ESOP 1996 ABRFC Miscellaneous Precipitation Dataset 1.0 General Description The Arkansas-Red Basin River Forecast Center (ABRFC) Miscellaneous Precipitation Dataset is one of several precipitation datasets provided in the GEWEX Continental-Scale International Project (GCIP) Enhanced Seasonal Observing Period (ESOP) 1996. This dataset contains all precipitation data from the Arkansas-Red Basin River Forecast Center (ABRFC) stations. Stations that reported at standard or incremental times are also included in the various ESOP 1996 precipitation composite datasets. The miscellaneous precipitation dataset contains data from approximately 1500 stations in the ESOP 1996 domain (91W to 107W longitude and 31N to 40N latitude) and time period (01 April 1996 through 30 September 1996). These data were not quality controlled by the University Corporation for Atmospheric Research/Joint Office for Science Support (UCAR/JOSS) . 2.0 Detailed Data Description 2.0.1 ABRFC Precipitation Algorithms The algorithms used to form the ABRFC Precipitation data are not currently available. 2.1 Detailed Format Description The Arkansas-Red Basin River Forecast Center (ABRFC) Miscellaneous Precipitation Dataset contains twelve parameters and uses code tables from the Standard Hydrometeorological Exchange Format (SHEF). The twelve parameters repeat once for each time period, where the time period varies for each station. Depending upon the Physical Element code field, the reported precipitation data may be accumulated or incremental values. Missing values are reported as -9999.00. Each precipitation value has an associated observation date and time which are UTC times. The twelve fields are comma-delimited. These data were not quality controlled by JOSS. Table 1 below details each parameter. Tables 2 through 9 provide codes for various parameters in the SHEF format. Complete details can be found in the SHEF documentation (version 1.2), February 1996. Table 1 Parameters Units Station Identifier Network Dependent Physical Element code SHEF physical element code (See Table 2 below) Type code SHEF type/source code (See Table 3 below) Duration code SHEF duration code (See Table 4 below) Extremum code SHEF extremum code (See Table 5 below) Date Observation Date (yymmdd) Time Observation Time (hhmmss) Precip Value inches Revision code SHEF revision code (See Table 6 below) Data Value Quality flag SHEF data value quality flag (See Table 7 below) QC flag Quality Control flag (See Table 8 below) Hydro Model Usage flag Indicates if data was used in hydro models. (See Table 9 below) Table 2 Physical Element Code Description PC Precipitation, accumulator (in) PP Precipitation, actual increment (in) PR Precipitation rate (in/day) PT Precipitation, type PY (S) Precip, increment ending at 7am local just prior to date/time stamp (in). Translated to "PPDRZZZ" Table 3 Type Code Description C Contingency data C1 Contingency 1 C2 Contingency 2 C3->C9 Contingency 3 thru 9 CF Contingency for flash flood guidance CA->CE & CG->CY Contingency A thru E and G thru Y CZ Nonspecific contingency F Forecast FA Adjusted Model 1 FB Adjusted Model 2 FC Adjusted Model 3 FD Adjusted Model 4 FE Public version, external FF Forecast includes QPF FG Reservoir release forecast FM Manual method number 1 FN Manual method number 2 FP Manual method number 3 FQ Manual method number 4 FU Unadjusted model 1 FV Unadjusted model 2 FW Unadjusted model 3 FX Unadjusted model 4 FZ Nonspecific forecast data H Reserved for historical data uses P Processed data (nonforecast) PA Process #1 PB Process #2 PC Process #3 PD Process #4 PM Processed Mean Areal Data PE->PL & PN->PY Process #5 thru #25 PZ Nonspecific processed data R Reading (observed) data RA Best Quality RB 2nd Best Quality RC 3rd Best Quality RD 4th Best Quality RF Airborne RG GOES RM Meteor Burst RP Phone ascii (DARDC/LARC) RR Radio #1 RS Radio #2 RT Telemark/BDT (phone audio) RV Visual/Manual #1 RW Visual/Manual #2 RX Visual/Manual #3 RZ Nonspecific observed reading Table 4 Duration Code Description 0 instantaneous 0xxx minutes 1xxx hours 2xxx days 3xxx months 4xxx years 5000 unspecified 5001 seasonal 5002 entire period of record 5004 time period beginning at 7am local time prior to the observation time and ending at the observation time. 5005 unknown 6xxx months - end of month 7xxx seconds where xxx is the number of units, i.e., eight days would be coded as 2008. Table 5 Extremum Code Description J Minimum of record K Minimum of year (calendar) L Minimum of month M Minimum of week N Minimum of day P Minimum of 12 hours I Minimum of 18 hours T Maximum of record U Maximum of year (calendar) V Maximum of month W Maximum of week X Maximum of day Y Maximum of 12 hours S Maximum of 18 hours Z Null character (filler) Table 6 Revision Code Description 0 Not revision data. 1 Data is revision of previous data for same time and place. Table 7 Data Value Quality flag Description E Estimated F Flagged by sensor or telemetry (parity errors for example) R Rejected Q Questioned T Triggered (Tells database to start some additional function) S Screened level 1 (Data values tested using preliminary criteria) V Screened level 2 (Data value verified using a more rigorous method than level 1) Z Filler (null character, no qualification) All other letters, except O and I, are reserved for future use. Table 8 Quality Control flag Description 0 Default 1 Failed Stage II QC test 2 Failed operational forecast system data entry QC test. 3 Failed both QC tests Table 9 Hydro Model Usage Flag Description 0 Data not valid for hydro model usage. 1,2, or 3 Data valid for hydro model usage. 2.2 Data Remarks This dataset contains all precipitation data from the Arkansas-Red Basin River Forecast Center (ABRFC) stations. Stations that reported at standard or incremental times are also included in the various ESOP 1996 precipitation composite datasets. 3.0 Quality Control Processing No additional quality control was performed by UCAR/JOSS on this dataset. 4.0 References National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), Standard Hydrometeorological Exchange Format (SHEF) Version 1.2, NOAA, National Weather Service, Office of Hydrology, Silver Spring, Maryland, February 1996.