Wind Speed Probabilities [shp] - Multiple Basins</title>
<guid isPermaLink="false">gis-120h5wsp-shp-yyyymmddhhmm</guid>
<title>120h 0.1 Degree Wind Speed Probabilities [shp] - Multiple Basins</title>
<guid isPermaLink="false">gis-120h1wsp-shp-yyyymmddhhmm</guid>
<title>120h Tropical Storm (34kt) 0.1 Degree Wind Speed Probabilities [kmz] - Multiple Basins</title>
<guid isPermaLink="false">gis-120h1wsp34-kml-yyyymmddhhmm</guid>
<title>120h Gale (50kt) 0.1 Degree Wind Speed Probabilities [kmz] - Multiple Basins</title>
<guid isPermaLink="false">gis-120h1wsp50-kml-yyyymmddhhmm</guid>
<title>120h Hurricane (64kt) 0.1 Degree Wind Speed Probabilities [kmz] - Multiple Basins</title>
<guid isPermaLink="false">gis-120h1wsp64-kml-yyyymmddhhmm</guid>
<title>Summary - Storm Type NAME (wallet/atcfID)</title>
<guid isPermaLink="false">summary-atcfID-yyyymmddhhmm</guid>
<nhc:Cyclone>
<nhc:center>LAT, -LON</nhc:center>
<nhc:type>STORM TYPE</nhc:type>
<nhc:name>NAME</nhc:name>
<nhc:wallet>WALLET</nhc:wallet>
<nhc:atcf>atcfID</nhc:atcf>
<nhc:datetime>DATETIME</nhc:datetime>
<nhc:movement>DIRECTION/SPEED/STATIONARY</nhc:movement>
<nhc:pressure>PRESSURE</nhc:pressure>
<nhc:headline> ...THIS IS A HEADLINE...</nhc:headline>
</nhc:Cyclone>
<title>ATCF XML Prototype [xml] - Storm Type NAME (wallet/atcfID)</title>
<guid isPermaLink="false">atcf-xml-atcfID-yyyymmddhhmm</guid>
<title>Advisory #TCPadvNumber Forecast [shp] - Storm Type NAME (wallet/atcfID)</title>
<guid isPermaLink="false">gis-forecast-shp-atcfID-TCPadvNumber-yyyymmddhhmm</guid>
<title>Advisory #TCPadvNumber Forecast Track [kmz] - Storm Type NAME (wallet/atcfID)</title>
<guid isPermaLink="false">gis-track-kml-atcfID-TCPadvNumber-yyyymmddhhmm</guid>
<title>Advisory #TCPadvNumber Cone of Uncertainty [kmz] - Storm Type NAME (wallet/atcfID)</title>
<guid isPermaLink="false">gis-cone-kml-atcfID-TCPadvNumber-yyyymmddhhmm</guid>
<title>Advisory #TCPadvNumber Watches/Warnings [kmz] - Storm Type NAME (wallet/atcfID)</title>
<guid isPermaLink="false">gis-wwa-kml-atcfID-TCPadvNumber-yyyymmddhhmm</guid>
<title>Advisory #TCMadvNumber Wind Field [shp] - Storm Type NAME (wallet/atcfID)</title>
<guid isPermaLink="false">gis-wind-shp-atcfID-TCMadvNumber-yyyymmddhhmm</guid>
<title>Preliminary Best Track [shp] - Storm Type NAME (wallet/atcfID)</title>
<guid isPermaLink="false">gis-bt-shp-atcfID-yyyymmddhhmm</guid>
<title>Preliminary Best Track Points [kmz] - Storm Type NAME (wallet/atcfID)</title>
<guid isPermaLink="false">gis-btpts-kml-atcfID-yyyymmddhhmm</guid>
<title>Probabilistic Storm Surge 5ft [shp] - Storm Type NAME (wallet/atcfID)</title>
<guid isPermaLink="false">gis-psurge5-shp-atcfID-yyyymmddhhmm</guid>
<title>Probabilistic Storm Surge 5ft [kmz] - Storm Type NAME (wallet/atcfID)</title>
<guid isPermaLink="false">gis-psurge5-kml-atcfID-yyyymmddhhmm</guid>
<title>Exceedance Storm Surge 10% [shp] - Storm Type NAME (wallet/atcfID)</title>
<guid isPermaLink="false">gis-esurge10-shp-atcfID-yyyymmddhhmm</guid>
<title>Exceedance Storm Surge 10% [kmz] - Storm Type NAME (wallet/atcfID)</title>
<guid isPermaLink="false">gis-esurge10-kml-atcfID-yyyymmddhhmm</guid>
<title>Potential Storm Surge Flooding Map [GeoTIFF] - Storm Type NAME (wallet/atcfID)</title>
<guid isPermaLink="false">gis-inundation-geotiff-atcfID-yyyymmddhhmm</guid>
<title>Potential Storm Surge Flooding Map with Intertidal Mask [GeoTIFF] - Storm Type NAME (wallet/atcfID)</title>
<guid isPermaLink="false">gis-tidalmask-geotiff-atcfID-yyyymmddhhmm</guid>
Examples
Listed below are past examples of the NHC GIS RSS feeds and are posted as a courtesy for developers and others interested in parsing these files. While the linked data in these files are stale, the XML format can be used to understand what the feed might look like in different scenarios.
Disclaimer
These feeds and the underlying GIS data are considered experimental and may not be available 24 hours a day, seven days a week. Timely delivery of data and products from this service through the Internet is not guaranteed, and you should not rely on this service to make life-threatening decisions.
Feedback
If you have any feedback, please send questions or comments directly to NHCwebmaster@noaa.gov.
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