20030522: Plotting Convective Outlooks

Kevin,

The convective outlook products are distributed in redbook graphics format.
See for examples of redbook graphics:
http://my.unidata.ucar.edu/content/software/gempak/examples/redbook/listgifs.php
The Day 1 convective outlook is 94O.

You could FILE the product "PGWE46 KWNS" from your HDS feed
and use the GPMAP program to plot the file by specifying in the
AWPSFL parameter. 

Or, you could pipe the product to dcredbook to create a vgf file for
use in NMAP. Typically I pipe the redbook graphics to a script which
runs dcredbook_vg like:

HRS     ^P..... (K[^WK]|KW[^A]|KWA[^L]|KK[^C]|KKC[^I])
        PIPE    -close  util/dcredbook_vg.csh

And then the script dcredbook_vg.csh is:

#
# Filename: dcredbook_vg.csh
#
# This scripts may be used as a pqact.conf action to automatically
# generate VG (vector graphics) from REDBOOK graphics found on NOAAPORT.
#
# pqact.conf usage:
#
# send all NOAAPORT graphic products (except those from KWAL) to this script
#HRS     ^P..... (K[^W]|KW[^A]|KWA[^L])
#       PIPE    -close  util/dcredbook_vg.csh
#
#
# source the GEMPAK environment so that table, mapfiles etc. are found
#
source /home/gempak/NAWIPS/Gemenviron

# Set a work directory and change directory to it
setenv OUTDIR $GEMDATA/images/vg
cd $OUTDIR

cat | dcredbook_vg -v 1 -d $GEMDATA/logs/dcredbook_vg.log 
'vg|%P/YYYYMMDD_HHNN.vgf'
exit 0



The nwx code for plotting qpf text bulletins and solar radiation products is
specific to that program.

The sigmets decoded by the respective decoders can be plotted from
gpmap, or nmap. See the $NAWIPS/ldm/etc directory for decoder actions for
pqact.conf

Steve Chiswell




>From: "Kevin Polston" <address@hidden>
>Organization: UCAR/Unidata
>Keywords: 200305222102.h4ML2kLd028828

>Steve,
>
>Is there a way to be able to plot the convective outlooks on NMAP as a
>VGF file or something like that?  And could you get the data from the
>text outlook (ie, the 3 letter station identifiers?  I glanced over some
>of the programs and saw one called dccisig and I believe that is for
>convective sigmets if I am not mistaken. Can that be used as well to
>plot the convective outlooks? How would I go about doing that?  Also,
>when I run NWX and look at the QPF text there is a graphic that pops up
>on the NWX map outlining the QPF areas.  Could you do the same there
>with the convective outlook?  Also, where would you go to make changes
>to the graphics in NWX?  I don't believe I have seen a file or know
>where it is to do that.  Unless it is hard coded into the program.  Do
>you have any suggestions for all of the above.
>
>Thanks,
>
>
>Kevin Polston
>Senior Instructor, NWSTC
>Kansas City MO 64152
>
>816-880-9314 ext 273
>
>PS.....I was able to get the RUC grid file to work using the suggestions
>you made yesterday. Thanks!