WEATHERGRAPHIX 3.4 Tim Vasquez P.O. Box 9808 Abilene, Texas 79607 71611.2267@compuserve.com May 5, 1994 To all users: This is WeatherGraphix version 3.4. It's intended only to be an interim release to keep everyone happy until the advanced WeatherGraphix system -- the Digital Atmosphere (tentative name) -- is completed. No more versions of WeatherGraphix will be issued, since the source code is completely "maxed out" under the compiler, with only a little room for bug corrections. I'll issue a bug correction release if it warrants. The "Digital Atmosphere" is currently under development, and will represent a quantum leap over WeatherGraphix, in terms of graphics, user interface, speed, and meteorological processing. It will run on all 286 and higher computers with at least VGA. Although specifics about the program are proprietary, the pricing structure will be different. But WeatherGraphix users who are registered when the system is released will only pay an "upgrade" fee, mainly to help cover newly designed high-quality manuals, improved packaging, disks, new technical support with a BBS coming online, etc. A release date is unavailable since it depends largely on how my free time pans out. The planned SKEW-T (sounding) enhancement may be provided separately at a later date. Mathematical complications are delaying programming it, and it would just stall getting WeatherGraphix 3.4 out. For those who aren't yet registered, WeatherGraphix 3.4 is still $45 at the above address. Thanks for your interest, and I hope this program helps to challenge and fascinate you as you keep tabs on weather situations. Tim Vasquez Programmer ENHANCEMENTS of Version 3.4 over 3.3-------------------------------------- -ASOS IDENTIFIERS. Stations using the "AO2" code are now plotted as squares instead of circles, in addition to the "A02" code which was earlier recognized. A02 was a code that was incorrectly used by some reporting stations recently. -WIND GROUPS. Pesky stations reporting a non-standard missing surface wind group for example "CAO SA 1255 AMOS 42/40/36M/005" or "CAO SA 1255 AMOS 42/40/MMMM/005" are now parsed correctly. The program searches for "number"-"M/" sequences and them with "/MMMM/" to force a four-digit group in the wind slot. -COLOR CODING. Station plots may now be color-coded. Using the default color scheme, RED stations indicate IFR (instrument flight rules), where visibility is below 1 mile and/or the ceiling is below 1000 feet. BLUE stations indicate MVFR (marginal flight rules), where visibility is below 3 miles and/or the celing is below 3000 feet. These scheme gives you a quick look at where the weather is bad. If you don't like it, just go to the color table file and set IFR and MVFR colors to the same as the station plot. -CEILING PLOTS. Program configuration now adds the option of whether ceilings will be included with each station plot. Choosing NO will keep "E35", "M110", etc from being plotted, reducing clutter a little. -ISOPLETH LINE STYLES. The user has full control over the line color, style, and contour interval for each parameter. To change these, simply open WEATHER.COL with any text editor and change the values to your desired settings. This feature has been wanted by quite a few users. -WEATHER SYMBOLS. Standard graphic weather symbols are used on station plots. -CONVECTIVE OUTLOOKS. The parsing was totally rewritten to improve reliability. In version 3.3, the convective outlooks rarely plotted successfully. If a station in the convective outlook cannot be found, the user is informed that WEATHER.LOC file should be modified. Also, a bug was removed, which caused outlook points specified at a distance from a station (e.g. 30 NW MAF) to be plotted at an incorrect latitude. -DIAGNOSTIC ANALYSIS. Several diagnostic analysis parameters can now be plotted (Vertical Totals, Cross Totals, Total Totals, SWEAT, K Index, KO Index, Showalter Stability Index, 1000/500 mb Thickness). These REQUIRE that TTAA data be in the DATA.UPR file, otherwise, no values will be plotted. PLEASE DO NOT USE THIS MENU IF YOU HAVE NO TTAA DATA IN THE FILE!!! FD data can't be used here. -POTENTIAL TEMPERATURE/EQUIVALENT POTENTIAL TEMPERATURE. The program is now capable of plotting theta and theta-e values. -STATUS BAR BLANKING. Under the Other menu, the user may now select Status Bar Blanking. This causes the menu and status bar to disappear, making the chart perfect for printouts and screen captures. To continue, simply hit any key. -POINT/ROUTE OVERLAY. This will allow you to overlay any points or routes. Simply enter the three-letter identifier or a sequence of them, and the program will search the extensive WEATHER.LOC file to map out the entry. This is perfect for flight planning. -RADAR MODULE. No changes. -FDLO/FDHI DATA. This is read in at the beginning of the program. -COMPATIBILITY. Each module has been programmed to read in 604-circuit data, as well as information from databases in which the first character is a control code or a space. It should work fine with systems such as Cyclogenesis. If you have any problems, though, try using the PROCESS program which has been provided in this package.