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1990-05-27
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╔═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗
║ STORM ║
║ Version 6.0 ║
║ (c) 1987,1990 by UTopia Software, All Rights Reserved ║
║ Programmed by: Thomas Pesek ║
╚═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝
This program is provided as Shareware. It may be copied and
distributed, but only in it's complete, original, and unaltered form.
Every effort has been made to assure that this product is free of
defects, however it is provided as is and no warranty, either
expressed or implied is given. If you use this product, I ask that
you send me a $25 contribution for registration (Texas residents add
$2.00 State Sales Tax). You will receive the latest version of STORM
with several added features including the STORM GENIE hurricane track
matching feature and over 100 Storm tracks. Mail to:
UTopia Software
P. O. Box 420324
Houston, Texas 77242
Registering your program will entitle you to notification of
updates and enhancements and product support. It has taken hundreds
of hours of research, design, and programming to produce STORM. I hope
that you enjoy it and that you will drop me a letter of encouragement
(hopefully with a registration enclosed). At any rate, I hope that you
enjoy this program as much as I do. -- Tom Pesek
╔═══════════════════════╗
║ PROGRAM DESCRIPTION ║
╚═══════════════════════╝
The purpose of this program is to track hurricanes. Storm tracks
can be stored in disk files for future use. You can enter storm data
and print reports on the storm's location by date and time. In
addition, you can generate tracking maps showing the storm's position
and track. STORM generates hardcopy plots using an Epson or IBM
printer or an HP Plotter. You can track to one of 17 track-to cities
or enter the coordinates of your own city.
╔═════════════╗
║ MAIN MENU ║
╚═════════════╝
The MAIN MENU presents six (6) options:
0) CONFIGURE - Configure the program to your computer hardware
1) NEW STORM - Enter data for a storm not yet on the disk.
2) UPDATE/PRINT - Edit, Update, List, and Print Storm Data
3) PLOT - Plot a Storm on a map on the screen, a Dot Matrix
Printer, or an HP Plotter.
4) TRACK-TO CITY - Change track-to city or enter your city's data.
5) DOS - Return to DOS.
╔═════════════════════════╗
║ CONFIGURE YOUR SYSTEM ║
╚═════════════════════════╝
This option allows you to custom tailor STORM to your computer.
You can choose your Adapter, Monitor, and Plotter types, Plotter port,
Default map, Time Zone, Wind Speed Units, and Central Pressure Units.
You can also set the path to your storm files subdirectory and the
name of your plot file. Once set, these options are automatically
saved and used each time you start STORM. If you have trouble seeing
STORM before changing these options, start STORM using: STORM /M
<Return>. This sets STORM to use the monochrome mode.
MONITOR TYPE
This option allows you to select your monitor type. Some
monochrome monitors will display "OK" in the color setting, others
won't. If you have difficulty reading your monochrome screens, set the
monitor type to Monochrome.
ADAPTER TYPE
Select the type of graphics adapter in your system:
VGA- For a VGA Graphics Card and VGA or Multisync Monitor
(Displays 16 Color Storm Map (640 x 480))
EGA- for an EGA Graphics Card (with 128 K memory) & EGA Monitor
(Displays 16 Color Storm Map (640 x 350))
CGA- for CGA or Hercules Graphics Card
(Displays 4 Color Storm Map (320 x 200)
NOTE: Storm requires a graphics adapter. If a Hercules Graphics
adapter is used, STORM must be started by typing STORM-H <RETURN> to
invoke the CGA emulator.
DEFAULT MAP
This option selects the map view that appears when you use Option
3 to plot the hurricane on the map. Select GULF for the Gulf coast
map, EAST for the US East Coast, FULL for a map of the entire STORM
tracking area, or LAST to use your last map setting (This setting
automatically remembers your last zoom or pan location.)
PLOTTER TYPE
If you have a plotter on your system, use this option to select
your plotter type. If your plotter is not listed try using one of the
listed plotters. Compare your results until you find the best match.
The Epson HI80 plotter is supported only with a HP emulation board
installed. If you Plot to File, be sure to set the plotter type for
the type of plotter you will eventually use. STORM uses several
high-level HP-GL commands. Many HP-GL translation programs do not
translate these commands. If you are using a translate program on a
STORM plot file and are having trouble, you may want to try a screen
capture utility instead. If you don't have a plotter, set the plotter
type to NONE.
PLOTTER PORT
Select the port to which your plotter is connected. Valid entries
are: NONE, COM1, COM2, LPT1, LPT2, LPT3, & FILE. COM Ports should be
configured: 9600 Baud, No Parity, 8 bits and 1 Stop Bit. File plots
are written to the Path/Filename entered in the Path/Filename field.
If you don't have a plotter, set the plotter port to NONE.
TIME ZONE
Time data is stored in storm files in GMT to correspond to the
data format of the NOAA weather archives. Select the time format in
which you wish to enter and display your data, and STORM will
translate the data for you automatically. Current valid choices are:
GMT (Greenwich Mean Time), EST (Eastern Standard Time), CST (Central
Standard Time), AST (Atlantic Standard Time), EDT (Eastern Daylight
Time) and CDT (Central Daylight Time).
WIND SPEED UNITS
Wind speed data is stored in storm files in knots to correspond
to the data format of the NOAA weather archives. Select the wind speed
format in which you wish to enter and display your data, and STORM
will translate the data for you automatically. Current valid choices
are: MPH (Miles per Hour) and Kts (Knots).
CENTRAL PRESSURE UNITS
Central pressure data is stored in storm files in millibars to
correspond to the data format of the NOAA weather archives. Select the
central pressure format in which you wish to enter and display your
data, and STORM will translate the data for you automatically. Current
valid choices are: in (inches) and mb (millibars).
STORM FILES PATH
This field allows you to enter the location of your storm data
files. Enter the full path including drive and directory.
I recommend the following settings:
C:\STORM\STORMS\ (for hard disk drives)
or
A:\STORMS\ or B:\STORMS\ (for floppy disk drives)
If you leave the field blank, STORM will look for its files in the
current default directory. This will cause STORM not to find any storm
files on the program disk. Storm files are stored in a subdirectory
on your disk rather than in the root directory, because the root
directory is limited to only 112 entries. If STORM ever has trouble
locating its storm data files, check this path for errors.
STORM PLOT FILE PATH/NAME
This field allows you to enter the path & name of the file to
which plots are sent if the PLOT TO FILE option is selected in the
port settings list. You don't need to fill-in this field unless you
plan to use the PLOT TO FILE option.
╔═════════════════════════╗
║ ENTER A NEW HURRICANE ║
╚═════════════════════════╝
This option allows you to enter the INITIAL data on a storm which
is not currently on the disk. You will be prompted to enter: 1) DATE,
2) TIME, 3) LATITUDE, 4) LONGITUDE, 5) WIND SPEED and 6) CENTRAL
PRESSURE. (Set data units using Option 0 - Configure)
NOTE: Latitudes less than 0 degrees North or greater than 45 degrees
North and Longitudes less than 40 degrees West or greater than 110
degrees West will not be displayed on the map in option 3. Information
will, however, be listed for these points on the printed summary in
option 2.
WARNING:
This option should NOT be used for storms that are currently stored on
the disk, as it will overwrite the existing data. You will be warned
if a storm name already exists, before it is overwritten.
╔═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════╗
║ UPDATE, EDIT, LIST, PRINT, RENAME, OR DELETE A STORM ║
╚═══════════════════════════════════════════════════════╝
This option allows you to modify your storm data files. You can
update a storm, enter ADDITIONAL data points, or Edit previously
entered data. You can rename storm files or delete them if you
desire. This option also allows you to list storm data on the screen
and print it to a printer, if desired.
When you enter data, remember that storm coordinates less than 0
degrees N or greater than 45 degrees N Latitude and less than 40
degrees W or greater than 110 degrees W Longitude won't show on the
map. Dates are in the format (mm/dd/yy) and times are in the format
(hh:mm) Data entry formats are set in Option 0 (Configure)
When editing use <UP ARROW> to go to previous record, <DOWN ARROW>
to go to the next record, <HOME> to go to the first record, <END> to
go to the last record, <INS> to insert a record before the displayed
record, <DEL> to delete record, <ENTER> to edit, or <ESC> when done.
╔═══════════════╗
║ STORM GENIE ║
╚═══════════════╝
This feature selects Storms from the Storms database which match
your selection criteria. You can select storms by year of occurrence,
location, time of year (season), track-to city location, and storm
strength. Matching storms are displayed. You can then continue or
choose to change the settings, if desired.
The Year of Occurrence option finds storms which occurred between
the selected starting and ending years.
The Location option finds storms which passed within the tracking
radius of the specified location. This location defaults to the
current location of the current storm. NOTE: Actual Data Points are
matched, not storm tracks. In high Latitudes where storms move at high
speed you may need to adjust the tracking radius to 200-300 Miles to
find all the matching storms.
The Season option selects storms that occurred between a starting
and ending date. The default dates are set according to the season in
which the current storm occurred, as defined by the National Weather
Service. These are: Early - May 1 thru July 15; Mid - July 16 thru
Sept. 20; and Late - Sept. 20 thru Nov. 30. Any set of dates may be
entered, however. If you choose to input dates other than the default
dates, the season indication will not change and should be ignored.
The Track-to option selects storms that passed within the
tracking radius of the track-to location. This location defaults to
the location of the current track-to city.
The Storm strength option selects storms of a certain strength
or greater. It uses the following intensity classifications:
Tropical Depression - Winds of up to 39 miles per hour
Tropical Storm - Winds from 40 to 73 miles per hour.
Category 1 Hurricane - Winds of 74 to 95 miles per hour.
Category 2 Hurricane - Winds of 96 to 110 miles per hour.
Category 3 Hurricane - Winds of 111 to 130 miles per hour.
Category 4 Hurricane - Winds of 131 to 155 miles per hour.
Category 5 Hurricane - Winds greater than 155 miles per hour.
You can select whether this intensity occurs at the current location,
at the track-to location, or anywhere along the track.
You may select one or more than one of these options at a time to
limit the number of storms selected. If you are unhappy with the
storms found, select the re-try option, change your selections and try
again. When you are pleased with your selections, continue on to the
plotting map.
NOTE: This program is not intended to be used to make life or death
decisions. As you know, if you have studied past hurricanes, they
seldom maintain constant course and speed. Please don't use this
program to predict a storm's path. Instead, please follow the advice
of your local authorities. It's always better to be safe than sorry.
I want to keep you around as a customer for a long time!
╔═══════════════════════════╗
║ PLOT A STORM ON THE MAP ║
╚═══════════════════════════╝
This option allows you to track the storm on a screen map and
print it on an Epson style printer or plot it with an HP plotter, if
desired. The map can be zoomed and panned to get the desired view
using the <F10> key. The <F9> key terminates the map at any time.
The <ENTER> or <ESC> keys leave the map after it is drawn. You can
choose the storms to plot by tagging them on the list. You may choose
as many storms as you wish. (Only 4 storms in Shareware version) This
feature allows you to compare the current storm with past storms.
The map can be plotted with or without 5 deg Latitude/Longitude
lines. You can advance the storms using "AUTO ADVANCE" or "MANUAL"
advance. If you choose MANUAL ADVANCE you will be prompted to "PRESS
ANY KEY" to advance the storm to the next position. If you choose
"AUTO ADVANCE" you can set the time delay for plot advances. This
delay is multiplied by the time between data points to move the storm
at a speed relative to its actual movement. 0 time delay defeats this
feature and plots the storms as fast as possible. If you choose pause
between storms, the program will pause after each storm is plotted,
and you will be prompted to "PRESS ANY KEY" to plot the next storm.
If you wish to mark every point on your storm track choose <Y> on
the annotate feature or if you wish to mark only the first point of
each day choose <D> on the annotate feature, if you want no marks
choose <N> on the annotate feature.
Storm has three display modes. If you choose <S> (standard),
Storm uses 5 colors or 5 line types to distinguish storms. If you
choose <I> (intensity) each storm track is displayed in Purple or wide
dash if a Tropical depression; green or medium dash if a tropical
storm; yellow or close dash if a category I,II, or III Hurricane; and
red or solid line if a category IV or V hurricane. Finally, if you
choose <C> (compare), the first storm is tracked in red or solid line
type and all other storm tracks are plotted in blue or dashed line
type.
The <PROJECT FEATURE> will plot the projected location of the
storm in 12 hours using the last speed and direction. I don't put much
faith in these projections, but my users ask for it, so here it is.
When the storm is not moving on the map, you may press the <PRINT
SCREEN> key and print the map out on your IBM or Epson dot matrix
printer, provided that you have run the "GRAPHICS.COM" program found
on your DOS disk before running STORM. A "shades of gray" hard copy
of the map is generated.
STORM supports Hewlett Packard 7470A, 7475A, 7550A, & ColorPro
Plotters & the EPSON HI80 plotter with HPGL emulator card installed.
PAN / ZOOM FEATURE
To activate the PAN/ZOOM Feature press <F10>. Press <PgUp> to
zoom-in. Press <PgDn> to Zoom-out. Press arrow keys to pan up/dn or
left/right. Press <END> to display the entire storm tracking map.
Press <HOME> to display default map. Press <ENTER> when you are
finished and your map will be redrawn using your new image window.
╔════════════════════════╗
║ CHANGE TRACK-TO CITY ║
╚════════════════════════╝
This option will allow you to change the Track-To City. Use the
highlight bar to select the city and press <RETURN> to select the
city. If your city is not listed you can choose the "your city"
option. This option allows you to enter the name, latitude and
longitude of your city. The program will then track to your city.
Values for the latitude and the longitude of your city can be obtained
from various maps and reference books. In addition, a list of
latitudes and longitudes for several cities is included on the data
disk in a file called "LATLONG.ADD". If NONE is entered, no track-to
city is used.
╔═══════════════╗
║ EXIT TO DOS ║
╚═══════════════╝
This option will terminate the program and return you to DOS.