WRF Browser for Windows

Again, not a python post, but some good news for WRF modelers who use Windows PCs.


Introducing WRF Browser, a Windows application you can load and view WRF output and netcdf variables on a map or export to CSV. http://www.enviroware.com/WRF_Browser/
A few tips unique to my needs:
1) I like to look at terrain and land use fields. This is especially nice when you can do this on Google Earth. You'll need to create your own colormap, or as they call it "ColorRamp". Follow the directions in the online manual for creating a custom colormap. I've made one called MODIS_21_Landuse.pg and put it in the directory C:\ProgramData\Enviroware\WRF_Browser\ColorRamps\ 

This matches my Python ColorMap for MODIS land use

1         0 102   0 255
2         0 102  51 255
3        51 204  51 255
4        51 204 102 255
5        51 153  51 255
6        76 178   0 255
7       209 104  31 255
8       188 181 105 255
9       255 214   0 255
10        0 255   0 255
11        0 255 255 255
12      255 255   0 255
13      255   0   0 255
14      178 230  77 255
15      255 255 255 255
16      233 233 179 255
17      127 178 255 255
18      219  20  59 255
19      247 127  80 255
20      232 150 122 255
21        0   0 224 255



The KML output looks like this...

This is the same land use scheme used in the HRRR model, except that the Size of the Great Salt Lake has been modified to it's present day lake level.
One thing I notice is that urban sprawl in the southern end of Utah County in Spanish Fork (my hometown), Salem, and Payson is not captured in the MODIS land use categories. This may have some small effects on how well the HRRR produces forecasts in these cities (as far as I can tell, land use and surface characteristics for a city is a minor issue with the HRRR compared to it's other problems).