Frequently Asked Questions
We have attempted to compile a list of the most common questions regarding the simuawips Project below. If you would like to submit a question for addition to our Frequently Asked Questions section, please post a request in the
Forum.
The Project
- What is the simuawips Project?
simuawips (pronounced "Sim-You-A-Whips") is a website which gathers weather data from public weather sites across the Internet and formats them into graphics which can be interacted with in a well known system the Advanced Weather Interactive Processing System, or AWIPS. Our site attempts to simulate an AWIPS layout, complete with interactive multi panels and standardized menus to create a system which meteorologists and weather enthusiasts can easily forecast and track weather over the United States.
- What version of simuawips is currently online? Is the system complete yet?
The current version of simuawips is Version 6. The console is far from complete, and we are still adding more and more products each release.
- Who are you?
My name is Andrew Oldaker, and I am the lead developer for the simuawips Project. And by lead developer, I mean I am the only developer. For the last nearly 10 years, I have been fascinated with meteorology and graphics visualization systems such as AWIPS. I long ago decided that using my talents as a web developer and putting these two elements together for others to enjoy would be quite a bit of fun.
- Why are you providing weather information free of charge?
Most of the data we ingest for use here is free, but is also lower resolution and can sometimes be late, or even taken offline completely. Despite that, I believe we offer a great tool to the community, and hope to help use our services to promote the support of Open Software Iniatives - as well as raise monoetary support for National charaties such as the Fisher House Foundation.
- Will simuawips ever become a subscription or "pay" service?
As long as the cost for maintaining the site remains low, and that our users continue to send in donations for charities listed on the site, we should never have to charge for the system.
- So do you sell my email address and other personal information to help pay for your site?
Absolutely not, and we only collect a bare minimum of information for the simple convenience of allowing our users to customize the console to their location.
- Okay, well how can I help keep the simuawips Project going?
There are many ways you can help, including donating to help the Fisher House Foundation, reporting bug or broken maps in the system and even suggesting new maps you might want us to add to the system.
Using the Console
- What are the minimum system requirements for using simuawips?
simuawips runs inside your favorite web browser on any operating system (Windows, Mac or Linux). There is no installer nor will you need special plugins. However, you should make sure you are using a high speed, broadband Internet connection, and a computer with at least 1 Gb of RAM. You should also be using a video resolution setting of at least 1024x768 with 32 bit color graphics. simuawips works better at higher resolutions, and will not render correctly at anything below 1024x768.
- Do you recommend a specific browser then?
Any browser should work fine. However, for best performance we have found that Internet Explorer 8 does better than earlier versions of IE, and that FireFox, Google Chrome and Safari also perform well.
- How do I zoom into the radars, satellite or model products?
simuawips does not utilize dynamic content generation or vector based graphics technologies. As such, GIF images are statically sized for each radar site or regional view level. While plans are in the works to allow "magnification" of the various maps, the simplistic approach used with developing the content for simuawips stipulates that our products will never truly be "zoom able".
- How do I load products into the two smaller windows on the left?
You can "focus" which panel you wish to load new products into by simply clicking once inside the panel itself. You will see your cursor turn from an "arrow" to "crosshair", which indicates you are currently loading products in that pane. Anytime you mouse over a pane, and your cursor shows a "crosshair", you are hovering over the currently active product panel.
- Why does your radar data look so blocky? Isn't it high resolution based?
All radar products on simuawips are Level III (formally known as NIDS products). We do not have the ability to deliver real time Level II radar imagery. For high resolution radar data, you should visit a commercial weather data provider such as Weather Decision Technologies.
- When I log in, maps of the United States show up. How do I see my local radar?
When you first setup your account, you would have picked your four letter local radar site from the list of choices. Those selections are presented at the top of the console in the menubar. For example, under KTLX, you will see "Base Reflectivity", which is the most common way users view radar data (shows the density of an liquid drop as observed by the radar over a point). Click the KTLX menu option and select "Base Reflectivity", and your main panel (the large one) will immediately attempt to load the site and present this data.
- How can I see a representation of current weather warnings, like Severe Thunderstorm Warnings?
Select "Active Warnings" from the "Products" menu to see a graphical representation of current warnings. For example, Red Boxes will be seen for any current Tornado Warnings.
- Why do the warnings not show up on the radar when I receive a text alert?
The warning graphics are only generated every 2 minutes, and thus, will may not appear immediately on the product view when a text alert comes in.
- Where are the other single site radar products?
We only have capacity to generate and store a select few radar products for all 150+ sites across the United States and Alaska. We believe we have selected the most significant of those products.
- How often does the radar data refresh?
As often as the National Weather Service distributes the raw data files to their FTP servers. We use a polling method which checks their servers for a specific file and only processes a new set of images when that file is updated. This allows us to lessen the amount of transfer between their systems and ours, while always making sure to quickly generate the latest images when new data is distributed.
If you would like to submit a question for addition to our Frequently Asked Questions section, please post a request in the Forum. This FAQ was last updated on March 28, 2011.