Integrated Hazard Information Services (IHIS) Prototype
Version 2011.September
CAVE/IHIS Interaction Job Sheet
Short Fused Warning Scenario
Tornado Warning (TO.W)
Foreword:
In the
2011.September release of the Integrated Hazard Information Services (IHIS)
Prototype, IHIS has been integrated into the Common AWIPS
Visualization Environment (CAVE) and is used to create hazards.
This Job Sheet is designed to give the user an overview of the
CAVE/IHIS interaction developed for Release 2011.September. Please note,
this functionality is very rudimentary and will serve as a tool for
brainstorming.
Feedback from forecaster sessions will be incorporated in the next
iteration.
Purpose: The purpose of this job sheet is to explore the interaction between CAVE and the IHIS GUI. The user will be creating a short-fused warning, specifically a Tornado Warning (TO.W).
Audience: Forecasters in a Weather Forecast Office (WFO).
In this release of the IHIS prototype, the GUI will be interfacing with a canned dataset. Also, when you create hazards with this prototype, the hazard products are NOT stored in a database, nor transmitted anywhere.
CAVE/IHIS Interaction
In the 2011.September Release, the IHIS team continued working with the CAVE interface. In this job sheet, the user will create a Tornado Warning, using this preliminary interface. Note, IHIS is integrated into the CAVE interface and does not require the user to bounce between two applications.
Situational Awareness
Using CAVE, the forecaster first assesses the current weather, and if available, any hazards that have been previously issued or proposed.
Create and Issue a Tornado Warning
Purpose: The purpose of this job sheet is to explore the interaction between CAVE and the IHIS GUI. The user will be creating a short-fused warning, specifically a Tornado Warning (TO.W).
Audience: Forecasters in a Weather Forecast Office (WFO).
In this release of the IHIS prototype, the GUI will be interfacing with a canned dataset. Also, when you create hazards with this prototype, the hazard products are NOT stored in a database, nor transmitted anywhere.
 |
OK users, we must admit, this
prototype may have a few bugs....well,
maybe more then a few. Please follow the Job Sheet steps exactly. This will
give you a good idea of the proposed hazard generation flow and then
allow you to provide feedback on the overall prototype design. Enjoy!!! |
 |
CAVE/IHIS Interaction
In the 2011.September Release, the IHIS team continued working with the CAVE interface. In this job sheet, the user will create a Tornado Warning, using this preliminary interface. Note, IHIS is integrated into the CAVE interface and does not require the user to bounce between two applications.
Situational Awareness
Using CAVE, the forecaster first assesses the current weather, and if available, any hazards that have been previously issued or proposed.
Create and Issue a Tornado Warning
- Operationally - Launch CAVE: Open a
terminal window, start AlertViz and launch CAVE by executing the
following command:
/usr/local/viz/cave/cave.sh
- Development Environment - Launch CAVE: Launch Eclipse and
select developer.product
from the right-pointing green arrow on the eclipse tool bar.
Verify AlertViz and CAVE have
started.
- D2D Perspecitve: Launch
the D2D perspective if it is not already displayed. The D2D Perspective
may look similar to this:
- Launch IHIS: In the D2D perspective,
click on the
button in the upper
left of the display. Three dialog boxes launch:
Tool Bar
The icons in the Tool bar are defined as follows:
- Allows the user to
select
from a set of predetermined views, i.e. WSW, TOR or FLW scenarios
- Allows the user to select
recommender, etc.
- Allows the user to reset
to a
default configuration
- Allows the user to toggle
on and
off the Control Panel
- Allows the user to toggle on
and
off the Temporal Display
- Launches the Hazard
Information Dialog
- Undo the previous action
- Redo the previous action
- Allows the
user to select a predetermined configurations
- Once selected, allows
the user to select hazards, points, etc.
- Allows the
user to
draw a polygon on the Spatial Display
- Allows the user to
draw a
line on the Spatial Display
- Allows the user to
draw a
point on the Spatial Display
- Allows the user
to
draw a Storm Track (similar to WarnGen) on the Spatial Display
- Allows the
user to
select and area by selecting zones
Control Panel
The Control Panel allows the user display (V), sample (S), and control opacitiy (T) of GIS datasets.
Temporal Display
The Temporal Display depicts a list of the current hazards for the geographic area illustrated in the Spatial Display. Features of the Temporal Display include:
Selected Time: Indicates to the user the time of the displayed hazard information. Clicking or dragging the red line allows the user to go forward or back in time. Note that when moving the time selector off the current time, a green line now indicates the current time and the red line indicates the selected time. The Spatial Display and Grid Manager sync to the Temporal Display and displays hazards and/or data for the selected time.
Hazard List - A list of hazards is displayed with the following attributes: Hazard On/Off Toggle, Hazard Type, Start/Expiration Time of Hazard, and hazard status (proposed, issued). Selecting the Hazard On/Off Toggle on the left side of the display removes the display of the hazard in the Spatial Display. Enabling the toggle returns the hazard to the Spatial Display.
Expand - Allows the user to zoom in on the Temporal Display, yielding a higher resolution display (fewer hours in view). In the D2D Perspective, four hours are displayed by default.
Contract - Allows the user to zoom out on the Temporal display, yielding a lower resolution display (more hours in view).
Pan Backward - Pan backward by a configurable amount.
Pan Forward - Pan forward by a configurable amount.
Day Backward - Skip one day backward.
Day Forward - Skip one day forward.
Step Backward - Step backward one frame. Note the stepping one frame back on the Spatial Display.
Step Forward - Step forward one frame. Note the stepping one frame forward on the Spatial Display.
Note the Spatial Display is now the main pane of the D2D perspective.
- Toggle Control Dialog Box: On the IHIS Tool bar, select Ctrl. The Control Panel dialog closes.
- Temporal Display: Slide the Selected Time slider in the Temporal Display to the right and to the left, noting the display of hazards in the Spatial Display for the time indicated in the Temporal Display. Note the resolution in the Temporal Display for a short-fused warning is 4 hours and the hazards display in the main pane are TOR warnings.
- Radar Data: In the D2D perspective,
select the following:
kftg -> kftg Best Res Refl -> 0.5 Refl Note the display of kftg 0.5 Reflectivity radar data. In the Temporal Display, slide the time selector to the left and note the radar data match the time selected in the Temporal Display.
- Storm Tracking:
On
the IHIS tool bar, select the
(storm tracking
icon). Note the Drag
Me To Storm dot on the Spatial Display.
With MB1, select the dot and drag to the initial point of the storm and note the resulting track and hazard area. The hazard is depicted as shaded, the Hazard Information Dialog box launches and the top entry in the Temporal Displays indicates a pending hazard.
- Adust Storm Track: On the D2D
perspective, select
(select icon) and
move the desired dot on the storm track.
Note the track adjusts and hazard area repositions. Note the
repositioned dot is now a star. Repeat with another dot on the track.
The track hazard area may look like this:
- Curved Track: To create a curved
storm track, toggle on Curve
in the Hazard Information Dialog. Select (select icon) and slightly move a point on the
track between the two stars, moving only slightly as the algorithm is
very sensitive. Note the adjustment to the
track is curved and the hazard area reconfigures.
- Hazard Information Dialog: In the
Hazard Information Dialog, select the short-fused TO.W Tornado Warning.
Note on the D2D main pane the hazard area is labeled TO.W.
- Select Hazard Information Dialog Options:
In the Hazard Information Dialog, select the appropriate Time Range and
Options. The the text (xml) is produced based on the
selections made on CAVE and in the options chosen in Hazard Information
Dialog. The Hazard Information Dialog may look similar to this:
- Preview Text: Select Preview and a
text dialog launches, with a generated text product similar to this:
Note the user may edit the white portion of the text editor. Dismiss the Preview Text dialog.
- Issue Hazard: MB3 on the Spatial Display and select Issue Hazard from the pop-up menu and Yes to confirm the issuance of the hazard.
- Temporal Display Updates: Note the
hazard entry in the Temporal
Display is now labeled issued.
- Launch Control Panel and View Overlays:
On the Tool Bar, select Ctrl and the Controller dialog
launches. Toggle on, under V
(view), the CO Hospitals. The Colorado Hospitals are displayed on CAVE.
On the Control Panel dialog, toggle on S (sample) to the left of the CO Hospitals. This enables the sampling information regarding the selected hospital. To sample, double click on a selected hospital. Toggle on T (transparency) and a slider appears below the selected overlay. Use the slider to control the opacity of the overlay. Move the Transparency slide to the right and left to adjust the level of transparency.
- Spotter Reports: Zoom out to show
the entire CONUS scale on CAVE. With the Control Panel dialog still
launched,
select V and S to the left of Spotter Reports.
Note the display of Spotter information on Cave.
Sample a Spotter Report. The data for the spotter reports will eventually come from the Iris database.
- View Census Data: On the IHIS
Tool bar, select Tools -> Census
Data. A dialog box with the following three tabs launches:
Households 
Ethnicity 
Age Ranges 
Viewing the Households, Ethnicity and Age Ranges, helps the forecaster understand the potential impacts of the hazard that is proposed. The data presented in the dialog represents the information of the area of the selected hazard. Dismiss the Census Data dialog.