                             MET144

                           README FILE

  The data offered in the surface meteorological data files in this
section of the SCRAM website are comprised of those parameters required
by the RAMMET meteorological preprocessor program, the output of
which is used by most short term air quality dispersion models
available on this website. The MET144 program is a utility
procedure that assists the user in the preparation of the surface
data for input to RAMMET.

   MET144 is a MicroSoft FORTRAN compiled program that performs two
very important functions relative to the surface meteorological
data files available on the SCRAM website.  The functions performed by
MET144 include editing of the Special Format file and expanding it
into CD144 format.  RAMMET requires surface data input to be in the
National Weather Service CD144 format, and in order for RAMMET to
compute values correctly, all parameters for all hours of the year
must be present.  The edit performed by MET144 checks each
parameter and prints a line to the screen when it finds a missing
value.  Most any edit software can be used to fill in missing values
in the Special Format file.  Guidelines for filling in missing data
are available in the 'Procedures for Filling Missing Data' menu
option on the Meteorological Data Main Menu on the bulletin board.
Note the Special Format file is the file that must be edited since
the CD144 file is too large to be handled by most editors on a PC.
After the Special Format file is complete, the expansion option of

   A special note on the handling of missing opaque cloud cover is
in order.  If the edit option indicates a missing opaque cloud
cover marked by an asterisk, other parameters are available from
which opaque cloud cover will be derived when the expansion option
is selected.  If a missing opaque cloud cover is not filled after
the edit, the expansion program will try to fill it using the
following procedure:  (1) If total cloud cover is available, opaque
cloud cover is set to total cloud cover.  (2)  If opaque cloud
cover and total cloud cover are missing, opaque cloud cover is set
to 0 if ceiling height is greater than or equal to 7000 feet, or
set to 7 if ceiling height is less than 7000 feet.  Conversely, if
the edit option indicates a missing opaque cloud cover not marked
by an asterisk then the user will have to fill it with an edit
procedure.


   The following MicroSoft execution statements should be used for
the execution of the two options of MET144:


   EDIT OPTION -

      At the prompt type:

      MET144.EXE MET.SPC <enter>
       where MET.SPC is the dearchived file from the bulletin board

      Enter 0 <enter> when the option request is made


   EXPANSION OPTION -

      At the prompt type:

      MET144.EXE MET.SPC MET.EXP <enter>
       where MET.SPC is the dearchived file from the bulletin board
       and   MET.EXP is the output file in CD144 format

      Enter 1 <enter> when the option request is made
 

   The following describes the layout of the
   Special Format file:

       Field        Parameter                    
      Position        Name                     Units

        1-5       National Weather Service
                  Station Number
        6-7       Year
        8-9       Month
       10-11      Day
       12-13      Hour
       14-16      Ceiling Height           Hundreds of Feet
       17-18      Wind Direction           Tens of Degrees
       19-21      Wind Speed               Knots
       22-24      Dry Bulb Temperature     Degrees Fahrenheit
       25-26      Total Cloud Cover        Tens of Percent
       27-28      Opaque Cloud Cover       Tens of Percent


   The following describes the layout of the CD144 output file:

       Field        Parameter                    
      Position        Name                     

        1-5       National Weather Service
                  Station Number
        6-7       Year
        8-9       Month
       10-11      Day
       12-13      Hour
       14-16      Ceiling Height
       39-40      Wind Direction
       41-42      Wind Speed
       47-49      Dry Bulb Temperature
          56      Total Cloud Cover
          79      Opaque Cloud Cover


   
