1METAR(3)              User Contributed Perl Documentation             METAR(3)
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NAME

6       Geo::METAR - Process aviation weather reports in the METAR format.
7

SYNOPSIS

9         use Geo::METAR;
10         use strict;
11
12         my $m = new Geo::METAR;
13         $m->metar("KFDY 251450Z 21012G21KT 8SM OVC065 04/M01 A3010 RMK 57014");
14         print $m->dump;
15
16         exit;
17

DESCRIPTION

19       METAR reports are available on-line, thanks to the National Weather
20       Service.  Since reading the METAR format isn't easy for non-pilots,
21       these reports are relatively useles to the common man who just wants a
22       quick glace at the weather. This module tries to parse the METAR
23       reports so the data can be used to create readable weather reports
24       and/or process the data in applications.
25

USAGE

27   How you might use this
28       Here is how you might use the Geo::METAR module.
29
30       One use that I have had for this module is to query the NWS METAR page
31       (using the LWP modules) at
32       http://weather.noaa.gov/cgi-bin/mgetmetar.pl?cccc=EHSB to get an up-to-
33       date METAR. Then, I scan thru the output, looking for what looks like a
34       METAR string (that's not hard in Perl). Oh, EHSB can be any site
35       location code where there is a reporting station.
36
37       I then pass the METAR into this module and get the info I want. I can
38       then update my webcam page with the current temperature, sky
39       conditions, or whatnot. See for yourself at http://webcam.idefix.net/
40
41       See the BUGS section for a remark about multiple passes with the same
42       Geo::METAR object.
43
44   Functions
45       The following functions are defined in the METAR module. Most of them
46       are public, meaning that you're supposed to use them. Some are private,
47       meaning that you're not supposed to use them -- but I won't stop you.
48       Assume that functions are public unless otherwise documented.
49
50       metar()
51           metar() is the function to whwich you should pass a METAR string.
52           It will take care of decomposing it into its component parts
53           converting the units and so on.
54
55           Example: "$m->metar("KFDY 251450Z 21012G21KT 8SM OVC065 04/M01
56           A3010 RMK 57014");"
57
58       debug()
59           debug() toggles debugging messages. By default, debugging is turned
60           off. Turn it on if you are developing METAR or having trouble with
61           it.
62
63           debug() understands all of the folloing:
64
65                   Enable       Disable
66                   ------       -------
67                     1             0
68                   'yes'         'no'
69                   'on'          'off'
70
71           If you contact me for help, I'll likely ask you for some debugging
72           output.
73
74           Example: "$m->debug(1);"
75
76       dump()
77           dump() will dump the internal data structure for the METAR in a
78           semi-human readable format.
79
80           Example: "$m->dump;"
81
82       version()
83           version() will print out the current version.
84
85           Example: "print $m->version;"
86
87       _tokenize()
88           PRIVATE
89
90           Called internally to break the METAR into its component tokens.
91
92       _process()
93           PRIVATE
94
95           Used to make sense of the tokens found in _tokenize().
96
97   Variables
98       After you've called metar(), you'd probably like to get at the
99       individual values for things like temperature, dew point, and so on.
100       You do that by accessing individual variables via the METAR object.
101
102       This section lists those variables and what they represent.
103
104       If you call dump(), you'll find that it spits all of these out.
105
106       VERSION
107           The version of METAR.pm that you're using.
108
109       METAR
110           The actual, raw METAR.
111
112       TYPE
113           Report type in English ("Routine Weather Report" or "Special
114           Weather Report")
115
116       SITE
117           4-letter site code.
118
119       DATE
120           The date (just the day of the month) on which the report was
121           issued.
122
123       TIME
124           The time at which the report was issued.
125
126       MOD Modifier (AUTO/COR) if any.
127
128       WIND_DIR_ENG
129           The current wind direction in english (Southwest, East, North,
130           etc.)
131
132       WIND_DIR_ABB
133           The current wind direction in abbreviated english (S, E, N, etc.)
134
135       WIND_DIR_DEG
136           The current wind direction in degrees.
137
138       WIND_KTS
139           The current wind speed in Knots.
140
141       WIND_MPH
142           The current wind speed in Miles Per Hour.
143
144       WIND_GUST_KTS
145           The current wind gusting speed in Knots.
146
147       WIND_GUST_MPH
148           The current wind gusting speed in Miles Per Hour.
149
150       WIND_VAR
151           The wind variation in English
152
153       WIND_VAR_1
154           The first wind variation direction
155
156       WIND_VAR_2
157           The second wind variation direction
158
159       VISIBILITY
160           Visibility information.
161
162       WIND
163           Wind information.
164
165       RUNWAY
166           Runway information.
167
168       WEATHER
169           Current weather (array)
170
171       WEATHER_LOG
172           Current weather log (array)
173
174       SKY Current cloud cover (array)
175
176       TEMP_C
177           Temperature in Celsius.
178
179       TEMP_F
180           Temperature in Fahrenheit.
181
182       DEW_C
183           Dew point in Celsius.
184
185       DEW_F
186           Dew point in Fahrenheit.
187
188       HOURLY_TEMP_F
189           Hourly current temperature, fahrenheit
190
191       HOURLY_TEMP_C
192           Hourly current temperature, celcius
193
194       HOURLY_DEW_F
195           Hourly dewpoint, fahrenheit
196
197       HOURLY_DEW_C
198           Hourly dewpoint, celcius
199
200       ALT Altimeter setting (barometric pressure).
201
202       REMARKS
203           Any remarks in the report.
204

NOTES

206       Test suite is small and incomplete. Needs work yet.
207
208       Older versions of this module were installed as "METAR" instaed of
209       "Geo::METAR"
210

BUGS

212       The Geo::METAR is only initialized once, which means you'll get left-
213       over crud in variables when you call the metar() function twice.
214
215       What is an invalid METAR in one country is a standard one in the next.
216       The standard is interpreted and used by meteorologists all over the
217       world, with local variations. This means there will always be METARs
218       that will trip the parser.
219

TODO

221       There is a TODO file included in the Geo::METAR distribution listing
222       the outstanding tasks that I or others have devised. Please check that
223       list before you submit a bug report or request a new feture. It might
224       already be on the TODO list.
225
227       Copyright 1997-2000, Jeremy D. Zawodny <Jeremy [at] Zawodny.com>
228
229       Copyright 2007, Koos van den Hout <koos@kzdoos.xs4all.nl>
230
231       Geo::METAR is covered under the GNU Public License (GPL) version 2 or
232       later.
233
234       The Geo::METAR Web site is located at:
235
236         http://idefix.net/~koos/perl/Geo-METAR/
237

CREDITS

239       In addition to our work on Geo::METAR, We've received ideas, help, and
240       patches from the following folks:
241
242         * Ethan Dicks <ethan.dicks [at] gmail.com>
243
244           Testing of Geo::METAR at the South Pole. Corrections and pointers
245               to interesting cases to test.
246
247         * Otterboy <jong [at] watchguard.com>
248
249           Random script fixes and initial debugging help
250
251         * Remi Lefebvre <remi [at] solaria.dhis.org>
252
253           Debian packaging as libgeo-metar-perl.deb.
254
255         * Mike Engelhart <mengelhart [at] earthtrip.com>
256
257           Wind direction naming corrections.
258
259         * Michael Starling <mstarling [at] logic.bm>
260
261           Wind direction naming corrections.
262
263         * Hans Einar Nielssen <hans.einar [at] nielssen.com>
264
265           Wind direction naming corrections.
266
267         * Nathan Neulinger <nneul [at] umr.edu>
268
269           Lots of enhancements and corrections. Too many to list here.
270
272       lcdproc at http://www.lcdproc.org/ uses Geo::METAR in lcdmetar.pl to
273       display weather data on an lcd.
274
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277perl v5.34.0                      2021-07-22                          METAR(3)
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