README.md

   1 InfoEx AutoWx (IEAW)
   2 =============
   3
   4 This program fetches data from an NRCS SNOTEL site and pushes it into
   5 the InfoEx system using the new automated weather system implementation.
   6
   7 License under the MIT license (see file: LICENSE).
   8
   9 Disclaimer
  10 ----------
  11
  12 Your usage of the NRCS and InfoEx systems is bound by their respective
  13 terms and this software makes no attempt or claim to abide by any such
  14 terms.
  15
  16 Installation
  17 ------------
  18
  19 It's recommended to use venv and pip with this program. Here's a typical
  20 sequence of commands for a new setup:
  21
  22 `$ cd /path/to/src`
  23 `$ python3 -m venv env`
  24 `$ . env/bin/activate`
  25 `$ pip install -r requirements.txt`
  26
  27 How to use it
  28 -------------
  29
  30 This program is designed to be run from the command line (or via
  31 cron(8)) and administered via a simple, concise configuration file.
  32
  33 This design allows you to run a separate program instance for each NRCS
  34 weather station from which you'd like to automate the importation of
  35 data into your InfoEx subscriber account.
  36
  37 To run ad-hoc (be sure to activate the virtual environment, as detailed in the
  38 Installation section):
  39
  40 `./infoex-autowx.py --config [path/to/config-file.ini] [--dry-run]`
  41
  42 **NOTE: Specifying --dry-run will also not clean up the generated CSV
  43 file.** This is so that you can debug any issues more easily.
  44
  45 Here's an example of a crontab(5) with two SNOTEL sites, each of which
  46 will run once per hour (note that this will activate the virtual environment
  47 created earlier):
  48
  49 `2 * * * * /usr/bin/env bash -c 'cd /home/user/infoex-autowx && source env/bin/activate && ./infoex-autowx.py --config laurance-lake.ini'`
  50 `4 * * * * /usr/bin/env bash -c 'cd /home/user/infoex-autowx && source env/bin/activate && ./infoex-autowx.py --config mud-ridge.ini'`
  51
  52 Configuration File
  53 ------------------
  54
  55 The configuration file is separated into two parts, the [wxsite]
  56 portion, and the [ftp] portion.
  57
  58 The [wxsite] values describe which NRCS SNOTEL site's data you're after.
  59 See the next section in this README for instructions on obtaining these
  60 values.
  61
  62 The [ftp] values describe your credentials for the InfoEx automated
  63 weather station FTP server.
  64
  65 `[wxsite]`
  66 `station_triplet = [The NRCS identifier for a particular SNOTEL site]`
  67 `desired_data = [A comma-delimited list of NRCS elements you're interested in]`
  68 `location_uuid = [The UUID used by InfoEx to identify your automated Wx site]`
  69 `csv_filename = [Arbitrary name of the file that will be uploaded to InfoEx]`
  70
  71 `[ftp]`
  72 `host = [InfoEx FTP host address]`
  73 `uuid = [InfoEx-supplied UUID]`
  74 `api_key = [InfoEx-supplied API Key]`
  75
  76 Finding Your WXSITE values
  77 --------------------------
  78
  79 To complete the [wxsite] configuration section, you must fill in the
  80 attributes of the NRCS SNOTEL site from which you want to import data.
  81 Here are the steps to do that:
  82
  83 1. Find your station by clicking through this website:
  84
  85    https://www.wcc.nrcs.usda.gov/snow/sntllist.html
  86
  87    Or by using the interactive map:
  88
  89    https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/wcc/home/quicklinks/imap
  90
  91 2. Once you've found your station, look for the "Station ID" (a 3- or
  92    4-digit number).
  93
  94 3. Combine your Station ID, state abbreviation, and the network type
  95    "SNTL" to get your station triplet (`station_triplet`, in the
  96    configuration file). For example:
  97
  98    655:OR:SNTL
  99
 100    would represent the Mud Ridge station (Station ID 655) in the state
 101    of Oregon (OR). SNTL just represents that the station is in the
 102    SNOTEL network and is used internally by NRCS.
 103
 104 Once you have your station triplet, fill in the field in your
 105 configuration file. Now you must select which data you'd like to pull
 106 from NRCS to push into InfoEx.
 107
 108 For that, visit the NRCS web service:
 109
 110 https://wcc.sc.egov.usda.gov/awdbWebService/webservice/testwebservice.jsf?webserviceName=/awdbWebService
 111
 112 Click "getElements" on the left, and then click, "Test Operation." This
 113 will return a long list of elements to your web browser from which you
 114 can choose. Each returned element has its identifier and a description.
 115
 116 Once you've chosen your elements, combine all of their respective
 117 "elementCd" values into a comma-delimited string and put that into your
 118 configuration file as the `desired_data` value.
 119
 120 For example:
 121
 122 `station_triplet = 655:OR:SNTL`
 123 `desired_data = TOBS,PREC`
 124
 125 indicates that I'd like to import "AIR TEMPERATURE OBSERVED" and
 126 "PRECIPITATION ACCUMULATION" from the NRCS SNOTEL site at Mud Ridge, OR,
 127 into InfoEx.
 128
 129 Version History
 130 ---------------
 131
 132 - 1.0.0 (Jun 2020)
 133
 134   First released version. Cleaned up the program and design.
 135   Implemented configuration file, added LICENSE, README, docs, etc.
 136
 137 - 0.8.0 (Apr 2020)
 138
 139   First finished (unreleased) version.
 140
 141 - pre-0.8.0 (Apr 2020)
 142
 143   First (private) finished implementation with successful importation of
 144   NRCS data into InfoEx.