HFIP Real-time Products Pages

Script-generated images for display on hfip.org

Updated 20200720

Introduction

For those granted time on Jet for HFIP real-time model experiments for this hurricane season, you are invited to show your model output on the HFIP products pages, hfip.org/products.

With your assistance, we will generate HFIP graphics for a quasi real-time display of experi- mental forecast guidance from various organizations into one centralized location. Scripts post- process model grids to create graphical files via predefined criteria. This allows comparison using common criteria: graphical display of products, particular colors, set map projections and scale, time matching. All in one place, alongside operational model output displayed in the same manner.

There are two requests for data.

1. Experimental graphical model output, described here, on hfip.org/data/
2. Experimental storm ATCF track output for display on ruc.noaa.gov/tracks/  described at the end of the document.

Code information

The graphical software is continually used and supported. Origins of the graphical scripts: GrADS graphics visualization scripts create the graphics; they were written by David A Zelinsky, NHC; and the images were vetted by the NWS NHC forecaster.

• Bash-shell scripts manage and organize the input and output files, and perform graphics generation. By wrapping Dave's GrADS scripts in system-level scripts, this allows any subset and/or sequence of model output files to be processed. These were written by Thiago Quirino, formerly of NOAA/ AMOL and Dave Zelinsky.

• The image generation scripts are hosted on jet. The output from the process is a TAR-ZIP file-formatted package on jet. These tar files are then gathered via a system cron process. The images are extracted from the tar file to be staged on jet. A transfer cron process copies the files from jet to hfip.org (hosted at NCAR).

How to create graphical images

• One script is designed specifically for regional models while another script is designed specifically for global models, "hfipRegionalModelGraphics.ksh" and "hfipGlobalModelGraphics.ksh", respectively. Both scripts are located in our project directory at:

/lfs4/HFIP/hfipprd/userScripts/HFIP-GRAPHICS/

• The README file in the directory includes examples of how to run these scripts for global and regional models. You can try the examples by simply copying-and-pasting the few commands shown in the README file. A more detailed description of the arguments required by each script is given in the comments located at the top portion of each script. The scripts and README instructions are found here..

/lfs4/HFIP/hfipprd/userScripts/HFIP-GRAPHICS/

• The scripts work with GRIB1/GRIB2/NetCDF files.

• Use these scripts in your realtime workflow directly and/or copy and modify them to suit your needs.

• The section following this,“Product descriptions”, shows example output from TC Maria 15AL, Sept 18, 2017. It is mentioned here to let you know that there are a dozen files created for each model, for each scale, for each model run, for each forecast hour, and for each named storm.

• The image files produced by the GrADS scripts include the storm name and 10-digit date string, then are renamed by the bash scripts. The final images have the storm name and date string and individual files have either "_n_f" or "_p_f", where “n” is for the nest domain forecast, and “p” is for the parent domain, or as we call them the storm-scale and regional-scale forecast, respectively. An example of the product name sfc_p_f000.png translates to “surface parameters for the parent /regional domain, for 0Z”.

• To see a sample of the final image filename convention, run the example given in the /lfs4/HFIP/hfipprd/userScripts/HFIP-GRAPHICS/README file for the UWN8 regional model (UWN8 has both a large-scale and moving domains), then take a look at the final generated TAR-ZIP graphics archive file.

• The following directory paths show the real-time operational forecast models processed with these very scripts. The global operational GFS is labeled op_gfs. It runs daily, multiple times. The regional operational HWRF, labeled op_hwrf, runs once a “tcvitals” storm has been issued until the storm expires. In the example below, the first path listed is where files are located on jet, the second path is for file locations on the web server. Note the similarity.

Path on Jet

          /lfs4/HFIP/hfipprd/stage/2017/determine/op_hwrf/2017091812/Maria_15AL/700_p_f000.png

Path on the web server

http://www.hfip.org/data/hfipprd/2017/determine/op_hwrf/2017091812/Maria_15AL/700_p_f000.png

Product Descriptions

Hfip.org shows and describes the products. hfip.org/products/about.html#DeterministicProducts

Graphics are generated for both the Regional Scale domain (the parent domain) and, when applicable, the Storm Scale domain (the nest domain). These graphics are created using the GrADS visualization tool.

· Mean Sea Level Pressure (4 and 2 mb contours)

· 10 m wind

· 1000-850 mb thickness

·  850 mb wind, 850 mb height, 850 mb vorticity

·  700 mb relative humidity, 700 mb wind, 700 mb height, 700 mb vorticity

·  500 mb height, 500 mb wind, 500 mb vorticity

·  200 mb wind, 200 mb height

·  A combined graphic with 850 vorticity, 500 height, 200 wind

The variables listed above are consolidated into six specific images for each scale in the following configuration, as vetted originally by the NHC forecasters. The example images below are from the operational HWRF 2017, for TC Maria on 2017091800.

Regional Scale Graphics: (Sample graphics from TC Maria 15AL, Sept 18, 2017 0Z,

o Sea Level Pressure (mb), 10m Wind (kts), and 1000-850mb Layer Thickness (x10m)

o 700mb Geopotential Height (x10m), 700mb Wind (kts), and 700-500mb layer averaged Relative Humidity (%)

o Combination of 850mb Relative Vorticity (x10-5 s-1), 500mb Geopotential Height (x10m), and 200mb Wind (kts)

o 850mb Relative Vorticity (x10-5 s-1), Geopotential Height (x10m), and Wind (kts)

o 500mb Relative Vorticity (x10-5 s-1), Geopotential Height (x10m), and Wind (kts)

o 200mb Relative Vorticity (x10-5 s-1), Geopotential Height (x10m), and Wind (kts)

o Precip 6-hr Total, Sea Level Pressure (mb), and 1000-850mb Layer Thickness (x10m) 

Storm Scale Graphics (Sample graphics from TC Maria_15AL, Sep 18, 2017 0Z, Operational HWRF run)

o Sea Level Pressure (mb), 10m Wind (kts)

o 850mb Relative Vorticity (x10-5 s-1), 850mb Geopotential Height (x10m), and 1000-850mb Layer Thickness (x10m)

o 700mb Geopotential Height (x10m), 700mb Wind (kts), and 700-500mb layer averaged Relative Humidity (%)

o 200mb Temperature Anomaly (°C), Geopotential Height (x10m), and Wind (kts)

o Meridional Top: Total Wind (kts); Bottom: Relative Humidity (%), Temperature Anomaly (°C),Relative Vorticity (x10-5 s-1), and Meridional Wind (kts)

o Zonal Top: Total Wind (kts); Bottom: Relative Humidity (%), Temperature Anomaly (°C), Relative Vorticity (x10-5 s-1), and Zonal Wind (kts)

o Precip 6-hr Total, Sea Level Pressure (mb), and 1000-850mb Layer Thickness (x10m)

Tracks

Experimental storm ATCF track output from experimental models are included for display on ruc.noaa.gov/tracks/. Create ATCF data with a post-process of the model output. Let us know where your files are located on jet. That’s it.

Contact

For support or additional information contact Paula McCaslin @noaa.gov.