McIDAS-X User's Guide
Version 2023.1

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OBSRPT

Lists the observational text reports.


Format

OBSRPT dataset [keywords]


Parameter

dataset

ADDE dataset name; specify as group/descriptor or alias; the dataset must reside on a workstation running McIDAS-XCD


Keywords

CO=

co1 . . con

lists observations for all stations in these countries; use the CCODE command to list valid country codes

FORm=

tab bcol ecol

changes the output format (default=raw observation text if FORM is not specified, defaults below if FORM is specified)

 

 

tab

number of spaces to indent the second and subsequent lines of an observation (default=0)

 

 

bcol

beginning column number of the text frame to list observations (default=1)

 

 

ecol

ending column number of the text frame to list observations (default=80)

ID=

id1 . . idn

lists observations from stations with these IDs; see the Remarks

NEWest=

day hour

most recent day and hour to list; you must specify both day and hour

NHOurs=

number of hours of data to search; you must also specify the NEWEST keyword; you cannot specify both NHOURS and NPERIOD

NPEriod=

number of time periods to search; you cannot use NPERIOD with NHOURS or NUM; see the Remarks (default=1)

NUM=

number of observations per station to list; you cannot specify both NUM and NPERIOD

OLDest=

day hour

oldest day and hour to list; you must specify both day and hour

REG=

reg1 . . regn

list observations from these states; use two-letter P.O. abbreviations

TYPe=

type1 . . typen

subtypes of observations to list; must be an integer; valid entries vary with report types; see the Remarks (default=all types)


Remarks

OBSRPT lists station-based observational text data. Other commands are easier to use with specific data types. For example, use SFCRPT to list surface hourly reports; use SYNRPT to list synoptic reports; use RAOBRPT to list upper air reports; and use TAFRPT to list terminal aerodrome forecasts.

You must specify at least one of the following keywords: ID, REG, or CO. If you specify the ID keyword, you must use the station ID format consistent with the type of observational report being listed. When listing RAOB or synoptic data, you must use the 5-digit station ID format, for example, 72645. When listing surface hourly and TAF data, you must use the 4-character station ID format, for example, KGRB.

Use the NPERIOD keyword to specify how many reporting periods, as opposed to the number of hours, to search for each station. For surface hourly reports and terminal forecasts, the reporting interval is one hour. For synoptic and RAOB data, the interval may be three, six, or twelve hours.

Use the TYPE keyword to specify subtypes of data in a single observational report. McIDAS-XCD decoders assign unique integer values to the various types of data. The table below lists the valid integer entries for the TYPE keyword.

TYPE= Surface Hourly Reports Upper Air Reports Terminal Forecasts Synoptic Reports
0 Hourly TTAA - mandatory temperature and wind data
--
All reports
1 Special TTBB - significant level temperature data between the surface and 100 mb Long term forecast
--
2
--
TTDD - significant level temperature data above 100 mb Short term forecast
--
3
--
PPBB - significant level wind data between the surface and 100 mb
--
--
4
--
PPAA - significant level wind data above 100 mb
--
--

Examples

OBSRPT RTWXTEXT/SYNOPTIC ID=72450

This entry lists the latest synoptic report for Wichita, Kansas.

OBSRPT RTWXTEXT/SFCHOURLY CO=AU REG=WI RI ID=KLAX

This entry lists all surface hourly reports for Los Angeles and all stations in Australia, Wisconsin, and Rhode Island from the past hour.

OBSRPT RTWXTEXT/UPPERAIR ID=72201 REG=TX TYPE=0 1

This entry lists the most recent TTAA and TTBB RAOB reports for Key West, Florida, and all stations in Texas.

OBSRPT RTWXTEXT/SYNOPTIC ID=03772 72641 FORM=6 1 60 NEWEST=#Y 12 NPERIOD=2

This entry lists the last two periods of synoptic reports ending at 12:00 UTC of the current day for London, England, and Madison, Wisconsin. The first line of each report starts at column 1 and all subsequent lines start at column 6; all lines end at or before column 60. Because the interval between synoptic reports is three hours, this command lists reports from 9:00 UTC and 12:00 UTC.

OBSRPT RTWXTEXT/TERMFCST REG=DE OLDEST=1996285 10 NUM=7

This entry lists up to seven terminal aerodrome forecasts for all stations in Delaware with the oldest report no older than 10:00 UTC on day 1996285.

OBSRPT RTWXTEXT/SFCHOURLY ID=KMTW KABQ KSEA NEWEST=96300 18 NUM=5

This entry lists five reports each for Manitowoc, Wisconsin; Albuquerque, New Mexico; and Seattle, Washington, for a total of 15 reports. The most recent report is from 18:00 UTC on day 1996300.

OBSRPT RTWXTEXT/UPPERAIR REG=NV NEWEST=1996288 20 NHOURS=10 TYPE=0 NUM=5

This entry lists up to five TTAA RAOB reports for all stations in Nevada from the ten hours prior to 20:00 UTC on day 1996288.


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