19991108: Radar Coded Message plotting

Tom,

The Radar Coded Message bulletins are part of the HRS IDD feed, and are not
proprietary. They are a digitized summary of radar data, similar to the
Manually Digitized Radar (MDR) 40km products, but automated from the PUP
at the radar site.

The PUP uses the 2 nmi x 2 nmi composite reflectivity product and assigns
the highest reflectivity value in a 5nmi square grid box. In otherwords,
the RCM value for a gridbox is the greatest value of all the radar
reflectivities that fall in that box. The RCM provides the 5nmi grid box
reflectivities, as well as TVS and MESO cyclone positions as determined
by the PUP, as well as maxtop values and storm centroid vectors.

The pqact.conf pattern for capturing these products is found at:
http://www.unidata.ucar.edu/packages/gempak/examples/gprcm/

While these data are not as high resolution as the WSI nowrad product,
and they are primarily unedited by the PUP- they do provide a useful product.

Enjoy...

Steve Chiswell
Unidata User Support



On Wed, 10 Nov 1999, Tom Priddy wrote:

> From:  Tom Priddy
> 
> Steve...I don't current subscribe to any special commerial service to get the
> radar data (nids). From your message, does that mean I can now get these
> data free in the LDM datastream and setup the software as per your 
> instructions?/ktp
> 
> Steve Chiswell wrote:
> 
> > Gempak Users,
> >
> > I have posted a new GEMPAK program "GPRCM" which will plot the
> > Radar Coded Message bulletins in the NOAAport data stream.
> >
> > This program can be found in the nawips-5.4/contrib directory of
> > the gbuddy ftp account for Gempak as gprcm.tar.Z. I will attatch the
> > gprcm.README file from that directory at the end of this message.
> >
> > The RCM bulletins contain digitized radar reflectivity values as well
> > as annotations including Maxtop heights, cell centroid motion, mesocylone 
> > and
> > TVS locations.
> >
> > GPRCM can be used to plot single site and composite reflectivity maps
> > with the capability to turn annotations and reflectivities on/off
> > as needed. Since GPRCM is derived from GPMAP, GPRCM can be used in 
> > conjunction
> > with other GEMPAK programs to create overlays including satellite and
> > NIDS imagery products (Yes, you can overlay RCM echos on satellite images
> > and annotate NIDS images with maxtop, tvs, mesocyclones and cell movement).
> > A dithering feature has been added for allowing some method of transparency 
> > or
> > echoes.
> >
> > Examples of using GPRCM, including LDM patterns, can be found at:
> > http://www.unidata.ucar.edu/packages/gempak/examples/gprcm/
> > I have included a sample plotting script as well.
> >
> > To install gprcm, download the tarfile to your $NAWIPS directory, unpack 
> > with:
> > zcat gprcm.tar.Z | tar cvf -
> > Then build and install with:
> > cd $NAWIPS/unidata/programs/gprcm
> > make clean
> > make all
> > make install
> > make clean
> >
> > Please address any questions or problems to address@hidden.
> >
> > Steve Chiswell
> > Unidata User Support
> >
> > GPRCM is a version of GPMAP that plots Radar Coded Message (RCM)
> > bulletins. For examples of the use and capabilities of this program,
> > see the GEMPAK Examples www page:
> > http://www.unidata.ucar.edu/packages/gempak/examples/
> >
> > INPUT PARAMETERS
> >
> >     MAP       *Map color/dash/width
> >     GAREA     *Graphics area
> >     PROJ      *Map projection/angles/margins|drop flag
> >     SATFIL    *Satellite image filename(s)
> >     RADFIL    *Radar image filename(s)
> >     LATLON    *Line color/dash/width/label/inc
> >     PANEL     *Panel loc/color/dash/width/regn
> >     TITLE     *Title color/line/title
> >     TEXT      *Text size/font/width/hw flag
> >     CLEAR     *Clear screen flag
> >     DEVICE    *Device|name|x size;y size|color type
> >     LUTFIL    *Enhancement lookup table filename
> >     STNPLT    *Txc|mkc/mkt/mks/mkwd/hwfl|stnfil
> >     RCMFIL    *Input source text file
> >     RADTIM    *Valid Plot time {current or dattim}
> >     RADDUR    *Time duration (min_prior to RADTIM)
> >     DITHER    *dither level
> >     MESO      *mesocyclone color/marker/size/width/hw
> >     TVS       *tornado vortex signature color/marker/size/width/hw
> >     CNTR      *Cell Centroid movement barb color/size/width
> >     MAXTOP    *Maxtop color
> >     RADINFO   *Radar status color
> >     ECHO      *Plot radar echoes (0=None,1=PRCP,2=PRCP&CLAR)
> >
> >
> >
> > PROGRAM DESCRIPTION
> >
> >    GPRCM is derived from the standard GEMPAK program GPMAP.
> >    The behavior is similar to gpmap, with the addition of
> >    reading Radar Coded Message (RCM) bulletins and optionally
> >    plotting radar echoes and/or annotations from the remarks
> >    included within the RCM bulletin.
> >
> >    RCM bulletins contain digitized reflectivity values derived
> >    from the 2.2 x 2.2 nmi NIDS Composite reflectivity product
> >    over the radar area of coverage out to 248 nmi based on grid squares
> >    approximately 5.4 nmi on a side. The reflectivity intensity
> >    value for each grid box is determined by assigning the maximum
> >    value of all Composite Reflectivity boxes whose centers
> >    are contained within the grid square. The RCM message
> >    comprises 9 intesity categories as follows:
> >
> >    Code                       Color Plotted (Precip mode)
> >      0    ND
> >      1    15-30 dBZ             23
> >      2    30-40 dBZ             22
> >      3    40-45 dBZ             21
> >      4    45-50 dBZ             20
> >      5    50-55 dBZ             17
> >      6    >= 55 dBZ             15
> >      7    data beyond 124 nmi that are above threshold
> >      8    data beyond 124 nmi that are below threshold
> >
> >    RCM data within a user specified time range are plotted.
> >
> >    RCMFIL is the RCM data file. Bulletins with radar observation times
> >    in the RCM file will be plotted if the observation time is within
> >    the range specified by the starting and ending times.
> >
> >    RADTIM (current or dattim) specifies the ending time for accepted data.
> >    RADDUR is the number of minutes prior to the ending time to begin
> >    accepting data.
> >
> >    DITHER is used to specify the plotting behavior of the reflectivity
> >    intensities. A value of 0 specifies no dithering, the grid box is
> >    completely filled. Values 1-4 increase the number of dither points
> >    per grid box, approaching an increasingly opaque value. Dither
> >    can be used to overlay image data with radar reflectivity in
> >    order to simulate transparency. A dither value >= 5 will outline
> >    the grid box.
> >
> >    MESO specifies the color/marker/size/width/hw for mesocyclones to be
> >    marked. A color value of 0 is used to turn off mesocyclone plotting.
> >    Marker attributes behave as MARKER for other plotting programs.
> >
> >    TVS specifies the color/marker/size/width/hw for tornado vortex 
> > signatures
> >    to be marked. A color value of 0 is used to turn off TVS plotting.
> >
> >    CNTR specifies the color/size/width for Cell Centroid movement barbs 
> > (knots).
> >    A value of 0 is used to turn off centroid plotting.
> >
> >    MAXTOP specifies the color for cell top annotations (feet).
> >    A value of 0 is used to turn off cell top annotations.
> >
> >    RADINFO specifies the color for radar site operational status 
> > annotations.
> >    NA, data not available; OM, out for maintenance; NE, no echoes.
> >
> >    ECHO specifies whether to plot the grid box intesities. A value of 0
> >    specifies no plotting of echoes; 1 specifies plotting only those
> >    echoes from radars in precipitation mode; 2 specifies plotting
> >    of echoes from radars in both precipitation and clear air mode.
> >
> >    GPRCM utilizes the nexrad.tbl station table to determine the radar
> >    location (not all RCM bulletins contain radar location as of Nov. 1999).
> >    The radars listed in the station table are also used to determine
> >    which locations are missing (Not Available: NA).
> >
> >
> > EXAMPLES
> >
> >     1.  Draw a Lambert Conformal map of the US.
> >         Display RCM data from the file rcm.dat. Plot radar observations
> >         for the past 60 minutes. Display the echo intensities (no 
> > dithering),
> >         maxtop values in yellow, and radar status in red. Do not plot 
> > mesocyclone,
> >         or TVS locations. Plot the cell centroid motion barbs in white.
> >
> >          GAREA    = us
> >          PROJ     = str/90;-105;0
> >          SATFIL   =
> >          RADFIL   =
> >          LATLON   = 0
> >          PANEL    = 0
> >          TITLE    = 1/-1/Radar Summary
> >          TEXT     = 1.3/22/1/hw
> >          CLEAR    = yes
> >          DEVICE   = xw
> >          RCMFIL   = rcm.dat
> >          RADTIM   = current
> >          RADDUR   = 60
> >          DITHER   = 0
> >          MAXTOP   = 5
> >          RADINFO  = 2
> >          MESO     = 0
> >          TVS      = 0
> >          CNTR     = 1/1/1
> >
> >     2.  Overlay the IR satellite imagery with RCM data for the US west 
> > coast.
> >         Use a DITHER value of 2 to for moderate transparency. Plot the radar
> >         CLRBAR horizontally above title. Satellite CLRBAR will be vertical 
> > along
> >         the left side of the image.
> >
> >          GAREA    = ca-
> >          PROJ     = sat
> >          SATFIL   = $SAT/GOES-10/4km/IR/IR_991108_1600
> >          RADFIL   =
> >          LATLON   = 0
> >          PANEL    = 0
> >          TITLE    = 1/-1/Satellite and Radar Composite
> >          TEXT     = 1/22/1/hw
> >          CLEAR    = yes
> >          DEVICE   = xw
> >          RCMFIL   = rcm.dat
> >          RADTIM   = current
> >          RADDUR   = 60
> >          DITHER   = 2
> >          MESO     = 0
> >          TVS      = 0
> >          CNTR     = 0
> >          MAXTOP   = 0
> >          RADINFO  = 0
> >          ECHO     = 1
> >          CLRBAR   = 1/h/cc/.46;.06
> >
> > ERROR MESSAGES
> >
> >     [GPRCM  -1]     Fatal error initializing TAE.
> >     [GPRCM  -2]     Fatal error reading TAE parameters.
> >     [GPRCM  -3]     Fatal error initializing GEMPLT.
> 
> --
> ============================================================
> Tom Priddy                                address@hidden
> Extension Ag. Meteorologist          ph:  606-257-3000ext245
> Ag. Weather Center                  fax:  606-257-5671
> 243 Ag. Engineering Bldg
> Dept. of Biosystems and Ag. Engr.
> University of Kentucky
> Lexington, KY 40546-0276
> HOMEPAGE   http://wwwagwx.ca.uky.edu
> ============================================================
> 
> 
>