McIDAS-X User's Guide
Version 2023.1
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Generates contours, streamlines or plots from grid data.
GRDDISP dataset frame [keywords]
dataset |
ADDE dataset name and absolute position; specify one of the following formats: |
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group/descriptor.position alias.position |
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only positive integers or ALL (all positions) are valid for position; when a grid matching the conditions specified in the search keywords is found, the search stops (no default for group/descriptor or alias; default=ALL for position) |
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frame |
frame number to display the output; specify OPP to display the output on the frame opposite the current frame (default=current) |
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DAY= |
displays grids with the specified day |
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ENSemble= |
e1 . . en |
displays grids with the specified ensemble numbers; each ensemble number must include a + or - sign, e.g., -1 -0 +0 +1 |
FDAy= |
displays grids with the specified forecast day; a grid's forecast day is determined by adding the forecast hour to the day and time; for example, a 12 UTC grid from day 95300 with a forecast hour of 72 has a forecast day of 95303; you cannot use FDAY with the FHOUR, FRANGE or MATH keyword |
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FHOur= |
h1 . . hn |
displays grids with the specified forecast hours; use with the keyword GRA to display the h1 grid in the first frame, h2 grid in the second frame, etc.; you cannot use FHOUR with the FRANGE, FDAY or FTIME keyword |
FRANge= |
bhr ehr inc |
displays grids in the range of forecast hours bhr through ehr, incremented by inc hours; use with the keyword GRA to display the grids in forecast hour order (bhr to ehr); you cannot use FRANGE with the FHOUR, FDAY or FTIME keyword (no default for bhr; ehr default=bhr; inc default=1) |
FTIme= |
displays grids with the specified forecast time; a grid's forecast time is determined by adding the forecast hour to the time; for example, a 12 UTC grid with a forecast hour of 18 has a forecast time of 6 on the following day; you cannot use FTIME with the FHOUR, FRANGE or MATH keyword |
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GPRo= |
displays grids with the specified projection, for example, MERC, PS, LAMB, EQUI |
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GRIB= |
geo par model level displays grids with the specified GRIB codes; the four values are the geographic, parameter, model and level codes that can be listed with GRDLIST FORM=ALL; values specified as an X (a placeholder) or not specified at all will match any GRIB code |
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GRId= |
displays the specified grid or last grid (LAST) in the grid file specified in the dataset position number; when using this keyword, the default position value in dataset (ALL) is not valid and all other search keywords (PARAM, LEV, DAY, etc.) are ignored |
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LEV= |
lev[units] |
displays grids with the specified level and units, e.g., SFC, 850[MB], 5000[M]; units are optional but must be in square brackets if specified; if [MB] or [HPA] is specified for units then grids with either of those units are displayed; if [NONE] is specified for units then grids with no assigned units are displayed |
PARam= |
param |
displays grids with the specified grid parameter, for example, T, Z, RH; see the Remarks |
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MOVIE |
draws streamlines with colored line segments that can be animated using the CM command |
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STREAML |
draws streamlines using u- and v-component grids |
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WINDB |
plots wind barbs using u- and v-component grids |
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WINDV |
plots wind vectors using u- and v-component grids |
SRC= |
s1 . . sn |
displays grids with the specified sources, for example, MDX, GFS, ETA |
TIMe= |
displays grids with the specified time |
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GRA= |
bfra efra |
generates contours or plots for the grids matching the criteria defined with search keywords in frames bfra through efra; the grids are displayed by forecast hour in the order specified with the FHOUR keyword or sequentially from the range bhr to ehr in FRANGE; you cannot specify both GRA and NUM (bfra default=current; efra default=bfra) |
NUM= |
number of grids matching the criteria defined with the search keywords to contour or plot, beginning on the current frame; the grids are not sorted, they are displayed in the order they are found in the grid files; you must specify FHOUR or FRANGE with NUM; you cannot specify both NUM and GRA |
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DERive= |
displays a derived grid of the specified parameter, for example, DST or VOR; searches for the component grids using the search keywords; do not use with the PARAM keyword; see the Remarks |
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MERidional= |
YES |
adds a correction term to account for the convergence of longitude lines at the poles |
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NO |
does not add a correction term; only valid with DERIVE=ABV, DSH, DST, DVG, or VOR; see the Remarks (default) |
PLAnet= |
planet for which derive calculations are done; valid options are MERCURY, VENUS, EARTH, MARS, JUPITER, SATURN, NEPTUNE, URANUS (default=EARTH) |
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Gn= |
'clause1; clause2; . .; clausen' grids to be used with the MATH keyword; separate select clauses with semicolons; single quotes are mandatory; specify clause using the following format: searchkeyword value valid options for searchkeyword are DAY, FHOUR, GPRO, GRID, LEV, PARAM, SRC, TIME; you can specify numbers between 1 and 99 in the keyword name (G1, G2, . . , G99); see the Remarks |
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MATh= |
'expression' |
mathematical operation to perform on the grids specified with the Gn keywords; single quotes are mandatory; see the Remarks |
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NEWpar= |
param punit level lunit title information for the plot or contour displayed when the MATH keyword is used |
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param |
grid parameter; four characters maximum (default=MATH) |
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punit |
units of grid parameter; four characters maximum (default=NONE) |
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level |
grid level (default=from grid) |
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lunit |
units of grid level; two characters maximum (default=from grid) |
LAT= |
lat1 lat2 |
latitudes of the points at the lower-right and upper-left corners of the map; you cannot use LAT with the NAV or MAP keyword |
LON= |
lon1 lon2 |
longitudes of the points at the lower-right and upper-left corners of the map; you cannot use LON with the NAV or MAP keyword |
MAP= |
map for the contour or plot; see the MAP command for a list of valid predefined maps, for example, MID, USA, WORL; you cannot use MAP with the NAV, LAT or LON keyword (default=grid extents) |
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MCOlor= |
graphics color level of map (default = 1) |
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NAV= |
draw the contour or plot using the navigation of the specified frame; no map is drawn; you cannot use NAV with the MAP, LAT or LON keyword |
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num |
frame number to use for navigation |
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C |
use the current frame's navigation |
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F |
use the navigation of the frame where the contour or plot is drawn |
PRO= |
CONF |
polar stereographic or Lambert conformal projection |
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MERC |
Mercator projection (default=grid's projection) |
SLAt= |
lat1 lat2 |
standard latitudes for a CONF projection; two values for a general Lambert conformal projection; one value for a polar stereographic projection (default=from grid header when the LAT and LON, or MAP keywords are not used; 60 60 for northern hemisphere maps defined with the LAT and LON, or MAP keywords; -60 -60 for southern hemisphere maps defined with the LAT and LON, or MAP keywords) |
SLOn= |
standard longitude for a CONF projection (default=computed) |
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COLor= |
graphics color level (default=2 for contour, 3 for plot); when plotting data (with OUT=PLOT or PAR=WINDB or PAR=WINDV), the value can be specified as a single number, e.g., COLOR=5, or in the format color[min-maxBinc] to assign multiple colors for the parameter, based on its values; see the Remarks for details |
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ELE= |
bele eele |
beginning and ending frame elements for output; specify MAX for maximum element number (default=1 MAX when using the NAV keyword; default=20 MAX-20 when using the MAP keyword) |
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FORMAT= |
designator 'text' output format for grid point values or contour labels, and associated text; valid formats are I, F, or E; if multiple parameters are requested, FORMAT cannot be specified; see the Remarks (designator default=from dataset; no text default) |
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LINE= |
blin elin |
beginning and ending frame lines for output; specify MAX for maximum line number (default=1 MAX-57 when using the NAV keyword; default=20 MAX-57 when using the MAP keyword) |
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LSIze= |
height, in pixels, of the plot characters or contour labels; the range is 0-50 where 0 omits the labels (default=8) |
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OUT= |
CON |
draws contours using the grid data (default) |
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PLOT |
plots the grid points |
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POWer= |
power of 10 to multiply the grid point values by for display (default=0) |
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PUNit= |
units to plot in the labels of pressure grids that are displayed; the valid options are MB or HPA and will be used regardless of which of the two units appear in the source grids (default=units in source grids) |
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TDAy= |
CAL |
display calendar day on the default title; not valid if the ELE, LINE or PAN keyword is used |
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JUL |
display the Julian day on the default title (default) |
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TITLE= |
'text' col line ele size text, color, location and size for the contour or plot title |
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'text' |
72 characters maximum; specify X without quotes for the default title (default=computed) |
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col |
graphics color level of the title (default=1 if PARAM=MOVIE, otherwise default=value from the COLOR keyword) |
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line |
beginning TV line to write the title (default=below contour or plot) |
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ele |
beginning TV element to write the title (default=below contour or plot) |
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size |
height of the title text in pixels (default=8) |
UNIt= |
units for the contour or plot; see the Remarks (default=from the grid header) |
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CINt= |
num |
contour interval; specify 0 to let GRDDISP compute a reasonable interval; specify your own interval as an integer or decimal value greater than zero; see the Remarks for the default value |
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string |
contour values; specify a string name that contains up to 64 values; e.g., CINT=SNOWDEPTH will draw contours at the values specified in the string named SNOWDEPTH |
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DASh= |
ALL |
dash all contours |
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NEG |
dash negative contours only |
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POS |
dash positive contours only |
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(default=solid contours) |
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LINT= |
contour label interval (default=1, meaning label every contour) |
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MOVie= |
bcol ecol bspd espd blen elen change the defaults for the PARAM=MOVIE output |
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bcol |
beginning graphics color level for line segments (default=2) |
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ecol |
ending graphics color level for line segments (default=maximum color level) |
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bspd |
beginning wind speed represented by blen, units are from the grid data (default=computed) |
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espd |
ending wind speed represented by elen, units are from the grid data (default=computed) |
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blen |
beginning length of line segments (default=2) |
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elen |
ending length of line segments (default=40) |
SMOoth= |
contour smoothing factor; the range is 0 through 50; larger numbers produce smoother contours; not valid with PARAM=MOVIE or PARAM=STREAML (default=20) |
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PINt= |
row col |
row and column intervals of grid points to plot with OUT=PLOT, PARAM=WINDB or PARAM=WINDV; for example, PINT=4 3 plots every fourth grid point in the row direction and every third grid point in the column direction (row default=1; col default=row) |
BYTecount= |
YES |
lists the number of bytes received from the server |
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NO |
does not list the number of bytes (default) |
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SUBsect= |
slat nlat elon wlon incrow inccol geographic region to subsect from the source grid, and row and column reduction intervals to use within the subsect region; see the Remarks |
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slat, nlat |
southern and northern latitudes of the subsect region |
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elon, wlon |
eastern and western longitudes of the subsect region (slat, nlat, elon, wlon defaults=region slightly larger than that defined by the frame navigation or map specified with MAP or LAT and LON keywords; if NAV=F is specified, the grid is not subsected) |
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incrow, inccol |
row and column reduction intervals; 1 means use every row/column of grid points in the subsect region, 2 means use every other row/column, etc.; when subsecting a conformal projection grid, the incrow and inccol values must be the same (default=1 for both) |
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Note: If the source grid is a McIDAS grid, you can subsect it by row and column instead of latitude and longitude. To do so, specify row and column numbers instead of latitudes and longitudes in the first four parameters, and specify ROWCOL as the seventh parameter. For example, SUBSECT=10 40 80 160 1 2 ROWCOL uses rows 10, 11, 12, ..., 40 and columns 80, 82, 84, ..., 160 for the subsect region. (If you don't include the ROWCOL at the end, it will treat 10 and 40 as latitudes, and 80 and 160 as longitudes.) |
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Individual grids are stored in grid files. Each dataset position points to a single grid file. If you know which grid file contains the grid you want to display, specify its position in the dataset parameter to reduce the searching time.
The GRDDISP command draws contours or streamlines, or plots data from the first grid or set of grids that matches the conditions specified with the search keywords. If you don't specify any search keywords, GRDDISP displays the first grid in the dataset. If, for example, you specify PARAM=T LEV=850 TIME=12 SRC=ETA, GRIDDISP displays the first grid with T in its parameter field, 850 in its level field, 12 in its time field, and ETA in its source field. To choose the exact grid you want, you may need to specify several search keywords.
Use the keyword FHOUR or FRANGE with GRA or NUM to generate a contour or plot using more than one grid with a single GRDDISP command. The keyword GRA displays the grids in the order entered with FHOUR or sequentially from the range bhr to ehr in FRANGE. For example, if you specify SRC=GFS TIME=12 PARAM=Z LEV=500 FHOUR=0 36 24 60 GRA=11 14, the 12 UTC GFS 500 mb height grids with forecast hours 0, 36, 24 and 60 are displayed in frames 11, 12, 13 and 14.
The default contour interval for a grid is taken from the text file CONTOUR.DEF. If no file entry matches the grid's parameter, units and level, the default is calculated to produce a reasonable number of contours, usually between 10 and 20. To change, add or delete entries in CONTOUR.DEF, first back up the current version, then modify it using the format described near the top of the file.
If you specify PARAM=MOVIE, STREAML, WINDB or WINDV, GRDDISP does not search for a grid with that parameter. Instead, it locates the first u-component grid that matches the other search keywords, then it locates the matching v-component grid and uses those grids to contour streamlines, plot wind barbs, or plot wind vectors. In all other cases, the value entered in the keyword PARAM is the value searched for in the grid's parameter field.
When plotting data (with OUT=PLOT or PAR=WINDB or PAR=WINDV), you can assign output plot color based on the parameter's values by using the COLOR keyword format color[min-maxBinc], where color is the beginning graphics color level, min and max indicate the range of parameter values to color-code, and inc is the increment (the dash means "to" and the B means "by"). For example, when plotting integer values, COLOR=2[30-59B10] plots values 30-39 in level 2, values 40-49 in level 3, and values 50-59 in level 4. Values less than 30 are in level 1, and values greater than 59 are in level 5. When plotting floating point values (e.g., FORMAT=F5.2), COLOR=2[30-59.99B10] plots values 30.00-39.99 in level 2, values 40.00-49.99 in level 3, and values 50.00-59.99 in level 4. Values less than 30.00 are in level 1, and values greater than 59.99 are in level 5. Also, when plotting color-coded wind barbs (PAR=WINDB), the units of the 'min' and 'max' values are knots, even if you specify UNIT=MPS.
Use the SUBSECT keyword to analyze a portion of the original grid. The analysis can be performed slightly faster because there is less data to transfer and analyze.
Wind barb symbols use triangular flags, and long and short lines, or barbs, to represent wind speed. For example, the wind barb shown here represents a wind speed of 75 knots or 37.5 meters/second.
When using the UNIT keyword, you can specify the following units:
| Unit type | UNIT= | Definition |
|---|---|---|
| Distance | CM | centimeters |
| DM | decameters | |
| FT | feet | |
| GPM | geopotential meters | |
| IN | inches | |
| KM | kilometers | |
| M | meters | |
| MI | miles | |
| MM | millimeters | |
| NMI | nautical miles | |
| YD | yards | |
| Pressure | HPA | hectopascals |
| INHG | inches of mercury | |
| MB | millibars | |
| Speed | KT or KTS | knots |
| MPH | miles per hour | |
| MPS | meters per second | |
| Temperature | C | Celsius |
| F | Fahrenheit | |
| K | Kelvin |
Use the DERIVE keyword to display grids of a variety of common meteorological parameters. The valid options are defined in the table below. In these equations, the following variables appear often:
u = u-component of the wind
v = v-component of the wind
x = grid point distance in the east-west direction
y = grid point distance in the north-south direction
| DERIVE= | Description | Equation |
|---|---|---|
| ABV | absolute vorticity |  f =coriolis parameter: 2ΩsinΦ (see COR) |
| BETA | beta parameter |  f =coriolis parameter: 2ΩsinΦ (see COR) Ω=angular speed of the rotation of the planet (7.292 × 10-5 radians/second for Earth) Φ=latitude in degrees a=radius of the planet |
| COR | coriolis parameter | 2ΩsinΦ Ω=angular speed of the rotation of the planet (7.292 × 10-5 radians/second for Earth) Φ=latitude in degrees |
| DIR | wind direction | atan2(-u,-v) |
| DSH | shearing deformation |  |
| DST | stretching deformation |  |
| DVG | divergence |  |
| SPD | wind speed |  |
| TD | dew point temperature |  T =temperature in Kelvin RH =relative humidity Rv=moist gas constant: 461.5 Joules per kilogram per degree Kelvin |
| VOR | relative vorticity |  |
Use the MERIDIONAL keyword to correct for the convergence of longitude lines at the poles. When deriving divergence and stretching deformation grids (DVG and DST), specify MERIDIONAL=YES to subtract the following correction term from the calculation.
When deriving vorticity, absolute vorticity, or shear deformation grids (VOR, ABV, or DSH), specify MERIDIONAL=YES to add the following correction term to the calculation.
For both the correction terms above:
u = u-component of the wind
v = v-component of the wind
Φ = latitude in degrees
r = radius, in kilometers, of the planet at Φ latitude
The MERIDIONAL keyword has no effect with other DERIVE keyword options.
Use the Gn keywords to specify the grids to be used with the MATH keyword. Each Gn keyword specifies a single grid. Gn is followed by a list of select clauses in single quotes. By default, subsequent Gn keywords have the same select clauses, unless specified differently. For example, to request 850 and 1000 mb height grids from the 0:00 UTC GFS run, specify
G1='LEV 850;PARAM Z;TIME 0;SRC GFS' G2='LEV 1000'
The MATH keyword defines the operation to perform on the specified grids, for example, MATH='G1**(SQRT(G2))'. The table below shows the operations available with the MATH keyword.
| MATH= option | Function |
|---|---|
| + | addition |
| - | subtraction |
| * | multiplication |
| / | division |
| ** | power |
| SQRT | square root |
| EXP | exponential (the number e raised to a power) |
| LOG | natural logarithm |
| LOG10 | base 10 logarithm |
| SIN | sine |
| COS | cosine |
| TAN | tangent |
| ASIN | arcsine |
| ACOS | arccosine |
| ATAN | arctangent |
| ABS | absolute value |
| MIN | minimum of two grids |
| MAX | maximum of two grids |
| DDX | derivative with respect to x |
| DDY | derivative with respect to y |
| DELSQ | laplacian |
| COR | coriolis parameter (2ΩsinΦ) |
| BETA | beta
parameter  |
| LAT | creates a grid of latitude |
| LON | creates a grid of longitude |
When specifying powers of ten, such as 102 or 10-3 in the MATH keyword, use one of the two methods shown in the examples below.
MATH='2*7.292*(1e-5)*(SIN(G1))'
MATH='2*7.292*(10**(-5))*(SIN(G1))'
In these entries both 1e-5 and 10**(-5) represent 10-5. You must include the parentheses with 10**(-5); 10**-5 will not be interpreted correctly.
When using the MATH keyword and the range of output data values is larger than five orders of magnitude, the output grid is scaled based on the maximum end of the range. This means that small data values may be replaced by zeros in the output grid.
Use the FORMAT keyword options below to format output based on FORTRAN designators for data output. To add text to the numeric output, follow the designator with a text in single quotes.
| Designator | Description |
|---|---|
| I | integer |
| F | floating point |
| E | exponential |
To specify a parameter's output format, use a designator followed by a positive number. For example, I4 specifies an integer of up to four digits; I6.4 specifies an integer of up to six digits and will add leading zeros if necessary to get to four digits; F10.1 specifies a floating point decimal of up to 10 digits (including the decimal point) with one digit to the right of the decimal; E10.3 specifies an exponential number of up to 10 characters (including the decimal point and the four-character exponential flag) with three digits to the right of the decimal. Specify an X to use the parameter's default format. If the specified integer or floating point format is too small for the parameter's values, a series of asterisks (***) is displayed.
GRDDISP G/LOCAL
This entry draws a contour using the first grid in the first grid file in dataset G/LOCAL. The map and contours cover the grid's entire domain. The contour interval is taken from the text file CONTOUR.DEF if it has an entry that matches the grid's parameter, units and level. If CONTOUR.DEF does not have a matching entry, GRDDISP calculates the contour interval.
GRDDISP G/LOCAL.9 GRID=5 OUT=PLOT PINT=1 3 NAV=C
This entry plots grid point values from grid 5 in the grid file in position 9 of dataset G/LOCAL. Every grid point in the row direction and every third grid point in the column direction is plotted using the navigation of the current frame.
GRDDISP NMC/ETA LEV=1000 PARAM=WINDV DAY=#Y TIME=0 FDAY=#Y FTIME=18 MAP=MID PRO=MERC TITLE='ETA 1000 mb wind vectors, valid at 18 UTC today'
This entry plots the 1000 mb wind vector forecast valid at 18 UTC today over the Midwest. The vectors are created using the u- and v-component grids from today's 00 UTC model run in dataset NMC/ETA. The default title below the plot is replaced with the text ETA 1000 mb wind vectors, valid at 18 UTC today.
GRDDISP NCEP/GFS LEV=500 PARAM=Z CINT=60 FHOUR=24 LAT=-40 -40 LON=-90 90 SLAT=-40 PRO=CONF
This entry draws a contour of the 24-hour forecast 500 mb heights with an interval of 60 over the South Pole. The data is taken from the first 24-hour forecast 500 mb height grid in dataset NCEP/GFS.
GRDDISP NCEP/GFS LEV=500 PARAM=Z CINT=60 DAY=#Y TIME=12 FRANGE=0 120 24 GRA=1 6
This entry draws a contour of the 0-, 24-, 48-, 72-, 96- and 120-hour forecast 500 mb heights with an interval of 60. The contours are displayed over a map of the grids' domain in frames 1, 2, 3, 4, 5 and 6. The data is taken from today's 12 UTC model run grids in dataset NCEP/GFS.
GRDDISP MODEL.2 LEV=850 PARAM=T UNIT=C CINT=5 SRC=GFS DASH=NEG COLOR=5
This entry draws a contour of the first 850 mb GFS temperature grid in the grid file in position 2 of the dataset with the alias name MODEL. The map and contours cover the grid's entire domain. The contours are drawn in graphics color level 5 with an interval of 5 degrees Celsius. Negative contours are dashed.
TE SNOW "0 10 20 32 40 60
GRDDISP NMC/ETA LEV=850 PARAM=T UNIT=F CINT=SNOW MAP=USA PRO=CONF
The TE command entry creates a string called SNOW containing contour values for the GRDDISP entry. The GRDDISP entry draws a contour of the first 850 mb temperature grid in dataset NMC/ETA. The map and contours cover the USA, and only the 0, 10, 20, 32, 40 and 60 degree Fahrenheit contours are drawn. Do not specify a pound sign (#) before the string name in the CINT keyword.
GRDDISP GRIDS/GFS LEVEL=SFC PARAM=T DAY=97300 FHOUR=24 MAP=USA SUBSECT=25 50 60 100
This entry draws 24-hour forecast surface temperature contours from the dataset GRIDS/GFS. A map of the United States is drawn, but the contours are drawn only for the geographic region specified in the SUBSECT keyword (25-50°N and 60-100°W). If the SUBSECT keyword was not specified, GRDDISP would subsect a region slightly larger than the map and draws contours in the entire frame.
GRDDISP GRD.8000 4 LAT=20 50 LON=75 145 PRO=CONF DERIVE=SPD LEV=500 FHOUR=48
This entry draws a 500 mb wind speed contour with a 48-hour forecast time. The component grids used to derive wind speed are the u- and v-components of the wind from position 8000 in the dataset with the alias GRD. The contour is displayed on frame 4 over a polar stereographic map between 20° and 50° latitude and 75° and 145° longitude.
GRDDISP RTGRIDS/GFS MAP=USA PRO=MERC DERIVE=VOR LEV=500 DAY=96284 TIME=12 FHOUR=12 24 36 48 GRA=1 4 DASH=NEG
This entry draws contours for a sequence of 500 mb relative vorticity grids from day 96284 at 12:00 UTC. The component grids are from dataset RTGRIDS/GFS. The 12-, 24-, 36-, and 48-hour forecast contours are displayed on frames 1, 2, 3, and 4, and displayed over the USA in a Mercator projection. All negative contours are dashed.
GRDDISP RTGRIDS/GFS PARAM=MOVIE LEV=500 DAY=#Y TIME=0 FHOUR=18 MAP=USA
MOVIE=2 8
TE MOVIECOLORS "GU MAKE !1 0 !2 0
REPEAT MOVIECOLORS 2 TO 8 BY 1 0 BY 40
CM 2 8 GO=YES
The GRDDISP entry draws the 18-hour GFS forecast 500 mb streamlines with colored line segments on a map of the U.S. The TE and REPEAT entries set graphics color levels 2 to 8 to increase linearly from black (level 2) to bright green (level 8). The CM entry then circulates the graphics color levels to animate the wind flow.
GRDDISP RTGRIDS/NAM-USLC DAY=#Y TIME=12 FHOUR=12 PAR=T LEV=SFC UNIT=F MAP=USA COLOR=3[10-69B10] OUT=PLOT FORMAT=I4 PINT=2 3
This entry plots the 12-hour forecast surface temperatures over the United States from today's 12 UTC NAM model run. The temperatures are color coded: less than 10°F in graphics color level 2, 10-19°F in level 3, 20-29°F in level 4, 30-39°F in level 5, 40-49°F in level 6, 50-59°F in level 7, 60-69°F in level 8, and 70°F and greater in level 9.
GRDDISP RTGRIDS/GFS-GLME DAY=#Y TIME=0 FHOUR=24 PAR=WINDB LEV=700 UNIT=KTS MAP=NA COLOR=2[1-20B5] PINT=3 3
This entry plots the 24-hour forecast 700 mb wind barbs over North America from today's 00 UTC GFS model run. The flags are color coded by speed: less than 1 knot in graphics color level 1, 1-5 knots in level 2, 6-10 knots in level 3, 11-15 knots in level 4, 16-20 knots in level 5, and greater than 20 knots in level 6. Note that each flag symbol may appear in two different colors because the speeds are rounded to the closest five knot increment (i.e., 2.5-7.4 knot speeds are displayed as 5 knot flags, 7.5-12.4 knot speeds are displayed as 10 knot flags, 12.5-17.4 knot speeds are displayed as 15 knot flags, etc.). Thus, 5 knot flags can be in graphics color level 2 or 3, 10 knot flags can be in level 3 or 4, 15 knot flags can be in level 4 or 5, etc.
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