20030428: IDV 1.0b6 station model plotting

Tom-

Tom Whittaker wrote:

> In the Properties editor for that field in the Station Model Editor, 
> only one "Pressure" like parameter is offered.

What you get in the drop-down list is the set of aliases that have
been defined by the system or the user Edit/Parameter Alias menu.  If
you look at the alias editor under Pressure, you'll see that PSL and
PRE are listed.  It will grab whichever it finds first.  However,
you can specify a specific variable name (PSL, PRE) in the editor
and that is the variable that will get used.

> I know in the past, we always plotted 'altimeter' because more stations 
> reported that (lots of the airport FAA stations didn't do SLP except 
> perhaps at syntopic times).  I don't know if that's true any 
> more...we'll have to look.

I went with PRE, but you are right, we'd have to look.

re: cloud cover.
> Bummer.  However, since you're reading from an MD file and know that it 
> is an MD file, perhaps we might consider interpreting the sky cover 
> parameter in the "McIDAS way".  Unless we're going to shift away from 
> that file format soon...

At the display control level, I don't know where this data came
from.  All I know is that I've got some variable that is aliased
to CC and this is the WMO symbol for cloud cover.  I can read
in a netCDF METAR dataset and there it's OctsSkyObscured.

I used to fudge it when all I could read were ADDE data, but
once I added real values, my fudging days were over.

re: station model font size.
> Thanks.  I knew we'd talked about it before, but thought I'd put it in 
> writing so it would make the bug parade.

It'll be in the next release.

> Nothing yet.  Just dazzled Wayne Feltz with...

> ...actually isotachs colored by potential temperature.  But it 
> illustrates the point.  His comment:  "so when we're at a field 
> experiment we don't have to try to load McIDAS on the workstations...we 
> can just put the IDV on there and use it for all our forecasting?"

That'd be nice.

> He's anxiously awaiting the "official" release.
>
> Perhaps you shouldn't call it "beta" any more...?  Or maybe you're not 
> comfortable with that yet.  It's lookin' awfully good, Don...

The plan is the June release will be the official 1.0 release
in time for the workshop.

Thanks for your feedback and testing.

Don
*************************************************************
Don Murray                               UCAR Unidata Program
address@hidden                        P.O. Box 3000
(303) 497-8628                              Boulder, CO 80307
http://www.unidata.ucar.edu/staff/donm
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