STATLOG

Sections

NAME
SYNOPSIS
PARAMETERS
DESCRIPTION
EXAMPLES
FILES
SEE ALSO

NAME

statlog - Surface meteogram plotting program

SYNOPSIS

statlog [parameters...] filename

PARAMETERS

Command Line	Resource	Default	Description
-h	help	No	Lists basic help information.
-df=filename	default	.wxpdef	Sets the name of the resource file.
-na=name	name	statlog	Specifies the name used in resource file parsing.
-ba	batch	No	Run program in batch mode
-me=level	message	out2	Specifies level of messages to be displayed file information - mess
-fp=filepath	file_path	current directory	Specifies location of database files.
-dp=datapath	data_path	current directory	Specifies the location (path) of the input raw data files. This may be modified in the name convention file.
-cp=conpath	con_path	current directory	Specifies the location (path) of the input surface converted data files. This may be modified in the name convention file.
-rp=rawpath	raw_path	current directory	Specifies the location of the output raw files generated by the program. These files will not be generated unless the out_file resource is specified and the output is plotted data.
-gp=gridpath	grid_path	current directory	Specifies the location of the output grid files generated by the program. These files are not generated unless the out_file resource is specified and the output is a gridded field.
-ip=imagepath	image_path	current directory	Specifies the default location of the output GIF images generated by the program.
-nc=name_conv	name_conv	name_conv	The name convention file specifies how files are named in WXP. This sets which name convention file to use.
-if=in_file	in_file	sfc_cvt (for sfc data) mos_dat (for MOS data)	Specifies the input file name tag. The default is sfc_cvt, but it can be modified to any value in the filename convention file. A full name convention can be specified as well.
-mo=model	model	sfc	The type of data to use in the plot: sfc - use surface data ngm - use NGM MOS data
-cu=[hour\|la]	current	None	This specifies to use current data files. The current filename is based on the name convention. An optional hour can be specified for older data. If la is specified, the program will search back to find the most recent available file.
-ho=hour	hour	None	This resource specifies the exact hour that a data file is valid for. This locks in the start hour for a multi-file sequence.
-nh=num_hour	num_hour	-12	This specifies the number of hours that will be used in the plot. If this is not specified, 12 hours of data will plot. This is ignored for MOS data.
-id=identifier	identifier	None User prompt	Specifies the station to use in plotting data.
-va=variable	variable	User prompt Batch: first variable listed in the statlog.var file	This specifies the variable to plot along with its formatting attributes. Multiple variables can be specified separated by commas for overlay plots. A list of valid variables is given below.
-sc=scale_factor	plot_scale	1.0	Specifies a scaling factor for all plotted text, symbols, vectors, etc.
-fm=format	plot_format	None	Specifies the output format of the plots. This is generally used to specify how many decimal places get displayed on the plot and in the output raw files.
-pp=param[,param...]	plot_param	None	Specifies additional plotting parameters. See the plot_param resource for more details.
-dr=drawable[,...]	draw	all	Specifies which part of the plot is to be drawn.
-la=label[,...]	label	Program defaults	Specifies the labels to be plotted around the plot. By default, labels are generated by the program and plotted above and below the plot. This resource overrides these labels.
-fl=font_list	font_list	modern.fnt	Specifies a list of fonts to use in the plots.
-ct=color_table	color_table	wxp.clr	Specifies the color table to use in the plot. This maps color names to actual RGB color values.
-cot=color[:attr]	color_text	white black for inverse plots.	Specifies the text color for labels above and below the plot.
-cod=color[:attr]	color_data	green	Specifies the color for plotted data.
-cogr=color[:attr]	color_grid	red	Specifies the color for background grids.
-cowd=color[:attr]	color_wind	white black for inverse plots.	Specifies the color for wind barbs.
-cocd=color[:attr]	color_cloud	white black for inverse plots.	Specifies the color for cloud cover symbols.
-cowx=color[:attr]	color_wx	yellow brown for inverse plots	Specifies the color for weather symbols
-de=device[,...]	device	User prompt Batch: display	Specifies the output device.
-ti=title	title	Program name	Specifies the window title.
-ic	icon	Off	Specifies whether to open window in iconified mode.
-bg=color	background	black white for inverse plots	Specifies the background color of the window.
-ge=geometry	geometry	640x480	Specifies the window and paper geometry.
filename[#seq]	filename	None User Pompt Batch: current=la	The name of the surface converted data file to be plotted. An optional sequence number can be added to designate the time for non-WXP files.

This program plots a time series of surface data on a meteogram. The input to the program is either a surface converted file produced by either the sacvt or smcvt programs or NGM MOS data. Then, based on a variable selected by the user, a plot is generated.

Surface Data Meteogram

The surface data meteogram will plot a time series of data. The number of hours is based on the num_hour resource. The default is 12 hours but often 24 hours is used.

The programs starts off by prompting the user for input converted file name. The user may specify the input file either via the command line of through the current resource. The input naming convention is specified by the sfc_cvt tag but this can be changed with the in_file resource.

Next, the program prompts the user for the station identifier to use in the plot.

The program will now prompt the user for the particular output variable to plot. Even though a meteogram is considered to be a set of plots, there is the ability to plot individual variables versus time. The program will show a menu of commonly used variables but many more are defined internally by the program and in the statlog.var file. The internal variables are:

**Internal Variables**
Variable	Description and units	Plots
temp	Temperature (F)	value
dewp	Dewpoint (F)	value
dewd	Dewpoint depression (F)	value
wdir	Wind direction (deg)	value
wspd	Wind speed (knt)	value
wgst	Wind gust (knt) (not in MOS)	value
wbrbc wbrb wind	Wind speed and direction (knt)	value₀=dir, value₁=spd
uwnd	U wind component - EW relative (m/s)	value
vwnd	V wind component - NS relative (m/s)	value
uwndg	U wind component - grid relative (m/s)	value
vwndg	V wind component - grid relative (m/s)	value
alt	Altimeter setting (in_Hg) (not in MOS)	value
pres	Sea level pressure (mb) use level parameter to get station/surface pressure	value
pralt	Sea level pressure or altimeter setting if sea level pressure is missing (mb)	value
elev	Station elevation (m)	value
wx	Present weather (SAO string)	string
vis	Visibility (mi)	value, formatted string
cldcl	Cloud ceiling (100 ft)	value, formatted string
cldclc	Cloud ceiling code (from synoptic code 0-9)	value
cldcv	Cloud cover (cloud string)	value=%, string
ptend	Pressure tendency (mb, trend is a string) (not in MOS)	value, string=trend code
prec	Precipitation (in) use time parameter to specify which type (3,6,12,24 hour)	value
extt	Extreme temperature (F) uses maximum if available, else minimum. Use time parameter to specify which type (6,24 hour)	value
maxt	Maxmium temperature (F) use time parameter to specify which type (6,24 hour)	value
mint	Minimum temperature (F) use time parameter to specify which type (6,24 hour)	value
snwdp	Snow depth (in)	value
nlcld	Amount of low clouds (code string)	value=%, string=code
lcld	Low cloud type (not in MOS)	string
mcld	Middle cloud type (not in MOS)	string
hcld	High cloud type (not in MOS)	string
solar	Equivalent solar radiation (min) (not in MOS)	value
sst	Sea surface temperature (C) (not in MOS)	value
wavper	Wave period (sec) (not in MOS)	value
wavhgt	Wave height (m) (not in MOS)	value
vpres	Vapor pressure (mb) (not in MOS)	value
svpres	Saturation vapor pressure (mb) (not in MOS)	value
wchilt	Wind chill temperature (K)	value
wchilf	Wind chill factor (W/m^2)	value
heat	Heat index (K)	value
humit	Humiture (F)	value
mrat	Mixing ratio (g/kg)	value
smrat	Saturation mixing ration (g/kg)	value
shum	Specific humidity (g/kg)	value
rhum	Relative humidity (%)	value
wetblb	Wetbulb temperature (K)	value
thetaw	Wetbulb potential temperature (K)	value
thetae	Equivalent potential temperature (K)	value
thetav	Virtual potential temperature (K)	value
theta	Potential temperature (K)	value
vtemp	Virtual temperature (K)	value
fr	Flight rules (number and string: 0=VFR, 1=MVFR, 2=IFR)	value=0, string=VFR value=1, string=MVFR value=2, string=IFR

These parameters can be accessed by name if they have not been redefined in the statlog.var file. Otherwise, prepending a "+" to the variable name will guarantee these variables will appear.

There are several derived variables from this list which are defined in the statlog.var file. These include composite plots, overlay plots and computed grids.

**Derived/Composite Variables**
Variable	Description	Plots
all	All data, a composite plot of temperature, dewpoint, sea level pressure, cloud cover, winds and present weather.	comp
allc	Same as all except temperatures in celcius.	comp

Once the variable is selected, the program will open and search through the set of hourly files to get all the data for the time series plot. A table of information for the station over the requested hours will print:

Data for KIND from 1200Z  3 OCT 97 to 0000Z  4 OCT 97

ID   TIME   T  TD  RH DIR SPD GST ALT SLP VIS CIL COV WX  MAX MIN  PR6 PR24 SC
KIND 1156  55  51  87 180   6     993 133  10 180 SCT      58  55
KIND 1256  59  53  81 200   8     993 134  10 210 SCT
KIND 1356  64  54  70 220  13     994 135  10 230 FEW
KIND 1456  69  55  61 210  12     993 131  10 230 FEW
KIND 1556  73  56  55 210  13     991 125  10 230 FEW
KIND 1656  76  57  52 220  11     991 123  10 230 FEW
KIND 1756  78  58  50 210  10     989 118  10     CLR      79  55
KIND 1856  81  59  47 210  11  21 987 109  10     CLR
KIND 1956  82  60  48 210  14  20 985 104  10     CLR
KIND 2056  82  60  48 210  14     985 101  10     CLR
KIND 2156  81  60  49 220  13     985 102  10 250 FEW
KIND 2256  77  60  56 220   8     986 106  10  85 FEW
KIND 2356  74  61  64 180   8     987 111  10  85 FEW      82  74

The program will now open the graphics window and start processing the data. The user will be prompted for the output device. Then the meteogram will be plotted. For the all data plot, this is a composite of various plots:

TEMP - temperature and dewpoint chart: This shows temperature as the top line and dewpoint as the bottom line.
EXTT - extreme temperature: The maximum or minimum temperatures are plotted below the chart at specific reporting times. 12Z and 18Z are generally low temperatures and 0Z and 6Z are high temperatures.
WX - present weather data: This shows the present weather plotted as a weather symbol.
SNOW - snow cover: This shows reported snow cover in inches.
PREC - precipitation: This shows precipitation totals in inches. The values are 24 hour totals generally at 12Z, 6 hour totals at 0Z, 6Z and 18Z, 3 hour totals elsewhere.
VIS - visibility: This shows the horizontal visibility in miles.
WGST - wind gusts: This reports wind gusts in knots if reported.
WIND - winds and cloud cover: This plots the standard wind barb and cloud cover symbol. Up is north.
CLD - Cloud chart: This chart gives cloud layer information. The vertical axis is a logarithmic scale of the cloud base height in feet ranging from the 100 to 50,000 feet. Each cloud layer base is plotted as horizontal lines. Clear skies are plotted as a 'C'. Scattered cloud layers (1/8th to 3/8th coverage) are plotted as a single short dash "-". Broken cloud layers (4/8th to 7/8th coverage) are plotted as two short dashes "- -". Overcast layers are plotted as a single long dash "---". The actual cloud ceiling is displayed below the chart in 100s of feet if the ceiling is below 10,000 feet.
PRALT - Pressure chart: This chart plots sea level pressure (or altimeter setting if pressure not reported) in millibars.
Time: This is the report hour in universal time. The actual time range is displayed above the plot.

When the plot is complete, output can be saved to a GIF image file, spooled to the printer or the plot can be zoomed. When the user is finished with the plot, the enter key can be hit which closes the window and returns the user to the variable prompt.

Meteogram Plotting

The default for each variable selected is a time series plot/chart. The chart has a range from just above the maximum to just below the minimum. The Y axis is labeled with the variable name and the units. The label is rotated counterclockwise. If the plot type is not plot, the data are printed (type=value) or plotted in the case of weather symbols (type=wx), cloud cover (type=cloud) or wind barbs (type=cbarb). If the variable is cldcl, the cloud ceilings are plotted using a logarithmic scale of the cloud base height in feet ranging from the 100 to 50,000 feet. Each cloud layer base is plotted as horizontal lines. Clear skies are plotted as a 'C'. Scattered cloud layers (1/8th to 3/8th coverage) are plotted as a single short dash "-". Broken cloud layers (4/8th to 7/8th coverage) are plotted as two short dashes "- -". Overcast layers are plotted as a single long dash "---".

If more than one variable is listed, the program stacks up the time series plots from top to bottom. If the variable is a group {var1,var2}, the program plots those on top of each other or on the same chart. The size of these plots can be set with the "sz=size" attribute. The size is the fraction of the largest side of the window. For most plots, the maximum size is about .8. Here is an example of the composite plot listed above:

all    All_Data              1 temp {temp,dewp} [F  :plot:sz=.18],\
                               extt             [F  :value],\
                               wx               [   :wx],\
                               snwdp            [in :value],\
                               prec             [in :value:%.2f],\
                               vis              [mi :value],\
                               wgst             [knt:value],\
                               wind { \
                                 wind           [knt:cbarb],\
                                 cldcv          [%  :cloud] },\
                               cld              [ft :plot:sz=.14],\
                               cldcl            [100_ft:data],\
                               pres             [mb :plot:sz=.14]

MOS Data Meteogram

The MOS data meteogram will plot a time series of forecast data. The NGM MOS data lists forecast data up to 60 hours. In this mode, a meteogram of forecast data will be produced. To trigger this mode, the model resource must be set to "ngm".

The programs starts off by prompting the user for input MOS file name. The user may specify the input file either via the command line of through the current resource. The input naming convention is specified by the mos_dat tag but this can be changed with the in_file resource.

Next, the program prompts the user for the station identifier to use in the plot. Remember that MOS data is stored by the 3 letter identifier in most cases.

The program will now prompt the user for the particular output variable to plot. Since the MOS data is close to regular surface data, most of the above variables are available. The program attempts to get sea level pressure data from the NGM_UA data. If that is available, most parameters can be computed. The program now lists the forecast data in a table:

NGM MOS data for IND from 1800Z  3 OCT 97 to 0000Z  6 OCT 97

ID   TIME   T  TD  RH DIR SPD GST ALT SLP VIS CIL COV WX  MAX MIN  PR6 PR24 SC
 IND 1800  76  60  58 220  15         120  10 250 SCT
 IND 2100  78  60  54 220  13         115  10 250 SCT
 IND 0000  72  61  68 210   7         110  10 250 SCT
 IND 0300  67  61  81 200   6         115  10     CLR
 IND 0600  65  60  84 190   7         120  10     CLR
 IND 0900  63  60  90 220   9         130  10 250 SCT
 IND 1200  63  60  90 230  10         140  10 250 BKN          61
 IND 1500  72  62  71 230  12         140  10 250 BKN
 IND 1800  78  62  58 240  15         140  10 250 BKN
 IND 2100  79  61  54 240  13         145  10 250 BKN
 IND 0000  73  60  64 230   8         150  10 250 SCT      82
 IND 0300  66  58  75 240   5         155         CLR
 IND 0600  61  56  84 250   4         160  10     CLR
 IND 0900  59  55  87 210   4         170         CLR
 IND 1200  58  55  90 200   3         180  10     CLR          56
 IND 1500  69  58  68 210   8                     CLR
 IND 1800  77  57  50 220  11                     CLR
 IND 2100  78  57  48 220  10                     CLR
 IND 0000  71  57  61 200   6                     SCT      80

The program prompts the user for the output device and then produces the MOS meteogram.

EXAMPLES

statlog -cu=la -id=KIND -va=all -de=d

This plots a composite 12 hour meteogram for KIND.

statlog -cu=la -id=KIND -nh=-24 -va=all -de=d

This creates a 24 hour meteogram.

statlog -mo=ngm -cu=la -id=IND -va=all -de=d

This plots a 60 hour forecast meteogram for IND.

   statlog -cu=la -id=KPHL -va=Temp{temp,dewp},wspd -de=d

This plots temperature, dewpoint on the same chart and wind speed on a different chart.

FILES

sao.cty - the surface station location database file
statlog.var - variable menu and definitions