Significant Modifications in McIDAS-X v. 2018.1

This page contains significant software modifications included in McIDAS-X version 2018.1. The list includes the changes that we think are of greatest interest to sites, so is somewhat subjective. See the Fastrack 2018.1 Software Changes to see all of the code changes included in the release.

  1. Added new command RGBDISP for displaying RGB images in McIDAS image frames. This command works similar to the COMBINE command, except that it displays its output color image in a regular image frame in the Image Window rather than in a separate Combine Window. RGBDISP uses the brightness (BRIT) values of the three input frames or datasets to calculate the red, green and blue components, respectively, of the output color image. See the RGBDISP command in the McIDAS User’s Guide or its online help for more information about the command, and see the Memory Usage and macOS Workstations sections in the Preparing the Workstation page in the McIDAS User’s Guide for more information about the changes needed in memory settings.
  2. Added new commands GLMDISP and GLMLIST for displaying and listing lightning data from GOES-R Series GLM. These fully supported versions replace the preliminary versions that were released in version 2017.2. There are many significant updates in the commands, including new and changed positional parameters and keywords. See the GLMDISP and GLMLIST commands in the McIDAS User’s Guide or their online helps for more information.
    Note: For now, the default value for the DATASET= keyword (which is set in the GLM.CORE file) is always EAST/GLM-GROUP.ALL. When GOES-17 becomes the operational GOES-West satellite we will issue an updated GLM.CORE file that sets the DATASET= default to WEST/GLM-GROUP.ALL when plotting or listing to the west of 105 degrees West longitude.
  3. Added new satellite and band combinations that use the Expanded Stretch Feature, aka MCSTRETCH. The new combinations are GOES-17 to -19 bands 2, 7, 8, 9, 10; NOAA-10 to -19 band 3; and Metop-A to -C band 3. See the Expanded Stretch Feature page or run McIDAS-X command SEE MCSTRETCH.TXT for more information about the feature and how it increases the detail shown in these and other imagery.
  4. Corrected issue that prevented McIDAS-X from working correctly when shared memory greater than 2 GB is addressed. This fix will allow larger numbers of frames to be used. The maximum is 9,999 frames, if the computer has sufficient memory. See the Memory Usage section of the Preparing the Workstation page in the McIDAS User’s Guide for more information about memory use and system performance.
  5. Updated the GOES-R Series ABI servers and calibration modules to support GOES-17 to -19. The servers were also updated to accommodate the upcoming GOES-16 nominal satellite subpoint correction (from 75°W to 75.2°W) and to correctly display Meso sector L2 product files. See the GOES-16 Subpoint Correction for McIDAS-X 2017.2 page for more information about the subpoint change. (Note: The server changes available on that page are included in this 2018.1 release, so you do not need to complete the instructions on the page if you are installing this release.)
  6. Updated the MSG servers to carry along new georeferencing flag in MSG L1.5 data that was implemented 06 Dec 2017. The flag, which indicates whether the data has been corrected, is stored in the McIDAS navigation block. Archive MSG data prior to 06 Dec 2017 will have the correction applied automatically.
  7. Updated the WWDISP command to plot flood warnings, flood watches, severe thunderstorm warnings and tornado warnings as polygons by default. If plotting those products by counties is preferred, use the PLOT=COUNTY keyword.
  8. Updated the DIST command to display distances with more precision and added a new keyword, FORMAT=, that lets the user control the output format and precision.
  9. Updated the WXTLIST command to include new keyword CASEMATCH=. The new keyword allows you to specify whether searches done with the MATCH= keyword are case-sensitive or case-insensitive.
  10. Updated the station database (file STNDB.CORE) to include many new stations due to the addition of new sources AWIPS National Datasets Maintenance and NCAR/RAP. Also added new Metar/TAF station NZFX (Phoenix Airfield, Antarctica) and corrected the location information for VOR station SYA (Shemya, AK) and FOUS/NGM station CSM (Clinton-Sherman Airport, OK).
  11. Increased the number of columns in the MD File schemas DCSYN and DCISFC. The increases, from 6,500 to 15,000 in DCSYN and from 7,000 to 10,000 DCISFC, were done to accommodate the large number of stations added to the station database (STNDB.CORE) in McIDAS-X 2018.1. Also increased the number of rows in DCSYN from 8 to 24 to allow for hourly Synoptic reports.
  12. Updated the USZONE.MAP file with the most recent National Weather Service GIS-AWIPS Shapefile database update. The US*.MAP files are used by the WWDISP command and the MAP command’s COUNTY=, MARINE=, STATE= and ZONE= keywords.
  13. Updated the SATANNOT and SATBAND files with satellite sensor (SS) numbers and band information for VIIRS instrument for NOAA-20 through NOAA-23 (JPSS-1 to -4) satellites.
  14. Updated the McIDAS-XRD package (which is included in the McIDAS-X installation files) to include two new servers (scmiadir and scmiaget, for NOAAPORT Sectorized Cloud and Moisture Imagery), one new command (GLMIMG), and 22 new data files (L2-*.ET enhancement files for GOES-R Level 2 products). Also updated the VIIRS servers (viiradir and viiraget) to support SS numbers for NOAA-20 to -24. See the Files Included in McIDAS-XRD 2018.1 page for the complete list of software included in McIDAS-XRD.

Return to the McIDAS-X Download information.