Frequently Asked Questions about Case Studies on the Web

• What are COMET Case Studies?
• What case studies are available?
• What data is included in a case study?
• How do I get case study data?
• How do I order a case study CD?
• Are Ntrans Metafiles platform independent?
• How do I subscribe to the casestudies@unidata.ucar.edu mailing list?

What are COMET Case Studies?

A COMET case study is a collection of meteorological data pertaining to a particular meteorological event. Several factors are weighed when choosing events to make into case studies including

• Is the event meteorologically significant?
• Will the event round out the COMET case study library?
• Can the data be collected with some ease and speed?
• How recent is the event? Are newer data types available?

A case can include data from WSR-88D radars, the GOES satellites, NCEP models, surface stations, radiosondes, and profiler systems. COMET case studies are developed to facilitate research and education among the NWS SOO's and the university community.

What case studies are available?

See the list of available case studies.

What data is included in a case study?

Several types of data are fairly standard in the COMET case studies. This includes:

• WSR-88D radar data - in the NIDS format;
• GOES satellite data - as McIDAS AREA files;
• NCEP model data - stored as GRIB files though they can also be downloaded as GEMPAK grid files (model data in cases 1, 4, and 12 is stored as GEMPAK files);
• Surface station data - in GEMPAK surface files;
• Radiosonde data - in GEMPAK upperair files;
• NWS Textual Weather Products - includes forecasts, watches, warnings, local and national discussions, as well as coded surface observations and upper air soundings; and
• representative sample images - in GIF files

Other types of data are included if they are available. Contributing data that would be of interest to other users is strongly encouraged. For instance, case 5 (Lake Effect Snow) contains MM5 data run by SUNY, Brockport.

If you have data you wish to contribute, send us an e-mail at support@unidata.ucar.edu or use our contributions web form to let us know what you would like to contribute.

How do I get case study data?

Case study data is available through CODIAC, a data management system with a WWW based user interface. CODIAC was developed by NCAR/EOL/CDS.

How do I order a case study CD?

The COMET case study data can be ordered through the CODIAC WWW system. Below are the steps for ordering COMET case study 006 on an CD (for other case studies, simply replace the 006 with the case study number you are interested in).

• Go to the CODIAC home page at:
  http://data.eol.ucar.edu/codiac/
• Click on "research program or field project";
• Click on "COMET_CASE_006";
• Click on "Datasets", near top of page;
• Click on "COMET Case Study 006: Complete Dataset" (near bottom of page);
• Click on "Obtain Data and Information";
• Click on the "Search" button;
• Click on the little box next to the Start Time
• Click on the "Submit" button;
• Fill in the Order Form;
• Click on the "Submit" button.

Are Ntrans Metafiles platform independent?

No. The byte order of the Ntrans Metafiles is machine dependent. However, the Unidata release of N-AWIPS 5.4 can read Ntrans Metafiles with either byte order.

How do I subscribe to the casestudies@unidata.ucar.edu mailing list?

Read about the mailing lists here.