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WPTC Track Map Generator
Original author(s)Jdorje
Developer(s)Titoxd for WikiProject Tropical cyclones
Stable release
r195 / 2013-06-07
Operating systemUnix-like
PlatformIA-32, x86-64
TypeMapping tool
LicenseGPL v2 or later
Websitegithub.com/titoxd/wptc-track

Storm tracks for older hurricanes and seasons are rather inferior. Unisys provides tracking maps [1] based on the NHC "best track" data, but these are non-free. The goal of this little project is to make tracking maps that are Free.

The project[edit]

This map shows the tracks of all tropical cyclones which formed worldwide from 1985 to 2005. The map was created with the WPTC track map generator by Nilfanion.

The track map generator program generates a track map from the NHC HURDAT data,[A 1] or from Automated Tropical Cyclone Forecast (ATCF) B-deck data files (commonly referred to as "best track" files).

The track map generator projects the track of a tropical cyclone onto a plate carrée geographic projection. Currently, track maps utilize a shrunk version of File:Blue Marble 2002.png, although support for other background images is available in the code. (Any alternate backgrounds should be high-resolution, preferably at least 4000x2000 pixels, and should cover the entire globe).

The latest versions of the track map generator are currently hosted at GitHub, and are available here.

Installation[edit]

Prerequisites

You will need:

Optional requirements include:

Linux systems typically provide a package manager that will simplify installation of the software mentioned above, but all of the libraries can be compiled from scratch if necessary. For example, the following command can be used to install all required dependencies on Debian: 

sudo apt install build-essential git libcairo2-dev pkg-config make autoconf automake gettext

The track map generator has been tested on Linux (Debian, Ubuntu, Fedora, their derivatives, etc.), Windows,[A 2] and macOS.

Downloading

Once the prerequisites have been installed, download the software by running the following command: 

git clone https://github.com/titoxd/wptc-track.git

This method allows for read-only access to the WPTC track map repository. Users who desire to contribute to the development of the tool will be asked to create a GitHub account; contact Titoxd for more details.

Automatic install

If you have automake and autoconf installed, along with gettext, then the installation process can be simplified. Go to the tracks directory and compile the program by running 

./autogen.sh && make

If this fails, it could be because you're missing one of the requirements (above). In particular, check that you have the development headers for the Cairo binaries, not just the binary libraries.

Manual install

Alternatively, if either automake or autoconf fail (or are not installed), use the following command while in the tracks directory to call the C compiler: 

gcc -g -Wall -Werror jma.c scales.c template.c tab.c track.c tcr.c atcf.c hurdat2.c hurdat.c md.c `pkg-config --cflags --libs cairo` -o track

If you are not using the gcc compiler, replace gcc in the previous line with the correct compiler front-end (e.g. llvm-clang, icc); check your compiler's documentation for more details.

Running[edit]

The straightforward way to generate a track is via the track program, which will create the track in the file "output.png": 

  ./track --year 2004 --name ivan 
  ./track --year 1928 --id 4 
  ./track --year 1961 --id 18 --input ../data/wpac.txt
  ./track --input ~/Downloads/bep022013.dat --format atcf --extra 1

Temporary note: For the migration to the new colors approved in Wikipedia:WikiProject Weather/Color RfC, please pull the latest version and recompile, or append the following arguments: 

--tdcolor 6ec1ea --tscolor 4dffff --c1color ffffd9 --c2color ffd98c --c3color ff9e59 --c4color ff738a --c5color 8d75e6

so that the overall commands become: 

  ./track --year 2004 --name ivan --tdcolor 6ec1ea --tscolor 4dffff --c1color ffffd9 --c2color ffd98c --c3color ff9e59 --c4color ff738a --c5color 8d75e6
  ./track --year 1928 --id 4 --tdcolor 6ec1ea --tscolor 4dffff --c1color ffffd9 --c2color ffd98c --c3color ff9e59 --c4color ff738a --c5color 8d75e6
  ./track --year 1961 --id 18 --input ../data/wpac.txt --tdcolor 6ec1ea --tscolor 4dffff --c1color ffffd9 --c2color ffd98c --c3color ff9e59 --c4color ff738a --c5color 8d75e6
  ./track --input ~/Downloads/bep022013.dat --format atcf --extra 1 --tdcolor 6ec1ea --tscolor 4dffff --c1color ffffd9 --c2color ffd98c --c3color ff9e59 --c4color ff738a --c5color 8d75e6

The tool provides some runtime help; it is available by running the following command: 

  ./track --help

Uploading

The track map for Hurricane Adrian (2011).

Upload the output of the track generator to Commons, as public domain images. See Category:Tropical cyclone tracks to see the nomenclature being used for the track maps.

You may want to use the ((WPTC track map)) template while uploading; see the documentation in the linked page for more details. The ATCF parser will automagically pre-fill the upload template for you; for example, after generating the track map for Hurricane Adrian, the code will produce a template like the following: 

((WPTC track map 
| author = Titoxd
| name = Hurricane Adrian
| season = 2011 Pacific hurricane season
| start = 2011-06-03
| end = 2011-06-09
| othersource=Tracking data from the ((w|National Hurricane Center))'s running best track.<sup>[ftp://ftp.nhc.noaa.gov/atcf/btk/bep012011.dat]</sup>
| catname=Hurricane Adrian (2011)
| code=./track --format atcf --input ../tracks-data/2011/btk/bep012011.dat  --output ~/public-html/wptc-maps/Adrian_2011_track.png --extra 1
))

High-resolution

High-resolution track maps are currently recommended. To build with a clear background, download the original file of "Blue Marble 2002 bg21600.png". You can move it to anywhere or rename it, when the path is correct. The script will be like the following: 

./track --input ../Chanthu.dat --format atcf --res 2700 --bg ../bg21600.png --extra 1 --output ../Chanthu.png

The width is better to be set to 2,700 pixels for individual systems, and 4,000 pixels for seasons. You could use 2,700 pixels and "bg21600.png" as the default values by editing the "track.c" file from 

.resolution = 1024,
...
.bg = "../data/bg8192.png",

to 

.resolution = 2700,
...
.bg = "../data/bg21600.png",

and then re-install.

Users[edit]

Current users

The following users have the track map generator working, and might take requests for map generation:

  1. Titoxd (talk · contribs)
  2. Cyclonebiskit (talk · contribs)
  3. Iune (talk · contribs)
  4. Keith Edkins (talk · contribs)
  5. reub2000 (talk · contribs)
  6. Atomic7732 (talk · contribs)
  7. Bobby122 (talk · contribs)
  8. Supportstorm (talk · contribs)
  9. Landsf12 (talk · contribs)
  10. Meow (talk · contribs)
  11. Krit-tonkla (talk · contribs)
  12. JordanKyser22 (talk · contribs)
  13. Hurricane Layten (talk · contribs)
  14. Master0Garfield (talk · contribs)
  15. Oof-off (talk · contribs)
  16. Nino Marakot (talk · contribs)
  17. JavaHurricane (talk · contribs)
  18. AC5230 (talk · contribs)
  19. AveryTheComrade (talk · contribs)
  20. SadJoel (talk · contribs)
  21. Chlod (talk · contribs)
  22. Akbermamps (talk · contribs)
  23. DarkShadowTNT (talk · contribs)
  24. RandomInfinity17 (talk · contribs)
  25. SolarisPenguin (talk · contribs)
  26. Maple Doctor (talk · contribs)
  27. MarioProtIV (talk · contribs)
  28. 2003 LN6 (talk · contribs)
  29. JustThatNerdyNerd (talk · contribs)

Former users

  1. Nilfanion (talk · contribs) (no longer active)
  2. Jdorje (talk · contribs) (no longer active)
  3. Potapych (talk · contribs) (no recent activity)
  4. Typhoon2013 (talk · contribs) (no recent activity)
  5. Binbin0111 (talk · contribs) (banned)
  6. FleurDeOdile (talk · contribs) (blocked)

Output[edit]

A vast amount of output is now available at Commons:Category:Tropical cyclone tracks.

Requests[edit]

Please list any outstanding map requests here. To help make the upload process faster, please add a link to the original source data you used to generate the HURDAT file. Someone with the track map generator will then upload the file and remove the entry here when done.

Example storm 

00010 03/18/2010 M=11  0 SNBR=0000 OMAIS       XING=0
00020 03/18*  0   0   0    0L 232034  15 1010L 242041  15 1010L 252048  15 1010*
00030 03/19L 262057  15 1010L 252067  20 1007L 232078  20 1007L 282091  20 1007*
00040 03/20L 332102  20 1007L 392113  20 1007L 432129  20 1007L 452138  20 1007*
00050 03/21L 472143  20 1005L 492147  20 1007L 552154  20 1007* 662166  25 1004*
00060 03/22* 722171  30 1000* 792174  30 1000* 862183  30 1000* 922196  35  996*
00020 03/23* 972205  35  996*1022214  35  996*1072224  35  996*1122237  35  996*
00080 03/24*1182247  35  996*1242255  35  996*1332265  45  989*1412278  50  985*
00090 03/25*1492283  50  985*1532284  45  989*1582286  35  996*1652288  30 1000*
00100 03/26*1732287  30 1000*1822281  35  996*1892274  25 1004*1852273  25 1004*
00110 03/27*1812275  25 1004*1782274  25 1004*1802271  25 1004*1852269  25 1004*
00120 03/28*1872263  25 1004*  0   0   0    0*  0   0   0    0*  0   0   0    0*
00130 TS

On behalf of hunterzone (See my talkpage for details.}Jason Rees (talk) 15:28, 26 November 2010 (UTC) ftp://eclipse.ncdc.noaa.gov/pub/ibtracs/.original_source/ds824/n_ind.dat.htm#1289[reply] 

44290 06/09/1977 M 5 2 SNBR=1289 02A
44295 06/09*158 706         *167 704         *173 702         *176 699          
44300 06/10*179 693         *186 682         *191 671         *193 664  35      
44305 06/11*195 657  40     *197 646  45     *199 635  50     *201 627  55      
44310 06/12*202 620  55     *203 613  60     *204 606  55     *205 600  55 
44315 06/13*205 594  50

Notes[edit]

  1. ^ As of r192, The track map generator supports both the HURDAT version 1 and HURDAT; version 2 data formats.
  2. ^ All Windows users, except for those using Windows Subsystem for Linux on Windows 10 or newer, must use Cygwin for the commands. A guide for installing the track map generator with Cygwin can be found here.
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