Iowa Environmental Mesonet

Jan ASOS Data Uploaded

akrherz@iastate.edu (Daryl Herzmann)

The one minute interval Iowa ASOS data for January has been uploaded to the IEM. This dataset also includes observations for Omaha, Davenport, and Sioux Falls.

ASOS Daily Observation History

akrherz@iastate.edu (Daryl Herzmann)

One of the handy applications on the weather bureau's website is the Observed Weather History app that simply lists out observations for the past three days. So I have basically ripped this off, but added some more functionality:

You can go back in time, instead of just viewing the past three days
You can optionally view the raw METAR reports
The raw present weather codes are used instead of translated summary text

The app works for all of the sites in the ASOS/AWOS networks worldwide. If you see any issues or have ideas for further enhancement, please let me know.

More GIS Radar Imagery

akrherz@iastate.edu (Daryl Herzmann)

Since 2003, the IEM has been providing compos ites of National Weather Service RADAR imagery for use within GIS systems. While these composites are nice, they are often ugly at very small scales (due to the crude nature of the compositing process). These images are also of base reflectivity and not of non- compositable products like velocity.

So the next logical step is to try and provide single site imagery for GIS systems. The page linked from this news item contains more information on this new service along with some JSON metadata services.

The archive of this imagery is only a week old at this time, backfilling will hopefully occur going forward, but will take a good deal of time due to storage and processing requirements. The hope is to initially backfill some high impact events (tornados and hurricanes for example).

The goal is to provide high resolution current and archived RADAR imagery into plotting and GIS systems. This should make things a bit easier for researchers to generate plots with RADAR information included in them. As always, comments and suggestions are certainly welcome.

This information is provided without warranty or promise of future availability. Please do not write a high traffic web application against this service! If our systems or internets melt, too bad!

April COOP Data Uploaded

akrherz@iastate.edu (Daryl Herzmann)

The quality controlled Iowa COOP data for April 2011 has been uploaded to the IEM. These observations are kindly provided by Harry Hillaker, our state climatologist, who passes along these notes on the month:

Iowa temperatures averaged 47.2 degrees or 1.7 degrees below normal while precipitation totaled 3.89 inches or 0.38 inch more than normal. This ranks as the 41st coolest and 31st wettest April among 139 years of records. This was Iowa's fifth consecutive cooler than normal month and seventh consecutive wetter than normal April. The first two weeks of the month were very mild with temperatures averaging 6.5 degrees above normal with temperatures reaching into the upper eighties on the 3rd, 9th and 10th. However, the final 16 days of the month all averaged cooler than usual with temperatures exceeding 70 degrees only on the last three days of the month. The most noteworthy event of the month was the tornado outbreak on the evening of the 9th when the NWS reported 20 tornadoes in Iowa with four reaching EF-3 strength or greater. The first of the tornadoes caused the most damage when it struck Mapleton. Snowfall averaged 1.1 inches or 0.5 inch less than normal. This brought the 2010-2011 season total to 41.4 inches or 9.2 inches more than normal. This ranked as the 20th snowiest season among 124 years of record and was the fifth consecutive snowier than usual season.

The following is the number of new daily records set at COOP sites based on data back to 1951.

                 2011_____________________2010 _____________
                 APR  MAR  FEB  JAN  DEC  NOV  OCT  SEP  AUG
Maximum High:    127   15   35    2    2   34   60   11   10
Minimum High:    126    2   75    4   17    0    4   43    6
Maximum Low:      22   15   11    0    0   19    1   20   53
Minimum Low:       5    0   18   13    1    9    1    1    2
Maximum Precip:   51   25   54   42   34   55    4  106  103

The following is some bulk statistics on how well IEM's daily COOP data estimator is performing on a monthly basis versus this QC'd dataset. No code changes were made.

                 2011_____________________2010_______________
                 APR   MAR   FEB   JAN   DEC   NOV   OCT   SEP
High Temp Bias   0.9   0.7   0.9   1.0   1.2   0.0   0.1   0.5
High Temp RMSE   1.3   1.3   1.4   1.3   1.5   0.9   1.1   1.2
Low  Temp Bias   1.8   2.4   1.9   1.7   1.5   1.2   0.7   0.7
Low  Temp RMSE   2.1   2.6   2.2   2.0   1.8   1.8   2.0   1.5
Precip    Bias  -0.74 -0.25 -0.75 -0.54 -0.52 -0.42 -0.05 -1.22
Precip    RMSE   0.83  0.44  0.77  0.61  0.58  0.49  0.25  1.34

Service Disruption

akrherz@iastate.edu (Daryl Herzmann)

Some IEM services were unavailable between about 12:40 and 1:50 AM this morning (21 Jan) due to a data storage failure. I am slowing getting things repaired, so please let me know if you see problems. Sorry about the outage.

OpenLayers TMS Example

akrherz@iastate.edu (Daryl Herzmann)

The IEM provides various OGC web services that aim to be easily usable in commonly used web-based GIS systems. I have added a fully contained example of using OpenLayers to access the IEM's Tile Map Service (TMS) of composite NEXRAD and satellite imagery. Hopefully folks find it useful.

Dec ASOS Data Uploaded

akrherz@iastate.edu (Daryl Herzmann)

The one minute interval Iowa ASOS data for December 2011 has been uploaded to the IEM. This dataset also includes Moline, Sioux Falls, and Omaha. It is made available on a monthly basis by the National Climatic Data Center, but in a very difficult and mostly undocumented format to use.

March COOP data uploaded

akrherz@iastate.edu (Daryl Herzmann)

The quality controlled Iowa COOP data for March 2011 has been uploaded to the IEM. These observations are kindly provided by Harry Hillaker, our state climatologist, who passes along these notes on the month:

March temperatures averaged 34.6 degrees or 1.3 degrees below normal while precipitation totaled 1.53 inches or 0.62 inch less than normal. This ranks as the 67th warmest and 55th driest March among 139 years of records. Snowfall averaged 3.3 inches or 1.4 inches less than normal to rank as the 41st least snowy March among 124 years of records.

The following is the number of new daily records set at COOP sites based on data back to 1951.

                 2011_____________________2010 _____________
                 MAR  FEB  JAN  DEC  NOV  OCT  SEP  AUG  JUL
Maximum High:     15   35    2    2   34   60   11   10    0
Minimum High:      2   75    4   17    0    4   43    6    0
Maximum Low:      15   11    0    0   19    1   20   53   19
Minimum Low:       0   18   13    1    9    1    1    2    0
Maximum Precip:   25   54   42   34   55    4  106  103  160

The following is some bulk statistics on how well IEM's daily COOP data estimator is performing on a monthly basis versus this QC'd dataset. No code changes were made.

                 2011________________2010_____________________
                 MAR   FEB   JAN   DEC   NOV   OCT   SEP   AUG
High Temp Bias   0.7   0.9   1.0   1.2   0.0   0.1   0.5   0.5 
High Temp RMSE   1.3   1.4   1.3   1.5   0.9   1.1   1.2   1.0
Low  Temp Bias   2.4   1.9   1.7   1.5   1.2   0.7   0.7   1.0
Low  Temp RMSE   2.6   2.2   2.0   1.8   1.8   2.0   1.5   1.4
Precip    Bias  -0.25 -0.75 -0.54 -0.52 -0.42 -0.05 -1.22  1.37
Precip    RMSE   0.44  0.77  0.61  0.58  0.49  0.25  1.34  0.60

Mapserver Update

akrherz@iastate.edu (Daryl Herzmann)

Mapserver is an open source GIS application supporting web mapping. The IEM has been using it for quite a long time and it produces many of the plots you see on the website. I upgraded it to version 6.0.1 today, which is a non-trivial update due to changes in its configuration file structure and API changes to PHP. I am sure I have introduced some bugs to the website, so please let me know if you see any trouble.

NWS Text by Office by Date

akrherz@iastate.edu (Daryl Herzmann)

I've made some improvements to the application that lists out National Weather Service issued text products. The primary improvement is that the application presents products by issuing center rather than a hack using the AFOS product identifier (long story). Another big improvement is that the app runs much faster. I also added to the listing of issuing centers various river forecast centers and other non-weather forecast offices.

This change makes the app much more useful as you can now truly see most all products issued by a given center within the NWS. This application archives about 25,000 products per day and has data available back to 1 Jan 2009.

Nov ASOS Data Uploaded

akrherz@iastate.edu (Daryl Herzmann)

The one minute interval Iowa ASOS data has been uploaded to the IEM. Data for Omaha, Sioux Falls, and Davenport is included as well. Enjoy.

Server Issues

akrherz@iastate.edu (Daryl Herzmann)

My second main fileserver is unhappy at the moment and I am attempting to get it back online. The Level II NEXRAD data is unavailable due to this outage, will post updates as it gets going I hope.

Internet Issues

akrherz@iastate.edu (Daryl Herzmann)

The building internet here at Agronomy Hall is having issues, so the IEM is sometimes unavailable as the network drops out. ISU Tech folks are actively looking into the matter.

Feb COOP Data Uploaded

akrherz@iastate.edu (Daryl Herzmann)

The quality controlled Iowa COOP data for February 2011 has been uploaded to the IEM. These observations are kindly provided by Harry Hillaker, our state climatologist, who passes along these notes on the month:

February 2011 temperatures averaged 22.0 degrees or 2.0 degrees below normal while precipitation totaled 1.48 inches or 0.43 inch above normal. This ranks as the 65th coolest and 28th wettest February among 138 years of records. Snowfall averaged 11.1 inches or 4.3 inches above normal to rank as the 19th snowiest February among 124 years of records. The big weather story of the month was the blizzard on February 1. Storm totals of more than a foot were the rule over southeast Iowa where official totals reached 18.0 inches at Fort Madison and 18.5 inches at Lowden. Wind gusts over 50 mph were also common with this storm with Clinton Airport reporting a gust to 66 mph. The impact of the storm was particularly great as the most intense snowfall arrived at the same time as the highest winds. This storm accounted for a statewide average snowfall of 7.6 inches.

The 2010-2011 winter statistics (Dec-Jan-Feb) saw temperatures averaging 18.5 degrees or 3.6 degrees below normal while precipitation totaled 3.71 inches or 0.37 inches more than normal. This ranks as the 30th coolest and 45th wettest winter among 138 years of records. This was the fourth consecutive colder than normal winter and fifth in a row with greater than usual precipitation.

The following is the number of new daily records set at COOP sites based on data back to 1951.

                 2011_____________________2010 _____________
                 FEB  JAN  DEC  NOV  OCT  SEP  AUG  JUL  JUN
Maximum High:     35    2    2   34   60   11   10    0    0
Minimum High:     75    4   17    0    4   43    6    0    5
Maximum Low:      11    0    0   19    1   20   53   19    2
Minimum Low:      18   13    1    9    1    1    2    0    0
Maximum Precip:   54   42   34   55    4  106  103  160  126

The following is some bulk statistics on how well IEM's daily COOP data estimator is performing on a monthly basis versus this QC'd dataset. No code changes were made.

                 2011________________2010_____________________
                 FEB   JAN   DEC   NOV   OCT   SEP   AUG   JUL
High Temp Bias   0.9   1.0   1.2   0.0   0.1   0.5   0.5   0.9 
High Temp RMSE   1.4   1.3   1.5   0.9   1.1   1.2   1.0   1.4
Low  Temp Bias   1.9   1.7   1.5   1.2   0.7   0.7   1.0   1.2
Low  Temp RMSE   2.2   2.0   1.8   1.8   2.0   1.5   1.4   1.5
Precip    Bias  -0.75 -0.54 -0.52 -0.42 -0.05 -1.22  1.37 -1.28
Precip    RMSE   0.77  0.61  0.58  0.49  0.25  1.34  0.60  1.60

Oct ASOS Data Uploaded

akrherz@iastate.edu (Daryl Herzmann)

The one minute interval ASOS data has been uploaded to the IEM data coffers. Data for Moline, Sioux Falls, and Omaha is available as well. These observations are processed on a monthly basis from an archive at the National Climatic Data Center and made available for download on this website.

Server Outage

akrherz@iastate.edu (Daryl Herzmann)

The most important IEM file server failed around midnight this morning causing an outage of most IEM services. I've got things bandaged a bit now and am somewhat back up and going. Will update this news items as I get things going again. Ufff.

Update: 14 Nov 8 AM: The RAID array resynced this weekend, but the filesystem is still unclean after a reboot attempt this morning. The server itself does not seem stable either, so will have to get more creative with a fix!

Road Conditions Update

akrherz@iastate.edu (Daryl Herzmann)

The IEM provides a number of services based on the state winter road condition reports by the Iowa State Patrol. These reports are based on segments of major roads in the state. This year, 250 some new segments were added to these reports and the IEM processing was updated to support these. A big thanks to the Iowa DOT, Iowa State Patrol, and the National Weather Service Des Moines for making this service possible.

COOP Currents Improvements

akrherz@iastate.edu (Daryl Herzmann)

The "sortable" COOP currents page has been improved by the following:

timestamps are hopefully displayed for the local time zone of the site,
annoying -99 values (missing) should no longer appear
a option to view by NWS Forecast Office is available

Each day I spend a few minutes quality controlling the station metadata and making sure that non-COOP type sites do not appear in the listing. It is a never ending battle, so please report any issues you see!

January COOP Data Uploaded

akrherz@iastate.edu (Daryl Herzmann)

The quality controlled Iowa COOP data for January 2011 has been uploaded to the IEM. These observations are kindly provided by Harry Hillaker, our state climatologist, who passes along these notes on the month:

January 2011 temperatures averaged 14.5 degrees or 4.9 degrees below normal while precipitation averaged 0.93 inch or 0.01 inch more than normal. This ranks as the 36th coolest and 69th wettest January among 139 years of records. Snowfall averaged 11.3 inches or 3.6 inches above normal to rank as the 18th snowiest January among 124 years of record. Temperatures varied from a low of -30 degrees at Elkader on the 21st to highs of 45 degrees at Shenandoah and Sidney on the 6th and at Glenwood on the 28th. A few northern Iowa locations never warmed above freezing during the month. The 45 degree statewide maximum temperature for the month has been lower only three times, 42 in Feb. 2010, 40 in Dec. 1983 and 40 in Jan. 1979. The result was very little snow melt during the month with Spencer reporting 20 inches on the ground at month's end.

The following is the number of new daily records set at COOP sites based on data back to 1951.

                 2011_____________________2010 _____________
                 JAN  DEC  NOV  OCT  SEP  AUG  JUL  JUN  MAY
Maximum High:      2    2   34   60   11   10    0    0   61
Minimum High:      4   17    0    4   43    6    0    5   45
Maximum Low:       0    0   19    1   20   53   19    2  112
Minimum Low:      13    1    9    1    1    2    0    0   13
Maximum Precip:   42   34   55    4  106  103  160  126   52

The following is some bulk statistics on how well IEM's daily COOP data estimator is performing on a monthly basis versus this QC'd dataset. No code changes were made.

                 2011________________2010_____________________
                 JAN   DEC   NOV   OCT   SEP   AUG   JUL   JUN
High Temp Bias   1.0   1.2   0.0   0.1   0.5   0.5   0.9   0.6 
High Temp RMSE   1.3   1.5   0.9   1.1   1.2   1.0   1.4   1.1
Low  Temp Bias   1.7   1.5   1.2   0.7   0.7   1.0   1.2   0.8
Low  Temp RMSE   2.0   1.8   1.8   2.0   1.5   1.4   1.5   1.3
Precip    Bias  -0.54 -0.52 -0.42 -0.05 -1.22  1.37 -1.28 -0.05
Precip    RMSE   0.61  0.58  0.49  0.25  1.34  0.60  1.60  1.63

Database Upgrade

akrherz@iastate.edu (Daryl Herzmann)

The primary IEM database server is being upgraded this fine evening to Postgresql 9.1 and to a larger disk array. The previous storage array of one terabyte in size was about full! This storage space only includes the database as the flat file storage is 8 terabytes in size at the moment and should not fill until late next year.

I've had some issues with the migration this evening, but hope to be stable before morning. As always, please let me know of any issues you see.