OFFICE NOTE 29
(Updated version of September 1973 edition)
NMC/NCEP FORMAT FOR OBSERVATIONAL DATA
(UPPER-AIR, SINGLE-LEVEL, CLOUD COVER, ADDITIONAL REPORTS)
Original
NMC Automation Division Staff
September 1973
FINAL Revision
Dennis A. Keyser
NCEP Environmental Modeling Center
MARCH 2001
Revision Number 5 to NMC/NCEP Office Note Number 29.
The date of this revision is March 12, 2001 (03/12/2001).
This revision represents the final update
to NMC/NCEP Office
Note Number 29. This format for
representing meteorological
observational data at NMC (later NCEP)
was discontinued in March
1997 when WMO FM 94-IX Code Form: Binary
Universal Format for
the Representation of meteorological data
(BUFR)
became
operational at NCEP. WMO BUFR remains
the official
observational data format at NCEP.
An accurate version of this
Office Note is still necessary for historical
reference. This
revision incorporates corrections and
expansions of various
tables specifying report type, instrument
type and additional
data code figures for certain meteorological
parameters which
were previously unspecified.
Revision Number 4 (dated 2/16/1996) had
also incorporated
corrections and expansions of these tables
as well as quality
mark tables and reserve characters.
In addition, Revision
Number 4 removed two categories (51 and
52) since they pertained
to surface reports and are found in NMC/NCEP
Office Note Number
124.
Other Revision 4 changes:
1) The previous
Table R.2 (Instrument Type) was split into
two tables. Table
R.2a lists the instrument type designators in
effect prior to 1200 UTC 1/22/92.
Effective on this date, the
instrument type designators in both the
NMC Upper-Air Dictionary
and NMC Office Note 29 were changed to
conform with the WMO BUFR
table of instrument types valid at that
time. The WMO BUFR
instrument types are listed in Table
R.2b.
2) A new
set of quality mark indicators was added as a
result of the implementation of the Complex
Quality Control of
rawinsonde heights and temperatures (CQCHHTMP)
which replaced
the hydrostatic check (HYDROCHK) program
on 1200 UTC 10 June
1992.
Changes specified by Revision 1 (October
10, 1969), Revision 2
(September 14, 1973), Revision 3 (April
30, 1987) as well as
those in Revision 4, have been incorporated
in this final
revision. All previous editions
will be obsolete.
Prior to
March 1997, information contained in NMC
observational data found in NMC production
files ADPUPA, AIRCFT,
SATWND, AIRCAR and UPABOG consists of
combinations of characters
from the FORTRAN character set given in
APPENDIX
A.
A report
is composed of two main parts: (1) the report
identification of fixed length (50 characters),
and (2) the
observational data of variable length.
Each report is
considered to be a logical record and
contains 70 or more
characters. The total number of
characters in a report is
evenly divisible by 10. Certain
portions of the report are also
evenly divisible by 10, and the character
"X" is used to fill in
these instances.
The information
contained in the report identification is
given in APPENDIX B.
The last parameter in this group contains
the total number of ten-character words
in the report providing
linkage from one report to the next when
a roup of reports is
blocked into a physical record.
The report identification is
followed by the observational data which
is formatted according
to the categories described in APPENDIX
C. Each category of
available data is preceded by a ten-character
category/counter
group which is described in APPENDIX
B. Where no data of a
given category exist, the category/counter
group also will be
absent from the report. The final category/counter
group in a
report contains the ten characters "END
REPORT". The total
number of characters found in the category/counter
group and the
formatted data for that category is evenly
divisible by 10, the
character "X" being used for fill if necessary.
A sample
RAWINSONDE report, in the prescribed format, is
given in APPENDIX D.
A negative
value of a parameter is indicated by a minus
(-) sign located in the leftmost position.
A positive value is
unsigned. All numbers are right-justified
with zero (0) fill.
In order
to attain flexibility for adding new report types
and/or new categories of data, programs
should be written so
that these additions will not necessitate
reprogramming. Of
course, to utilize the additional data,
programming would be
needed. This can be simply done
by providing a check to
ascertain if the report type and/or category
can be handled. If
not, the report or category should be
bypassed, pending a change
to utilize the additional data.
This Office
Note no longer describes the NMC format for
surface reports. See NMC
Office Note Number 124 for such
information.
LIST
OF APPENDICES
Report
Identification
Category/Counter
Group
Reserve
Characters
Table
R.1 (Report Type)
Table
R.2a (Instrument Type in Use Before
1200
UTC 1/22/92)
Table
R.2b (Instrument Type in Use After
1200
UTC 1/22/92)
Formats
for the Categories of Data
Category
01 - Mandatory Constant Pressure
Category
02 - Temperature/Dewpoint Depression
at
Variable Pressure
Category
03 - Wind at Variable Pressure
Category
04 - Wind at Variable Height
Category
05 - Tropopause
Category
06 - Aircraft
Category
07 - Cloud Cover
Category
08 - Additional Data Groups
- Table 101
- Table 101.1 (Definitions of Symbols
Used
in Table 101)
Quality
Mark Tables for Categories 01 - 08
Explanation of Acronyms and Terminology
APPENDIX A
The following
FORTRAN characters may be used:
A, B, C, D, E, F, G, H, I, J, K, L, M, N, O, P, Q, R, S, T,
U, V, W, X, Y, Z, 0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7, 8, 9, and:
CharacterName of Character
Blank (space)
-
Minus
*
Asterisk
/
Slash
$
Currency Symbol
#
Pound sign
APPENDIX B
______________________________________________________________________
Character|
|
|
Number(s)| Parameter
| Unit
| Remarks .
|
|
|
1 - 5 | Latitude *
| Hundredths of degree | Negative if in
|
|
| So. Hemisphere
|
|
|
6 - 10 | WEST longitude * | Hundredths
of degree | Values 00000 to
|
|
| 35999
|
|
|
11 - 16 | Station
| Alphanumeric | Left justified,
|
identification $|
| blank fill
|
|
|
17 - 20 | Observation time *| Hundredths of hour
| -----
|
| (UTC)
|
|
|
|
21 - 27 | Reserved
| See description |
-----
|
characters |
|
|
|
|
28 - 30 | Report type
| Character from | Always an
|
| Table R.1
| integer
|
|
|
31 - 35 | Station
| Meter
| Negative if
|
elevation * |
| below sea
|
|
| level
|
|
|
36 - 37 | Instrument
| Character from Table | Always an
|
type # | R.2a
or R.2b % |
integer
|
|
|
38 - 40 | Total length
| Number of
| -----
|
of report | ten-character
words|
|
|
|
.
* Whenever value is "missing" or not applicable,
all characters for the
parameter will contain
"9".
$ AIREP aircraft reports can have a seventh
character in the station
identification; this
is stored in the "Reserve character 26".
# For report types 011-031 (see Table
R.1): radiosonde/pibal instrument
type obtained from NMC
upper-air dictionary. {Note: Effective 1200
UTC 1/9/91, the reported
instrument type is encoded in Category 8,
under
code figure 106. (See Appendix C, Category 8.)}.
For report type 041 (see Table
R.1, Australian ASDAR/AMDAR aircraft
reports only): navigation
type (97- INS, 98- OMEGA, 99- not reported).
For report type 063 (see Table
R.1, effective 9/2/93): product type (01 - IR
automated winds, 02-
IR manual winds, 03- picture triplet, 04- water
vapor automated, 05-
visible manual, 06- visible automated, 07-
gradient winds, 08-
picture pair, 10- ASMU/SSM-I microwave, 11-
scatterometer, 12- altimeter,
13-LAWS, 14- high-density water vapor
sounder channel 10,
15- high-density water vapor sounder channel 11,
16- high-density infrared
automated cloud drift, 17- high-density
visible cloud drift,
18- high-density water vapor imager, 99-cloud
drift (subtype unknown)}.
For all other report types
(see Table R.1): 99- unspecified.
% Applies only to report types 011-031
(see Table R.1).
_____________________________________________________________________
Character|
Number(s)|
Parameter
.
|
41 - 42 | Category code figure from
Appendix
C
|
43 - 45 | Number of ten-character
words in the report which
|
precedes the next category/counter group plus one. *
|
46 - 47 | Number of times data format
for current category is
|
repeated (i.e., the number of levels or entries)
|
48 - 50 | Total number of characters
in current category (fill
|
characters not counted)
|
.
* More simply stated, the relative position
in the report of the
next category/counter group.
Reserve Characters 21-24:
For report type 041 (all aircraft
flight-level types, see Table
R.1):
Receipt time in hours times one-hundred
For report type 063 (satellite winds
originating from NESDIS,
see Table
R.1): Initiation time for NESDIS holding file (in
HHMM, where HH
is hour and MM in minutes UTC).
Reserve Characters 21-22:
For report type 065 (SSM/I precipitable
water superobs, see
Table R.1):
Effective 7/28/93, number of individual retrievals
that were used to produce
this superob.
Reserve Characters 23-26:
For report type 065 (SSM/I precipitable
water superobs, see
Table R.1):
Effective 7/28/93, standard deviation of the
individual retrievals that
were used to produce this superob
(in millimeters times one-hundred).
Reserve Character 25:
For all report types except ASDAR/AMDAR
Aircraft in report type 041 (see
Table R.1):
Assigned to indicate special processing procedures.
Character Meaning .
0 Report has been adjusted
to map time by an NMC
updating procedure. Heights are referenced to
some forecast level.
1 Report has been adjusted
to map time by an NMC
updating procedure. Heights are referenced to
1000 mb level at sea level.
8 Reported heights are
referenced to 1000 mb
level at sea level.
9 * Reported heights are referenced
to some
forecast level.
* Exception is report type 061 (SIRS
soundings, an obsolete
data type), this
value means "missing" or not applicable.
For Australian ASDAR/AMDAR Aircraft in
report type 041 (see Table R.1):
Effective
1991-12/1/93, assigned to indicate aircraft phase of flight.
Character Meaning .
blank
Not reported.
1 Level.
2 Ascent.
3 Descent.
4 Highest wind encountered
in level flight.
Effective
12/1/93, assigned to indicate aircraft phase of flight and
obtained
from BUFR code table
0-08-004.
Character
Meaning
.
0-2
Reserved.
3 Level flight, routine
observation (LVR).
4 Level flight, highest
wind encountered (LVW).
5 Ascending (ASC).
6 Descending (DES).
7 Missing.
For satellite-derived winds in report type
063 (see Table R.1):
Effective
????, assigned to indicate cloud mask.
Character Meaning .
1 Deep layer mean.
2 Cloud top.
9 Missing.
For all report types except all aircraft
types in report type
041 (see Table
R.1):
Assigned
to indicate the information specifying that the
standard
isobaric surfaces were located by the use of
pressure
equipment (44), or that the pressure equipment was not
available
and that the wind data were reported at
altitudes
approximating the standard isobaric surfaces (55).
Code
Figure
(44) | (55)
Equipment
.
0 Pressure
instrument associated with wind-
measuring equipment.
1 | 5 Optical theodolite.
0 | 2 Radio theodolite.
3 | 7 Radar.
4 Pressure
instrument associated with wind-
measuring equipment but pressure element
failed during ascent.
6 Not assigned.
8 Not assigned.
9 Not
specified.
For ASDAR/AMDAR Aircraft in report type
041 (see Table R.1):
Effective
1991, assigned to indicate temperature precision.
Character Meaning .
blank Not reported.
0 Low (precision near 2.0 deg. C).
1 High (precision near
1.0 deg. C).
For AIREP Aircraft in report type 041 (see
Table
R.1):
Effective
4/17/91, assigned to indicate seventh character
of
station identification. If blank, none reported.
Reserve Character 27:
For all report types except 041 and 063 (see Table R.1):
Assigned to indicate results of report processing.
Character Meaning .
0
All parameters processed automatically.
All parameters obtained by manual intervention and ...
1
nothing else specified.
2
all agree with automatically processed values.
3
all disagree with automatically processed values.
4
one or more disagree with automatically processed
values.
One or more, but not all, parameters obtained
by manual intervention and ...
5
all agree with automatically processed values.
6
all disagree with automatically processed values.
7
Two or more, but not all, parameters obtained
by manual intervention and one or more
disagree with automatically processed values.
8
Not assigned.
9
Not specified.
For all types in report type 063 (see Table R.1):
Effective 1/27/88, assigned to indicate source of report.
Character Meaning .
A Source is other than
any listed below.
B Source is experimental.
C Source is ESA/METEOSAT.
D Source is GMS/MSC (Japan).
E Source is INDIA/INSAT.
F Source is test.
1 Source is USA/NOAA/NESDIS.
4 Source is USA/NOAA/NWS.
5 Source is USA/University.
6 Source is USA/Commercial.
7 Source is USA/DOD/NAVY.
8 Source is USA/DOD/USAF.
9 Source is USA/NASA.
For all aircraft types in report type 041
(see Table R.1):
Effective
4/17/91, assigned to indicate source of report.
Character Meaning .
C Report received in a
bulletin with Carswell
AFB, TX or Tinker AFB, OK as originator.
_________________________________________________________
Code Figure |
Type
.
|
| Upper-air
| Land station (RAOB and PIBAL)
011
| By block and station number
* 012
| By call letters
# 013
| By latitude-longitude
|
| Ocean station (RAOB and PIBAL)
021
| Fixed ship (OSV)
022
| Moving ship with name
023
| Moving ship without name
|
031
| Reconnaissance aircraft or dropwinsondes
|
$ 071
| RESERVED
@ 072
| RESERVED
|
| Aircraft
041
| Aircraft flight-level (all types)
* 042
| Constant-level balloon reports
|
| Monitoring bogus (manual)
* 051
| Upper-air bogus - by lat-lon
|
| Satellite
% 061
| RESERVED
* 062
| CLOUD (wind estimates)
063
| Satellite-dervied or ATS(*) wind estimates
|
065
| SSM/I precipitable water (ocean)
066
| SSM/I rain rate (land/ocean)
068
| SSM/I brightness temperatures
069
| SSM/I cloud water (ocean)
|
| Surface (see Office
Note 124)
|
.
* - No longer used.
# - Includes land station CLASS soundings
which are by call letters
(effective
1800 UTC 2/10/92) and TOGA land stations.
$ - Used by NOAA/FSL wind profiler reports
in unpacked W3FI77 format.
@ - Used by NEXRAD (VAD) wind reports
in unpacked W3FI77 format.
% - Three possibilities:
1- Tiros-N
Operational Vertical Sounder (TOVS) retrievals are
provided in a special format from NESDIS, however they are
assigned this report type by a program which reformats them
into NMC Office Note 29.
2- SIRS
soundings, not in use since the middle 1970's, were
assigned this report type.
3- Used
by GOES sounding/radiance/precipitable water reports in
unpacked W3FI77 format.
INSTRUMENT TYPE IN USE BEFORE 1200 UTC 1/22/1992 (2 CHARACTERS)
_______________________________________________________________________
Code | Description
|Key for|U-Air Dictionary
Fig. | Country - instrument name as of
|instr./| Code (see #)
| 1/22/92
or date of last use | name |
Code 1 | Code 2 .
|
| |
|
01 | US-NOAA VIZ-A External Thermistor
| x,y,a | 1 or J | N1
|
| |
|
02 | US-NOAA External Thermistor
| a,b | 2 or K |not used
| (Plateau
stations)
| |
|
|
| |
|
03 | US-military VIZ AN/AMT-4b
| x,y,c | 3 or L | N2
| External
Thermistor
| |
|
|
| |
|
04 | FINLAND-Vaisala
| x,y,d | 4 or M | L1
|
| |
|
05 | FRANCE-Mesural (inside
France) | x,y,e | 5 or N | H1
|
| |
|
06 | CANADA/PORTUGAL Model IV
| b | 6 or O |not used
|
| |
|
07 | GERMANY-Graw/Sprenger
| y,f | 7 or P | C
|
| |
|
08 | US-NOAA VIZ 403 MhZ Duct-type
| g,b | 8 or Q |not used
| (corrections
applied)
| |
|
|
| |
|
09 | JAPAN-Meisei or Oki
| x,y,h | 9 or R | G
|
| |
|
10 | EAST GERMANY-Freiberg
| x,y,b | A or / |not used
|
| |
|
11 | UK-Meteorological Office
| x,y,i | B or S | O
|
| |
|
12 | USSR-Meteorite A-22 III and
IV | x,y | C
| J1
|
| |
|
13 | US-NOAA VIZ 403 MhZ Duct-type
| g,b | D or U | A
| (corrections
not applied) |
| |
|
| |
|
14 | FINLAND-Vaisala (outside Finland)
| y,k,j | 4 or M | L2
|
| |
|
15 | FRANCE-Mesural (outside France)
| y,k | 5 or N | H2
|
| |
|
16 | AUSTRALIA-Phillips
| k,l | not used | I
|
| |
|
17 | AUSTRALIA-Diamond Hinman
| y,m,b | unknown |not used
|
| |
|
18 | CANADA-Sangamo
| y,k | not used | K
|
| |
|
19 | CHINA-Shanghai 23 Radio
| y,n | T |
P
|
| |
|
20 | USSR-Meteorite RKZ-2 and -5
| y,p | C |
J2
|
| |
|
21 | USSR-unknown (linear average
| y,p | C |
J
| of A-22
and RKZ corrections) |
| |
|
| |
|
22 | INDIA-Meteorological Service
| k | not used | D
|
| |
|
23 | AUSTRIA-Elin
| k | not used | B
|
| |
|
24 | SOUTH KOREA-Jinyang (VIZ license)
| k | not used | E
|
| |
|
25 | SWITZERLAND-Meteolabor
| k | not used | F
|
| |
|
26 | CZECHOSLOVAKIA-Vinohrady
| k | not used | M
|
| |
|
27 | US-NOAA MSS Solid State 1680
MhZ | k | not used | Q
| (Space
Data Corporation) |
| |
|
| |
|
28 | US-NOAA VIZ-B External Thermistor
| y,o | not used | N1
|
| |
|
29 | US-NOAA Space Data Corporation
| y,o | not used | N1
|
| |
|
30-98| RESERVED
| |
|
|
| |
|
99 | UNSPECIFIED INSTRUMENT TYPE,
or | | blank
| blank
|
UNKNOWN INSTRUMENT TYPE
| | 0
| 0
|
| |
| .
# - Code 1 refers to dictionary code prior
to 7/30/86. Code 2 refers
to dictionary
code between 7/30/86 and 1/22/92.
a - Before 9/79 was "US-ESSA External
Thermistor", between 9/79 and
11/88 was
"US-NOAA VIZ External Thermistor".
b - Discontinued sometime prior to 7/86.
c - Before 7/86 was "US-military AN/AMT-4".
d - Before 7/86 used in and out of Finland,
between 7/86 and 7/88 used
only in
Finland, and after 7/88 again used in and out of Finland.
e - Before 9/79 was "FRANCE-Metox".
f - Before 9/79 was "W. GERMANY-Graw H.50",
and between 9/79 and 5/85
was "W.
GERMANY-Graw M-60".
g - Before 9/79 was "US-ESSA 403 Mhz Duct-type".
h - Sometime before 5/85 was "JAPAN-Code
Sending".
i - Sometime before 5/85 was "UK-Kew Mark
IIB".
j - Discontinued 7/88.
k - Before 7/86 was not in effect.
l - Discontinued 1/91.
m - Went into use sometime prior to 9/79.
n - Before 7/86 grouped with "USSR-A-22"
(code fig. 12) but not corrected.
o - Not in effect prior to 11/88.
p - Before 7/86 was combined with "USSR-A-22"
in code fig. 12.
x - Instrument types corrected with 1968
tables prior to 7/30/86 (see Weather
Bureau Tech.
Memo. WBTM DATAC 2, 1968, by McInturff and Finger for
correction
tables). [Note: For code fig. 05, 1968 correction applied only
to Metox
instrument, the Mesural instrument was not corrected.]
y - Instrument types corrected with 1979
tables between 7/30/86 and
1/22/92
(see NOAA Tech. Memo. NWS NMC 63, September 1979, by
McInturff
et. al for correction tables.) [Note: For code fig. 11,
1979 correction
applied only to Kew Mark II-B instrument.]
INSTRUMENT TYPE IN USE AFTER 1200 UTC 1/22/1992 (2 CHARACTERS)
_______________________________________________________
_ _
Code Fig. &| Description
|Tbl. R.2a
U-Air Dic.)| Country
- instrument name
| equivalent
|
|
00 to 08 |
Not used
|
09
| UNSPECIFIED / UNKNOWN INSTRUMENT TYPE
| 99
* 10
| UNITED STATES - RS VIZ-A External Thermistor| 01,03
* 11
| UNITED STATES - RS VIZ-B External Thermistor|
28
* 12
| UNITED STATES - RS Space Data Corporation |
29
# 13
| AUSTRALIA - Astor
|
14
| UNITED STATES - Beukers Microsonde
|
15
| UNITED STATES - EEC Company type 23
|
16
| AUSTRIA - Elin
| 23
17
| GERMANY - Graw G
|
18
| RESERVED
|
* 19
| GERMANY - Graw M60
| 07
20
| INDIA - Meteorological Service MK3
| 22
# 21
| SOUTH KOREA - Jinyang (VIZ license)
| 24
* 22
| JAPAN - Meisei RS2-80
| 09
23
| FRANCE - Mesural FMO 1950A
| 05,15
24
| FRANCE - Mesural FMO 1945A
| 05,15
25
| FRANCE - Mesural MH73A
| 05,15
26
| SWITZERLAND - Meteolabor Basora
| 25
* 27
| CIS - AVK-MRZ
| 12
* 28
| CIS - Meteorite Marz2-1
| 20
* 29
| CIS - Meteorite Marz2-2
| 20
30
| JAPAN - Oki RS2-80
|
* 31
| CANADA - Sangamo
| 18
* 32
| CHINA - Shanghai Radio
| 19
#,*33
| UNITED KINGDOM - Meteorological Office MK3 |
11
34
| CZECHOSLOVAKIA - Vinohrady
| 26
35
| FINLAND - Vaisala RS18
|
36
| FINLAND - Vaisala RS21
|
* 37
| FINLAND - Vaisala RS80
| 04
38
| UNITED STATES - Beukers LOCATE (Loran-C) |
39
| GERMANY - Sprenger E076
|
40
| GERMANY - Sprenger E084
|
41
| GERMANY - Sprenger E085
|
42
| GERMANY - Sprenger E086
|
* 43
| UNITED KINGDOM - AIR IS-4A-1680
|
* 44
| UNITED KINGDOM - AIR IS-4A-1680 X
|
* 45
| RS MSS
| 27
46
| UNITED KINGDOM - AIR IS-4A-403
|
* 47
| JAPAN - Meisei RS2-91
|
48 to 59 |
RESERVED FOR ADDITIONAL RADIOSONDES
|
* 60
| FINLAND - Vaisala RS80/MicroCora
| 04
* 61
| FINLAND - Vaisala RS80/DigiCora or Marwin |
04
* 62
| FINLAND - Vaisala RS80/PCCora
| 04
* 63
| FINLAND - Vaisala RS80/Star
| 04
64 to 98 |
RESERVED
|
99
| UNSPECIFIED ("RESERVED" in BUFR table)
|
|
| .
* - Inst. types corrected with 1991 tables
(see NMC O.Note 374).
# - No longer in use.
APPENDIX C
Whenever values are "missing", all
characters allowed
for that parameter will contain
"9", except for quality
marks which will always be as stated.
Category 01 -- Mandatory constant-pressure data
(22 characters each entry) (see Note 1)
The assumed order of constant-pressure
data is as follows:
(1)
1000 mb (8) 200 mb
(15) 10 mb
(2)
850 mb (9) 150 mb
(16) 7 mb
(3)
700 mb (10) 100 mb
(17) 5 mb
(4)
500 mb (11) 70 mb
(18) 3 mb
(5)
400 mb (12) 50 mb
(19) 2 mb
(6)
300 mb (13) 30 mb
(20) 1 mb
(7)
250 mb (14) 20 mb
Assuming
this order, the entry in the category/counter
group which gives the number of
times a format is repeated
will be the number corresponding
to the highest level (lowest
pressure) for which there is data.
_____________________________________________________________________
No. of |
|
characters |
Parameter
|
Unit .
|
|
5 | Geopotential
| Meter
|
|
4 | Temperature
| Tenth of degree C
|
|
3 | Dewpoint
depression
| Tenth of degree C
|
|
3 | Wind
direction
| Degree
|
|
3 | Wind
speed
| Knot
|
|
1 | Quality
mark for geopotential | (see Note 2)
|
|
1 | Quality
mark for temperature | (see Note 2)
|
|
1 | Quality
mark for dewpoint | (see Note 2)
| depression
|
|
|
1 | Quality
mark for wind |
(see Note 2)
|
|
.
Note 1 - In 1991 a new mandatory level at 925 mb was
introduced. See
Category
08, code figure 925 for geopotential; Category
02 for
temperature and dewpoint depression; and Category
03 for wind
data from the 925 mb mandatory level.
Note 2 - For data prior to 1200 UTC 10 June 1992,
see character from Table
Q.A.
Otherwise, see character from Table Q.C.
Category 02 -- Temperature/dewpoint depression at variable pressure
(15 characters each entry) (may also include 925 mb
mandatory level data if Cat. 08, code fig. 925 present)
_____________________________________________________________________
No. of |
|
characters |
Parameter
|
Unit .
|
|
5 | Pressure
(see Note 1, 2) | Tenth of millibar
|
|
4 | Temperature
| Tenth of degree C
|
|
3 | Dewpoint
depression
| Tenth of degree C
|
|
1 | Indicator
for pressure | Character
from Table
|
| Q.B
|
|
1 | Quality
mark for temperature | (see Note 3)
|
|
1 | Quality
mark for dewpoint | (see Note 3)
| depression
|
|
|
.
Note 1 - First entry will always be surface data, values
set "missing"
if not available.
Note 2 - Entries will be ordered by decreasing pressure.
Note 3 - For data prior to 1200 UTC 10 June 1992,
see character from
Table
Q.A. Otherwise, see character from Table Q.C.
Category 03 -- Wind at variable pressure (13 characters each
entry)
(may also include 925 mb mandatory level data if
Cat. 08, code fig. 925 present)
_____________________________________________________________________
No. of |
|
characters |
Parameter
|
Unit .
|
|
5 | Pressure
(see Note 1, 2) | Tenth of millibar
|
|
3 | Wind
direction
| Degree
|
|
3 | Wind
speed
| Knot
|
|
1 | Indicator
for pressure | Character
from Table
|
| Q.B
|
|
1 | Quality
mark for wind | (see
Note 3)
|
|
.
Note 1 - First entry will always be surface data, values
set "missing" if not
available.
Note 2 - Entries will be ordered by decreasing pressure.
Note 3 - For data prior to 1200 UTC 10 June 1992,
see character from Table Q.A.
Otherwise, see character from Table Q.C.
Category 04 -- Wind at variable height (13 characters each entry)
_____________________________________________________________________
No. of |
|
characters |
Parameter
|
Unit .
|
|
5 | Geopotential
(see Note 1, 2) | Meter
|
|
3 | Wind
direction
| Degree
|
|
3 | Wind
speed
| Knot
|
|
1 | Indicator
for geopotential | Character from Table
|
| Q.B
|
|
1 | Quality
mark for wind | (see
Note 3)
|
|
.
Note 1 - First entry will always be surface data, values
set "missing"
if not available.
Note 2 - Entries will be ordered by increasing height.
Note 3 - For data prior to 1200 UTC 10 June 1992,
see character from
Table
Q.A. Otherwise, see character from Table Q.C.
Category 05 -- Tropopause data (22 characters each entry)
_____________________________________________________________________
No. of |
|
characters |
Parameter
|
Unit .
|
|
5 | Pressure
(see Note 1) | Tenth
of millibar
|
|
4 | Temperature
| Tenth of degree C
|
|
3 | Dewpoint
depression
| Tenth of degree C
|
|
3 | Wind
direction
| Degree
|
|
3 | Wind
speed
| Knot
|
|
1 | Indicator
for pressure | Character
from
Table
|
| Q.B
|
|
1 | Quality
mark for temperature | (see Note 2)
|
|
1 | Quality
mark for dewpoint | (see Note 2)
| depression
|
|
|
1 | Quality
mark for wind | (see
Note 2)
|
|
.
Note 1 - Entries will be ordered by decreasing pressure.
Note 2 - For data prior to 1200 UTC 10 June 1992,
see character from
Table
Q.A. Otherwise, see character from Table Q.C.
Category 06 -- Single-level data (22 characters each entry)
_____________________________________________________________________
No. of |
|
characters |
Parameter
|
Unit .
|
|
5 | Pressure
altitude
| Meter
|
|
4 | Temperature
| Tenth of degree C
|
|
3 | Dewpoint
depression
| Tenth of degree C
|
|
3 | Wind
direction
| Degree
|
|
3 | Wind
speed
| Knot
|
|
1 | Indicator
for pressure | Character
from Table
| altitude (see Note 1) or | Q.6
(see Note 2)
| quality mark for entire |
| report (see Note 1, Tbl. Q.6)|
|
|
1 | Quality
mark for temperature | Character from Table
| (see Note 1) or quality | Q.6(see
Note 2)
| mark for entire report (see |
|
Note 1, Tbl. Q.6)
|
&