A subset of WPC's product suite is now provided in a GIS (Geographic Information System)
Shapefile format.
Products are available for download via the NCEP anonymous FTP server at
https://ftp.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov/shapefiles.
If clicking on the above link does not work, then access can be gained by:
- FTPing to ftp.wpc.ncep.noaa.gov
- At the "User" prompt, type anonymous
- For the password, use your e-mail address
- Change directories to "shapefiles" ( cd shapefiles )
At this point, you will see four subdirectories:
The .tar files in each subdirectory contain the required three files (.dbf, .shp, .shx) to
import and display using most GIS software packages. Additionally, a fourth file (.prj) is included
and provides map projection information
in order to align correctly with other geodata files.
Below are details regarding the contents of the abovementioned subdirectories, as well as file naming conventions
and any updates we make to file names or data contained within the shapefiles.
The Significant River Flood Outlook is created once per day
and is typically available by 20-21Z. The file naming convention is
fop_yyyymmdd.tar where:
-
yyyymmdd is the year (yyyy), month (mm), and day (dd) the product was created
In addition, the file
FLOODOUTLOOK_latest.tar will contain the most recent product.
Note that files of zero size indicate that no significant river flooding is expected for the upcoming
5 day period.
Updates:
- February 9, 2009 -- The latest outlook is now available as the static file name FLOODOUTLOOK_latest.tar.
Download Significant River Flood Outlook shapefiles
For the Heat Index Forecasts, there are subdirectories corresponding to the issuance date.
Within these subdirectories are files containing the Daily Mean, Minimum, and Maximum Heat Index forecasts
for Days 3-7 over the contiguous U.S. The file naming convention is
prodhi_yyyymmddfhhh.tar, where:
- prod is mean for Daily Mean, min for Daily Minimum, or
max for Daily Maximum Heat Index forecasts.
-
yyyymmdd is the year (yyyy), month (mm), and day (dd) the product was created
-
fhhh is the forecast hour. For example, "f072" corresponds to Day 3, "f096" to Day 4, etc...
Example:
The file meanhi_20070606f120.tar is the Day 5 Daily Mean Heat Index forecast issued on June 6, 2007 and
valid June 11, 2007.
The forecast data contained within these shapefiles are points evenly spaced (at approximately a 20 kilometer
resolution) over the
contiguous U.S. and do not necessarily correspond to a particular city or town.
Note that files are created daily, but this product is operational only from May 1 through September 30.
Download Heat Index Forecast shapefiles
Within the
qpf subdirectory, there are several directories corresponding
to the time period of the precipitation forecast, including:
- day1 -- The 6- and 24-hour Quantitative Precipitation Forecasts (QPF) comprising Day 1
- day2 -- The 6- and 24-hour QPFs comprising Day 2
- day3 -- The 6- and 24-hour QPFs comprising Day 3
- day12 -- The 48-hour total QPF for the Day 1 through Day 2 period
- day13 -- The 72-hour total QPF for the Day 1 through Day 3 period
- day45 -- The 48-hour total QPF for the Day 4 through Day 5 period
- 5day -- The 120-hour total QPF for the Day 1 through Day 5 period
In the
day1, day2, and day3 subdirectories, the file naming convention is
ppp_yyyymmddcc.tar, where:
-
ppp is the product identifier (91e, 92e, etc...)
-
yyyymmdd is the year (yyyy), month (mm), and day (dd) the product was created
-
cc is the forecast cycle (00Z, 06Z, 12Z, 18Z)
The most recent 6- and 24-hour forecasts are copied into files that include a "_latest" in
the file name. The 6-hour forecast files also include the valid period in the filename.
Examples:
In the
day1 subdirectory, the file
93e_2006071100.tar is the second period 6-hour QPF from the
July 11th, 2006 00Z cycle (the 6-hour period covering 06-12Z on July 11th).
The file
94q_2006071100.tar is the Day 1 24-hour QPF from the July 11th, 2006 00Z cycle
(00Z July 11th through 00Z July 12th).
The file
QPF6hr_f12-f18_latest.tar contains the latest 6-hour QPF for the 12-18 hour forecast period.
In the
day12 and day13 subdirectories, the file naming convention is
ppppp_yyyymmddcc.tar, where:
-
ppppp is the product identifier (day12 or day13)
-
yyyymmdd is the year (yyyy), month (mm), and day (dd) the product was created
-
cc is the forecast cycle
The file QPF48hr_Day1-2_latest.tar contains the most recent Day 1-2 QPF.
The file QPF72hr_Day1-3_latest.tar contains the most recent Day 1-3 QPF.
In the
day45 subdirectory, the file naming convention is
p48i_yyyymmddcc.tar, where:
-
yyyymmdd is the year (yyyy), month (mm), and day (dd) the product was created
-
cc is the forecast cycle (00Z or 12Z)
The file QPF48hr_Day4-5_latest.tar contains the most recent Day 4-5 QPF.
In the
5day subdirectory, the file naming convention is
95e_yyyymmddcc.tar, where:
-
yyyymmdd is the year (yyyy), month (mm), and day (dd) the product was created
-
cc is the forecast cycle (00Z or 12Z)
The file QPF120hr_Day1-5_latest.tar contains the most recent Day 1-5 QPF.
Finally, there is a directory named
excessive that contains the Days 1-3 Excessive Rainfall forecasts.
The file naming convention is
ppp_yyyymmddcc.tar, where:
-
ppp is the product identifier (94e, 98e, or 99e)
-
yyyymmdd is the year (yyyy), month (mm), and day (dd) the product was created
-
cc is the forecast cycle
The most recent forecasts are copied into files that include a "_latest" in the file name.
Note that files of zero size indicate that no organized areas of rainfall exceeding flash flood
guidance are expected for the given forecast period.
- September 23, 2008 -- The labeling of the attributes for the QPF products was modified
to provide more information about the contours. The primary change was to include a
valid date and time for each forecast.
- February 9, 2009 -- The latest forecast products are now available as static file names.
For instance, in the day1 subdirectory, the file QPF6hr_f12-f18_latest.tar
is the most recently issued 6-hour QPF for the 12-18 hour forecast period. Please see
above for details of file naming conventions.
View additional information about WPC's QPF products.
Download QPF or Excessive Rainfall Forecast shapefiles
Within the
ww subdirectory, there are directories corresponding to the
forecast day (Days 1-3). The file naming conventions are:
dayx_psnow_gt_nn_yyyymmddcc.tar for snow products.
dayx_picez_gt_nn_yyyymmddcc.tar for freezing rain products.
- dayx is the forecast day -- day1, day2, or day3
- nn represents the accumulation threshold. For snow, the value will be 04, 08, or 12.
For instance, a file in which nn
is 04 contains the forecast probability of snowfall exceeding 4 inches.
For freezing rain, the value will always be 25, as the product depicts the probability of freezing rain
accumulating more than .25 inch
- yyyymmdd is the year (yyyy), month (mm), and day (dd) the product was created
- cc is the forecast cycle (00Z or 12Z)
The most recent forecasts are copied into files that include a "_latest" in the file name.
Files of zero size indicate that the probability of receiving at least 4, 8, or 12 inches of snow or
.25 inch of freezing rain is less than 10% over the CONUS for the given forecast period.
Please note that forecasts are created only between September 15 and May 15.
- October 6, 2008 -- The labeling of the attributes for the winter weather products was modified
to provide more information about the contours. The probability products are more clearly
labeled and include a valid date and time for each forecast.
- February 9, 2009 -- The latest forecasts are now available as static file names.
Files containing "_latest" in their file name represent the most recently issued winter weather product.
View information about WPC's winter weather products.
Download Winter Weather Forecast shapefiles
weather.gov 
