       ╔═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗      

       ║                         STORM                         ║      

       ║                      Version 6.1                      ║      

       ║ (c) 1987,1991 by UTopia Software, All Rights Reserved ║      

       ║              Programmed by: Thomas Pesek              ║      

       ╚═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝      

                                                                      

     Every effort has been made to assure that this product is free of

defects, however it is provided as is and no warranty, either         

expressed or implied is given.  This program is the property of UTopia

Software. You are licensed to use it on one computer at a time. If you

desire, additional copies are available for a $25 registration fee +  

$2 Shipping (Texas residents add $2.06 Sales Tax). You will receive   

the latest version of STORM including the STORM GENIE hurricane track 

matching feature and over 130 Storm tracks. Mail to:                  

                                                                      

                           UTopia Software                            

                           P. O. Box 420324                           

                           Houston, Texas 77242                       

                           713-493-2282                               

                                                                      

     Registered users will be notified of future updates and          

enhancements and are entitled to product support.  It has taken       

hundreds of hours of research, design, and programming to produce     

STORM. I hope that you enjoy it. Thank you for your support.          

- Tom Pesek                                                           

                                                                      

                    ╔═══════════════════════╗                         

                    ║  PROGRAM DESCRIPTION  ║                         

                    ╚═══════════════════════╝                         

                                                                      

    The purpose of this program is to track hurricanes. Storm tracks  

can be entered and stored in data files for future use. You can enter 

storm data and print reports on the storm's location by date and      

time.  In addition, you can generate tracking maps showing the storm's

position and track. Hardcopy plots plots of these maps can be gener-  

ated using an Epson or Laserjet printer or an HP Plotter. You can     

track to one of 47 predefined track-to cities or enter the coordinates

of your own city.                                                     

                                                                      

                         ╔═════════════╗                              

                         ║  MAIN MENU  ║                              

                         ╚═════════════╝                              

                                                                      

             The MAIN MENU presents six (6) options:                  

                                                                      

    0) CONFIGURE - Configure the program to your computer hardware    

                                                                      

    1) NEW STORM - Enter data for a storm not yet on the disk.        

                                                                      

    2) UPDATE/PRINT - Edit, Update, List, and Print Storm Data        

                                                                      

    3) PLOT - Plot a Storm on a map on the screen, a Dot Matrix or    

              Laserjet Printer, or an HP Plotter.                     

    4) TRACK-TO CITY - Change track-to city or enter your city's data.

                                                                      

    5) DOS - Return to DOS.                                           

                                                                      

                                                                      

                                                                      

                   ╔═════════════════════════╗                        

                   ║  CONFIGURE YOUR SYSTEM  ║                        

                   ╚═════════════════════════╝                        

     This option allows you to custom tailor STORM to your computer.  

You can choose your Adapter, Monitor, Printer type, Printer Port,     

Plotter types, Plotter port, Default map, Time Zone, Wind Speed Units,

and Central Pressure Units.  You can also set the path to your storm  

files subdirectory and the name of your plot file.  Once set, these   

options are automatically saved and used each time you start STORM. If

you have trouble seeing STORM before changing these options, start    

STORM using: STORM /M <Return>. This sets STORM to monochrome mode.   

                                                                      

     MONITOR TYPE                                                     

                                                                      

     This option allows you to select your monitor type.  Some        

monochrome monitors will display "OK" in the color setting, others    

won't. If you have difficulty reading your monochrome screens, set the

monitor type to Monochrome.                                           

                                                                      

     ADAPTER TYPE                                                     

                                                                      

Select the type of graphics adapter in your system:                   

                                                                      

     VGA-  For a VGA Graphics Card and VGA or Multisync Monitor       

           (Displays 16 Color Storm Map (640 x 480))                  

                                                                      

     EGA-  for an EGA Graphics Card (with 128 K memory) & EGA Monitor 

           (Displays 16 Color Storm Map (640 x 350))                  

                                                                      

     CGA-  for CGA or Hercules Graphics Card                          

           (Displays 4 Color Storm Map (320 x 200)                    

                                                                      

NOTE: Storm requires a graphics adapter.  If a Hercules Graphics      

adapter is used, STORM must be started by typing STORM-H <RETURN> to  

invoke the CGA emulator.                                              

                                                                      

     DEFAULT MAP                                                      

                                                                      

     This option selects the map view that appears when you use Option

3 to plot the hurricane on the map. Select GULF for the Gulf coast    

map, EAST for the US East Coast, ATLANTIC for the Atlantic, PACIFIC   

for the Pacific, or LAST to use your last map setting (This setting   

automatically remembers your last zoom or pan location.)              

                                                                      

     PRINTER TYPE                                                     

                                                                      

     This option is used to select the type of printer in your system.

Select EPSON for Epson MX, FX, or Epson compatible 9 pin dot matrix   

printers or LASERJET for HP Laserjet and compatible printers.  This   

option is used to print the map in option 3. If you don't have an     

Epson or Laserjet compatible printer, use the Plotter choice to Plot  

To File and then import the resulting HPGL file into WordPerfect or   

similar product as a graphic and print from there.                    

                                                                      

     PRINTER PORT                                                     

                                                                      

     Select the port on which your printer is attached. Valid entries 

are LPT1, LPT2, and LPT3. If you have a printer on a serial port, use 

DOS' Mode command to set up your COM port, eg.(MODE COM1:1200,E,7,1,P)

then redirect your LPT port to that COM port. (MODE LPT1:=COM1:)      

                                                                      

     PLOTTER TYPE                                                     

                                                                      

     If you have a plotter on your system, use this option to select  

your plotter type. If your plotter is not listed try using one of the 

listed plotters. Compare your results until you find the best match.  

The Epson HI80 plotter is supported only with a HP emulation board    

installed. If you Plot to File, be sure to set the plotter type for   

the type of plotter you will eventually use.  STORM uses several      

high-level HP-GL commands. Many HP-GL translation programs do not     

translate these commands. If you are using a translate program on a   

STORM plot file and are having trouble, you may want to try a screen  

capture utility instead.  If you don't have a plotter, set the plotter

type to NONE.                                                         

                                                                      

     PLOTTER PORT                                                     

                                                                      

     Select the port to which your plotter is connected. Valid entries

are: NONE, COM1, COM2, LPT1, LPT2, LPT3, & FILE.  COM Ports should be 

configured:  9600 Baud, No Parity, 8 bits and 1 Stop Bit. File plots  

are written to the Path/Filename entered in the Path/Filename field.  

If you don't have a plotter, set the plotter port to NONE.            

                                                                      

     TIME ZONE                                                        

                                                                      

     Time data is stored in storm files in GMT to correspond to the   

data format of the NOAA weather archives. Select the time format in   

which you wish to enter and display your data, and STORM will         

translate the data for you automatically. Current valid choices are:  

GMT (Greenwich Mean Time), EST (Eastern Standard Time), CST (Central  

Standard Time), AST (Atlantic Standard Time), PST (Pacific Standard   

Time), HST (Hawaii Standard Time), EDT (Eastern Daylight Time), CDT   

(Central Daylight Time), and PDT (Pacific Daylight Time).             

                                                                      

     WIND SPEED UNITS                                                 

                                                                      

     Wind speed data is stored in storm files in knots to correspond  

to the data format of the NOAA weather archives. Select the wind speed

format in which you wish to enter and display your data, and STORM    

will translate the data for you automatically. Current valid choices  

are:  MPH (Miles per Hour) and Kts (Knots).                           

                                                                      

     CENTRAL PRESSURE UNITS                                           

                                                                      

     Central pressure data is stored in storm files in millibars to   

correspond to the data format of the NOAA weather archives. Select the

central pressure format in which you wish to enter and display your   

data, and STORM will translate the data for you automatically. Current

valid choices are: in (inches) and mb (millibars).                    

                                                                      

     STORM FILES PATH                                                 

                                                                      

     This field allows you to enter the location of your storm data   

files. Enter the full path including drive and directory.             

I recommend the following settings:                                   

                                                                      

     C:\STORM\STORMS\  (for hard disk drives)                         

  or                                                                  

     A:\STORMS\   or   B:\STORMS\  (for floppy disk drives)           

                                                                      

If you leave the field blank, STORM will look for its files in the    

current default directory. This will cause STORM not to find any storm

files on the program disk.  Storm files are stored in a subdirectory  

on your disk rather than in the root directory, because the root      

directory is limited to only 112 entries. If STORM ever has trouble   

locating its storm data files, check this path for errors.            

                                                                      

     STORM PLOT FILE PATH/NAME                                        

                                                                      

     This field allows you to enter the path & name of the file to    

which plots are sent if the PLOT TO FILE option is selected in the    

port settings list. You don't need to fill-in this field unless you   

plan to use the PLOT TO FILE option.                                  

                                                                      

                                                                      

                                                                      

                                                                      

                                                                      

                                                                      

                                                                      

                   ╔═════════════════════════╗                        

                   ║  ENTER A NEW HURRICANE  ║                        

                   ╚═════════════════════════╝                        

                                                                      

     This option allows you to enter the INITIAL data on a storm which

is not currently on the disk. You will be prompted to enter:  1) DATE,

2) TIME, 3) LATITUDE, 4) LONGITUDE, 5) WIND SPEED and 6) CENTRAL      

PRESSURE. (Set data units using Option 0 - Configure)                 

                                                                      

NOTE:  Latitudes less than 0 degrees North or greater than 45 degrees 

North and Longitudes less than 20 degrees West or greater than 165    

degrees West will not be displayed on the map in option 3. Information

will, however, be listed for these points on the printed summary in   

option 2. Dates: (mm/dd/yy)  Times: (hh:mm) hh=0 to 23.               

                                                                      

WARNING:                                                              

This option should NOT be used for storms that are currently stored on

the disk, as it will overwrite the existing data.  You will be warned 

if a storm name already exists, before it is overwritten.             

                                                                      

    ╔═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗         

    ║  UPDATE, EDIT, LIST, PRINT, RENAME, OR DELETE A STORM ║         

    ╚═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝         

                                                                      

     This option allows you to modify your storm data files. You can  

update a storm, enter ADDITIONAL data points, or Edit previously      

entered data. You can rename storm files or delete them if you desire.

This option also allows you to list storm data on the screen and print

it to a printer, if desired.                                          

                                                                      

     When you enter data, remember that storm coordinates less than 0 

degrees N or greater than 45 degrees N Latitude and less than 20      

degrees W or greater than 165 degrees W Longitude won't show on the   

map. Dates are in the format (mm/dd/yy) and times are in the format   

(hh:mm) hh=0 to 23. Data entry formats are set in Option 0 (Configure)

                                                                      

    When editing use <UP ARROW> to go to previous record, <DOWN ARROW>

to go to the next record, <HOME> to go to the first record, <END> to  

go to the last record, <INS> to insert a record before the displayed  

record, <DEL> to delete record, <ENTER> to edit, or <ESC> when done.  

                                                                      

                       ╔═══════════════╗                              

                       ║  STORM GENIE  ║                              

                       ╚═══════════════╝                              

                                                                      

     This feature selects Storms from the Storms database which match 

your selection criteria. You can select storms by Year of Occurrence, 

Location, Time of Year (Season), Track-to City Location, and Storm    

Strength.  Matching storms are displayed. You can then continue or    

choose to change the settings, if desired.                            

                                                                      

     The Year of Occurrence option finds storms which occurred between

the selected starting and ending years.                               

                                                                      

     The Location option finds storms which passed within the tracking

radius of the specified location. This location defaults to the       

current location of the current storm.  NOTE: Actual Data Points are  

matched, not storm tracks. In high Latitudes where storms move at high

speed you may need to adjust the tracking radius to 200-300 Miles to  

find all the matching storms.                                         

                                                                      

     The Season option selects storms that occurred between a starting

and ending date. The default dates are set according to the season in 

which the current storm occurred, as defined by the National Weather  

Service.  These are: Early - May 1 thru July 15; Mid - July 16 thru   

Sept. 20; and Late - Sept. 20 thru Nov. 30. Any set of dates may be   

entered, however. If you choose to input dates other than the default 

dates, the season indication will not change and should be ignored.   

                                                                      

     The Track-to option selects storms that passed within the        

tracking radius of the track-to location. This location defaults to   

the location of the current track-to city.                            

                                                                      

      The Storm strength option selects storms of a certain strength  

or greater. It uses the following NOAA intensity classifications:     

                                                                      

Tropical Depression  - Winds of up to 39 miles per hour               

Tropical Storm       - Winds from 40 to 73 miles per hour.            

Category 1 Hurricane - Winds of 74 to 95 miles per hour.              

Category 2 Hurricane - Winds of 96 to 110 miles per hour.             

Category 3 Hurricane - Winds of 111 to 130 miles per hour.            

Category 4 Hurricane - Winds of 131 to 155 miles per hour.            

Category 5 Hurricane - Winds greater than 155 miles per hour.         

                                                                      

You can select whether this intensity occurs at the Current Location, 

at the Track-to Location, or Anywhere Along the Track.                

                                                                      

     You may select one or more than one of these options at a time to

limit the number of storms selected. If you are unhappy with the      

storms found, select the re-try option, change your selections and try

again.  When you are pleased with your selections, continue on to the 

plotting map.                                                         

                                                                      

NOTE: This program is not intended to be used to make life or death   

decisions.  As you know, if you have studied past hurricanes, they    

seldom maintain constant course and speed.  Please don't use this     

program to predict a storm's path.  Instead, please follow the advice 

of your local authorities.  It's always better to be safe than sorry. 

I want to keep you around as a customer for a long time!              

                                                                      

                  ╔═══════════════════════════╗                       

                  ║  PLOT A STORM ON THE MAP  ║                       

                  ╚═══════════════════════════╝                       

                                                                      

     This option allows you to track the storm on a screen map. The   

map can be zoomed and panned to get the desired view using the <F10>  

key. The <F7> key prints it on an Epson or Laserjet printer. The      

<F9> key terminates the map at any time. The <ENTER> or <ESC> keys    

leave the map after it is drawn and then allows you to plot it to an  

HP type plotter. You choose the storms to plot by tagging them on     

the list. You may choose as many storms as you wish. This feature     

allows you to compare the current storm with past storms.             

                                                                      

     The map can be plotted with or without 5 deg Latitude/Longitude  

lines. You can advance the storms using "AUTO ADVANCE" or "MANUAL"    

advance. If you choose MANUAL ADVANCE you will be prompted to "PRESS  

ANY KEY" to advance the storm to the next position.  If you choose    

"AUTO ADVANCE" you can set the time delay for plot advances. This     

delay is multiplied by the time between data points to move the storm 

at a speed relative to its actual movement. 0 time delay defeats this 

feature and plots the storms as fast as possible.  If you choose pause

between storms, the program will pause after each storm is plotted,   

and you will be prompted to "PRESS ANY KEY" to plot the next storm.   

                                                                      

     If you wish to mark every point on your storm track choose <Y> on

the annotate feature or if you wish to mark only the first point of   

each day choose <D> on the annotate feature, if you want no marks     

choose <N> on the annotate feature.                                   

                                                                      

     Storm has three display modes. If you choose <S> (standard),     

Storm uses 5 colors or 5 line types to distinguish storms. If you     

choose <I> (intensity) each storm track is displayed in Purple or wide

dash if a Tropical depression; green or medium dash if a tropical     

storm; yellow or close dash if a category I,II, or III Hurricane; and 

red or solid line if a category IV or V hurricane. Finally, if you    

choose <C> (compare), the first storm is tracked in red or solid line 

type and all other storm tracks are plotted in blue or dashed line    

type.                                                                 

                                                                      

     The <PROJECT FEATURE> will plot the projected location of the    

storm in 12 hours using the last speed and direction. I don't put much

faith in these projections, but my users ask for it, so here it is.   

                                                                      

     When the storm is not moving on the map, you may press the <F7>  

key and print the map out on your Epson type or Laserjet type printer.

The map will temporarly redraw in black & while and a map will be     

printed on the printer type and port specified in Option 0 (Configure)

then the map will return to its previous configuration.               

                                                                      

     STORM supports Hewlett Packard 7470A, 7475A, 7550A, & ColorPro   

Plotters & the EPSON HI80 plotter with HPGL emulator card installed.  

                                                                      

PAN / ZOOM FEATURE                                                    

                                                                      

     To activate the PAN/ZOOM Feature press <F10>. Press <PgUp> to    

zoom-in.  Press <PgDn> to Zoom-out. Press arrow keys to pan up/dn or  

left/right.  Press <HOME> to display default map. Press <ENTER> when  

you are finished and your map will be redrawn using your new image    

window.                                                               

                                                                      

                   ╔════════════════════════╗                         

                   ║  CHANGE TRACK-TO CITY  ║                         

                   ╚════════════════════════╝                         

                                                                      

     This option will allow you to change the Track-To City. Use the  

highlight bar to select the city and press <RETURN> to select the     

city.  If your city is not listed you can choose the "your city"      

option.  This option allows you to enter the name, latitude and       

longitude of your city. The program will then track to your city.     

Values for the latitude and the longitude of your city can be obtained

from various maps and reference books.  In addition, a list of        

latitudes and longitudes for several cities is included on the data   

disk in a file called "LATLONG.ADD". If NONE is entered, no track-to  

city is used.                                                         

                       ╔═══════════════╗                              

                       ║  EXIT TO DOS  ║                              

                       ╚═══════════════╝                              

                                                                      

    This option will terminate the program and return you to DOS.     

