InfoEx AutoWx (IEAW) ============= This program fetches data from an NRCS SNOTEL or MesoWest station and pushes it into the InfoEx system using the new automated weather system implementation. Licensed under the ISC license (see file: LICENSE). Disclaimer ---------- Your usage of the NRCS, MesoWest, and/or InfoEx systems is bound by their respective terms and this software makes no attempt or claim to abide by any such terms. Installation ------------ It's recommended to use venv and pip with this program. Here's a typical sequence of commands for a new setup: `$ cd /path/to/src` `$ python3 -m venv env` `$ . env/bin/activate` `$ pip install -r requirements.txt` How to use it ------------- This program is designed to be run from the command line (or via cron(8)) and administered via a simple, concise configuration file. This design allows you to run a separate program instance for each NRCS or MesoWest weather station from which you'd like to automate the importation of data into your InfoEx subscriber account. To get started, copy the included example config file (`config.ini.example` in the root source directoy) and modify the values for your own use. To run ad-hoc (be sure to activate the virtual environment, as detailed in the Installation section): `./infoex-autowx.py --config path/to/config-file.ini [--dry-run] [--log-level debug|info|warning]` **NOTE: Specifying --dry-run will not clean up the generated CSV file.** This is so that you can more easily debug any issues that arise in the setup process. You can also specify `--log-level` as debug, info, warning. The log messages produced by the program will try to be logged to journald, but if that's not available, they will be printed to stdout. This output can be helpful early on in the setup process. Automation ---------- Here's an example of a crontab(5) with two SNOTEL sites, each of which will run once per hour (note that this will activate the virtual environment created earlier): `2 * * * * /usr/bin/env bash -c 'cd /home/user/infoex-autowx && source env/bin/activate && ./infoex-autowx.py --config laurance-lake.ini'` `4 * * * * /usr/bin/env bash -c 'cd /home/user/infoex-autowx && source env/bin/activate && ./infoex-autowx.py --config mud-ridge.ini'` Configuration File ------------------ The configuration file is separated into two parts, the [station] portion, and the [infoex] portion. The [station] values describe which weather station's data you're after. See the next section in this README for instructions on obtaining these values. The [infoex] values describe your credentials for the InfoEx automated weather station FTP server and other InfoEx-related configuration options. `[station]` `type = # either mesowest or nrcs #` `token = # MesoWest API token -- ignored when type is nrcs #` `station_id = # the NRCS/MesoWest identifier for a particular station #` `desired_data = # a comma-delimited list of fields you're interested in #` `units = # either english or metric -- ignored when type is nrcs #` `[infoex]` `host = # InfoEx FTP host address #` `uuid = # InfoEx-supplied UUID #` `api_key = # InfoEx-supplied API Key #` `csv_filename = # arbitrary name of the file that will be uploaded to InfoEx #` `location_uuid = # the UUID used by InfoEx to identify your automated Wx site #` Finding your NRCS `station` values ---------------------------------- To complete the [station] configuration section for an NRCS station, you must fill in the attributes of the NRCS SNOTEL site from which you want to import data. Here are the steps to do that: 1. Find your station by clicking through this website: https://www.wcc.nrcs.usda.gov/snow/sntllist.html Or by using the interactive map: https://www.nrcs.usda.gov/wps/portal/wcc/home/quicklinks/imap 2. Once you've found your station, look for the "Station ID" (a 3- or 4-digit number). 3. Combine your Station ID, state abbreviation, and the network type "SNTL" to get your NRCS station triplet (`station_id`, in the configuration file). For example: 655:OR:SNTL would represent the Mud Ridge station (Station ID 655) in the state of Oregon (OR). SNTL just represents that the station is in the SNOTEL network and is used internally by NRCS. Once you have your station ID, fill in the field in your configuration file. Now you must select which data you'd like to pull from NRCS to push into InfoEx. For that, visit the NRCS web service: https://wcc.sc.egov.usda.gov/awdbWebService/webservice/testwebservice.jsf?webserviceName=/awdbWebService Click "getElements" on the left, and then click, "Test Operation." This will return a long list of elements to your web browser from which you can choose. Each returned element has its identifier and a description. Once you've chosen your elements, combine all of their respective "elementCd" values into a comma-delimited string and put that into your configuration file as the `desired_data` value. A complete [station] section example: `[station]` `type = nrcs` `station_id = 655:OR:SNTL` `desired_data = TOBS,PREC` indicates that I'd like to import "AIR TEMPERATURE OBSERVED" and "PRECIPITATION ACCUMULATION" from the NRCS SNOTEL site at Mud Ridge, OR, into InfoEx. Finding your MesoWest `station` values -------------------------------------- MesoWest has great documentation which can be found here: https://developers.synopticdata.com/mesonet/v2/getting-started/ To complete the [station] configuration section for a MesoWest station, you must fill in the attributes of the MesoWest station ID from which you want to import data. Here are the steps to do that: 1. Firstly, get set up with MesoWest's API by going to the above 'Getting Started' link. Once you're set up, you can copy a token from the MesoWest web portal into your configuration file's `token` value. 2. Next, you will want to find the Station ID for the MesoWest weather station of interest and copy it to the `station_id` value. 3. Finally, you must choose what data types you want to push into InfoEx and compile them into a comma-separated list. MesoWest refers to these as 'field names' or 'station variables' and a list is available here: https://developers.synopticdata.com/about/station-variables/ The MesoWest API supports on-the-fly unit conversion. If desired, that can be specified to infoex-autowx via the configuration option `units`. This can be either 'english' or 'metric', with 'english' meaning imperial units as used in the United States. A complete [station] section example: `[station]` `type = mesowest` `token = # token id copied from MesoWest web account #` `station_id = OD110` `desired_data = air_temp,snow_depth` `units = english` indicates that I'd like to import "Temperature" and "Precipitation accumulated" from the MesoWest station at Santiam Pass, OR, into InfoEx, and that I want that data in imperial units. A note on supported measurements -------------------------------- While this program supports several measurements, and will faithfully request all of the ones you specify (provided they're supported), the weather station may not record them. In this case, the data will simply be ignored (i.e. it will NOT log "0" when there's no measurement available). InfoEx provides a mechanism for inspecting your automated weather station data, so use that after setting this program up and compare it with the data you see in your web browser. Here's the list of measurements currently supported: **NRCS:** PREC TOBS SNWD PRES RHUM WSPD WDIR **MesoWest:** precip\_accum air\_temp snow\_depth pressure relative\_humidity wind\_speed wind\_direction wind\_gust Future plans ------------ - Improve the documentation - Implement unit conversion for NRCS stations Version history --------------- - 2.0.0 (Jul 2020) Implement MesoWest integration. This release also makes significant changes to the configuration file, hence the major version bump. Such changes are not taken lightly but given the desire to support multiple data sources, were necessary. Other minor changes include: - New switches: --log-level and --version. - Better documentation. - Expanded supported measurement types (from three to eight, in number). - 1.0.0 (Jun 2020) First released version. Cleaned up the program and design. Implemented configuration file, added LICENSE, README, docs, etc. - 0.8.0 (Apr 2020) First finished (unreleased) version. - pre-0.8.0 (Apr 2020) First (private) finished implementation with successful importation of NRCS data into InfoEx.