The Storm Track Control displays tropical storm observation and model output tracks. Currently the McIDAS-V supports both the Automated Tropical Cyclone Forecasting System (ATCF) data as well as data from the Shanghai Typhoon Institute.

To load in ATCF data select the Tools->Text Data->ATCF Tropical Storm Data menu item in the Main Display window. This creates a data source with a predefined path to the National Hurricane Center FTP site. Then, create the Storm Track display.

The display control shows the set of available storms on the left panel organized by year and basin, e.g., Atlantic (AL), Eastern Pacific (EP) and Central Pacific (CP).

At the top of the list is an option (Yearly Tracks) which allows the user to display the observed tracks for all the storms in a given year. You can load and/or unload any number of years worth of observed tracks. The color swatch changes the color of the tracks for a given year. The Time Mode menu allows one to change the animation mode, e.g., use the year or use the storm start time.

Image 1: Storm Track Window

To show the observation and all of the model results for a single storm select the storm in the list and press the button. You can load any number of storms but they are shown in different panels. You can use the View->Storm Tracks menu to list out all of the loaded storms, remove them all, etc. Once a storm is loaded it can be removed with the icon shown in the upper right.

Once a storm is loaded the first thing you should do is to specify which "Techs" (or models) to use by bringing up the control's Properties dialog Edit->Properties menu. Use Ctrl+A to select all items in the tab, the left/right arrows to remove/add an item from/to the Use column, or Delete to remove an item from the Use Column.

Image 2: Techs to Use Tab of the Storm Track Properties Window

• - Adds the selected item from the Don't Use column to the Use column, adding the Tech to the Tracks tab of the Storm Track window.
• - Removes the selected item from the Use column and adds the item to the Don't Use column, removing the Tech from the Tracks tab of the Storm Track window.
• Save as preference - Saves the setup of the Don't Use and Use columns for future displays.

The Storm display panel consists of three tabs: Tracks, Table and Storm Chart.

The Tracks tab controls the display and animation of the tracks.

Image 3: Tracks Tab of the Storm Track Window

• Points - Specifies which layout model to use for both the Observation as well as the Forecast tracks.
• Animation - Specifies the layout model to use for the Observation track that moves along with the time animation.
• Animation Mode - Determines whether to animate the tracks or show all of the tracks.
• Color By - Specifies whether the track is shown with a fixed color or using a color table. The color table used is a single one for the entire display control and is set through the main Edit menu.
• Show - Specifies what is to be shown. One can toggle on/off the visibility of the Observation track, all of the forecast tracks, or individual forecast tracks.

The Table tab shows a tabular listing of all of the observational track data and individual forecast model runs. On the left is a tree view organized by the Tech and model run time. Selecting one of the model runs will display the data in the table. The main File->Save->Export to Spreadsheet menu allows you to export the track data to an Excel spreadsheet. In the File Dialog are options to select what is to be saved.

Image 4: Table Tab of the Storm Track Window

• - Opens a Flythrough window that allows you to interactively explore the display in the Main Display window.

The Storm Chart tab shows time series charts of selected tracks. Under the main Edit menu you can any number of new forecast time or forecast hour charts. The forecast time chart is based around the model run time of the selected forecasts. The forecast hour charts selects data across the different model run times, e.g., you can show the 12 hour forecast from each model run.

To do the charting of the storm track, one or more Techs need to be selected. Once selected the Forecast Hour/Forecast Time list is populated. One or more times can be selected (Ctrl+click). Each Parameter that is selected will result in a new chart shown on the right.

Image 5: Storm Chart Tab of the Storm Track Window

• Techs - Selects the source of the data for the charts in the Storm Track window. This is either observation or model data.
• Forecast Time - Allows you to select which forecast model runs to display in the charts.
• Storm Category - Shows the ATCF storm category.

• 0 DB	Disturbance
  1 TD	Tropical Depression
  2 TS	Tropical Storm
  3 TY	Typhoon
  4 ST	Super Typhoon
  5 TC	Tropical Cyclone
  6 HU	Hurricane

• Min Pressure - Plots the pressure level at the time of the observation/forecast.
• Max Windspeed - Plots the wind speed at the time of the observation/forecast.
• Use Difference - Plots the difference between the forecasted value and the observed value for the chosen parameter(s).
• - Removes the Storm Chart tab from the Storm Track window.

Many of these menu items seen utilizing this tool are standard options that can be found in the Menus section of the Layer Controls page. However, there are some options that are unique to this display.

The File menu has these unique items:

• Save->Export to Data File - Saves the file as a Microsoft Excel (.xls) file.
• Save->Export to Google Earth - Saves the file as a Google Earth (.kml) file.
• Close Window - Closes the Storm Track window.

The Edit menu has these unique items:

• Edit Mode - Allows you to change the track of the storm in the Main Display window by clicking and dragging on the track, and allows you to edit values in the table.
• Add Forecast Time Chart - Adds a new tab to the Storm Track window that is the same as the Storm Chart tab. Here, you can enter a new forecast time and create new charts.
• Add Forecast Hour Chart - Adds a new tab to the Storm Track window that is the same as the Storm Chart tab. Here, you can enter a new forecast hour and create new charts.

The View menu has these unique items:

• Storm Tracks - Allows you to select an archived or current storm to display.
• Use Projection From Tracks - Re-centers the display and resets the zoom level back to the display's initial settings without changing any other preferences you may have modified.