I like to use ADDs to look at wind forecasts - especially winds aloft. I really hate to click on all of the links to see the different forecast periods. ... so I created some scripts to automate the process.
Each time I run a script (for a particular altitude MSL), it grabs forecasted winds for the next 72 hours and creates a single animated image with a 3 second delay between frames.
I use WGET to get the image files and GIFSICLE to make an animated GIF image.
I originally decided to use the WGET approach when we were on a trip out west this summer with a lower bandwidth connection. We would just run the script while we were doing something else and then view the images in sequence. This approach is better, because it automates the display of the 17 individual files provided by NOAA.
Here is the script for 3K MSL wind streamlines:
Code: Select all
cd 3kwinds
del *.gif
..\WGET http://adds.aviationweather.noaa.gov/data/winds/ruc01hr_900_windstrm.gif
..\WGET http://adds.aviationweather.noaa.gov/data/winds/ruc02hr_900_windstrm.gif
..\WGET http://adds.aviationweather.noaa.gov/data/winds/ruc03hr_900_windstrm.gif
..\WGET http://adds.aviationweather.noaa.gov/data/winds/ruc06hr_900_windstrm.gif
..\WGET http://adds.aviationweather.noaa.gov/data/winds/ruc09hr_900_windstrm.gif
..\WGET http://adds.aviationweather.noaa.gov/data/winds/ruc12hr_900_windstrm.gif
..\WGET http://adds.aviationweather.noaa.gov/data/winds/eta18hr_900_windstrm.gif
..\WGET http://adds.aviationweather.noaa.gov/data/winds/eta24hr_900_windstrm.gif
..\WGET http://adds.aviationweather.noaa.gov/data/winds/eta30hr_900_windstrm.gif
..\WGET http://adds.aviationweather.noaa.gov/data/winds/eta36hr_900_windstrm.gif
..\WGET http://adds.aviationweather.noaa.gov/data/winds/eta42hr_900_windstrm.gif
..\WGET http://adds.aviationweather.noaa.gov/data/winds/eta48hr_900_windstrm.gif
..\WGET http://adds.aviationweather.noaa.gov/data/winds/eta54hr_900_windstrm.gif
..\WGET http://adds.aviationweather.noaa.gov/data/winds/eta60hr_900_windstrm.gif
..\WGET http://adds.aviationweather.noaa.gov/data/winds/eta66hr_900_windstrm.gif
..\WGET http://adds.aviationweather.noaa.gov/data/winds/eta72hr_900_windstrm.gif
..\WGET http://adds.aviationweather.noaa.gov/data/winds/eta78hr_900_windstrm.gif
move ruc01hr_900_windstrm.gif 01hr_900_windstrm.gif
move ruc02hr_900_windstrm.gif 02hr_900_windstrm.gif
move ruc03hr_900_windstrm.gif 03hr_900_windstrm.gif
move ruc06hr_900_windstrm.gif 06hr_900_windstrm.gif
move ruc09hr_900_windstrm.gif 09hr_900_windstrm.gif
move ruc12hr_900_windstrm.gif 12hr_900_windstrm.gif
move eta18hr_900_windstrm.gif 18hr_900_windstrm.gif
move eta24hr_900_windstrm.gif 24hr_900_windstrm.gif
move eta30hr_900_windstrm.gif 30hr_900_windstrm.gif
move eta36hr_900_windstrm.gif 36hr_900_windstrm.gif
move eta42hr_900_windstrm.gif 42hr_900_windstrm.gif
move eta48hr_900_windstrm.gif 48hr_900_windstrm.gif
move eta54hr_900_windstrm.gif 54hr_900_windstrm.gif
move eta60hr_900_windstrm.gif 60hr_900_windstrm.gif
move eta66hr_900_windstrm.gif 66hr_900_windstrm.gif
move eta72hr_900_windstrm.gif 72hr_900_windstrm.gif
move eta78hr_900_windstrm.gif 78hr_900_windstrm.gif
..\gifsicle.exe --delay 200 --loopcount *_900_windstrm.gif >..\3k_windstrm.gif
cd ..I realize that this could be done much more elegantly. Anyone who would like to make improvements is welcome to post them here. A few comments:
- - WGET and GIFSICLE are located in a folder named 'getwinds', and I have subfolders for each altitude (3kwinds, 6kwinds, etc).
- Since the NOAA file names are not suitable for chronological sorting, I use 'move' to rename the files so they will sort correctly.
- The resulting animated file 3K_windstrm.gif is placed in the parent folder (..\) and should viewed in a browser or a utility that will support the animation.
<img src="http://www.2fly.biz/images/3k_windstrm.gif" />
You can learn more about WGET and GIFSICLE at the following links:
WGET - (windows ver) - http://www.interlog.com/~tcharron/wgetwin.html
GIFSicle (windows ver) - http://www.lcdf.org/gifsicle/gifsicle.exe