How Do I Create This Pictuure

[munleyj]

I an using Mcidas V.

[jayh]

Hello-

This is a isosurface of a variable that is colored by another variable, typically done with Gridded Data. As as example, you can follow these steps.

From the Data Explorer window:
- In the Data Sources tab, under the Gridded Data chooser, select "Remote"
- A catalog chooser appears, and you can open up the NCEP model data tree and choose a forecast model you'd like to use. I clicked on Global Forecast System (GFS), then the GFS CONUS 80km. Under that selection, click on "Latest Collection for GFS CONUS 80km," then at the bottom of the window click on "Add Source"
- Then you'll be brought to the Field Selector tab. Open the list under "3D grid" then open the list under "Derived"
- I chose Speed (from u-component...). This is the variable that will be used for the iso surface calculation.
- Then in the Displays tab at the top right, open the "3D Surface" list and choose "Isosurface colored by another parameter"
- To reduce the amount of data and time steps, in the "Times" tab in the bottom right, change "Use Default" to "Use Selected" and then choose one time in the list. Then click "Create Display"
- A new window will pop up which will choose the variable that the isosurface will be colored by. Open the GFS CONUS 80km list, then the 3D grid list, and I chose "Relative Humidity @ Isobaric surface." Then in the "Times" tab at the bottom, change "Use Default" to "Use Selected" and then choose the same time you chose previously. Then click "OK."

This will load the wind speed isosurface colored by relative humidity. You can use this template to display whatever variables you choose. I'd highly recommend looking at our tutorials page and work through the exercises you are interested in: http://www.ssec.wisc.edu/mcidas/softwar ... ation.html

The Gridded Data tutorial will have other isosurface examples. If you have any other questions you can also search these forums or the McIDAS-V User's Guide: http://www.ssec.wisc.edu/mcidas/doc/mcv ... /index.php

Thanks, Jay
McIDAS User Services

[munleyj]

I am trying to view current rainfall 9n 3d 0r volumetric,

[jayh]

Hello-

I'm not sure what type of data you are referring to exactly. After talking to my coworker about your phone call yesterday, if you are interested in looking at radar data, you can load that through the Radar data chooser. You might be interested in going to Radar -> Level II -> Remote. I believe the default catalog will be http://thredds.ucar.edu/thredds/radarServer/catalog.xml and the Collection: will be Nexrad Level II Radar from IDD. You can select a station from the map and click "Add Source." Then in the Field Selector you can select the type of data you wish to display and the Display type. Another good source of examples is the "Displaying Level II Radar Imagery" tutorial on the page mentioned above. There are examples of each kind of display in there.

If you have data files locally, and you don't know how to get them into McIDAS-V, please give us some information on the files. You can also post a sample file on our ftp site. If you'd like to do that, just let us know on this forum thread.

Thanks, Jay

[munleyj]

The data I am trying to display is the volumetrics. You can look at the rainfall in 3D as in this picture.

[bobc]

Hello -

The closest I was able to get to this display in McIDAS-V is this image:

Moore, OK tornado isosurface display (1999)

If you are interested in learning how I created this display, read on.

1. I ordered one timestep of Radar data from NCEI (KTLX19990503_235123). The data was originally zipped, so I unzipped the data to get that file.
   
2. In McIDAS-V, from the Data Sources tab of the Data Explorer, I went to the Radar>Level II>Local chooser. From the Station dropdown, I selected 'Oklahoma City/Normal (TLX)'. I navigated to my file ordered from NCEI, selected it, and clicked Add Source.
   
3. To get the 2D base reflectivity to plot, I selected 'Reflectivity' in the Fields panel, 'Radar Sweep View in 2D' in the Displays panel, and then clicked Create Display. If you want, from the Layer Controls tab of the Data Explorer, you can use the controls of the layer to apply smoothing. In the attached image, I used Gaussian Weighted smoothing with a factor of 10.0.
   
4. To get the 3D part of the display, 2 isosurfaces have to be created. From the Field Selector tab of the Data Explorer, I selected 'Reflectivity' in the Fields panel, 'Radar Isosurface' in the Displays panel, and clicked Create Display. From the Layer Controls, I set the Isosurface Value to be 51. This means that a surface will be wrapped around the 51 dBz reflectivity level. I changed the enhancement to System>Solid Colors>Red.
   
5. I redid the step above to create another isosurface display. I created an enhancement that was between orange and yellow (see the Color Table Editor documentation for more on this) and applied this enhancement to the layer. I set the Isosurface value of this layer to 45 dBz. I applied a transparency to this layer by right-clicking on the enhancement in the Legend of the Main Display window and selecting Transparency>60%. This transparency on the yellow-orange isosurface allows you to see the red isosurface under it.

If you want to load up my display in your McIDAS-V session, I posted a zipped bundle containing the data on our ftp. Here's how you can pick it up:

Code: Select all

ftp ftp.ssec.wisc.edu
user: anonymous
password: your-email-address
bin
cd pub/incoming
get Moore_OK_Tornado_1999.mcvz
bye

After picking up this bundle, start up McIDAS-V and select File>Open from the Main Display window. Navigate to the directory you put the Moore bundle in, select the file, and click Open.

You can repeat this same process with real-time data, but you may need to adjust the reflectivity values of the isosurfaces to better match the actual data values. Dependent on the height of the reflectivity, you may need to adjust the display's vertical scale to get the radar image to stretch out better and fit in the display. For example, in the image I attached above, I have the vertical scale of the display set to 0-18km instead of the default of 0-16km. I also adjusted the map by changing colors and adding county outlines and interstate highways (described on the Map Controls page of the User's Guide).

Thanks -
Bob Carp
McIDAS Help Desk

[munleyj]

OK, this is what I am looking for. I don't need this particular image by I just wanted to know how and where to create it for when I need to. Now, in the radar selector from NCEI what data do I choose and how do I get the sip file?

[munleyj]

Can I call your office to guide me through?

[munleyj]

How do I get a zip file from the NEIC sight to be ingested into MCidas?

[munleyj]

Where do I find realtime level 3 radar data?