For those of you visiting this page for the first time, the following provides an introduction to the user interface. One way to
view the interface is to break it up into four sections. These are the
tab bar, the main
menu bar,
viewing options, and finally the
forecast display window.
If you are interested in information about the products themselves, please visit the page
About WPC's Probabilistic QPF products.
At the top is a tab bar
(shown below) displaying the two main product options.
Clicking on a tab will take you to a main page displaying that product type. Note that the currently selected tab
will display in a darker blue (in the case above, you are viewing the "Probability of Precipitation of at Least a Specific
Amount" guidance).
Probability of Precipitation of at Least a Specific Amount
If you choose to view this guidance, a menu bar similar to the following will display below the tabs.
The menu bar displays the precipitation amount (in the case above, ≥ 0.01"), the valid forecast period for the entire product suite, and a timeline with product valid times and dates.
There are two ways to use the timeline to access a forecast. Moving the mouse over a given period (such as 18Z Apr 02) will
change that cell to a lighter blue and show in the
main window the 6-hour probability of precipitation
ending at the displayed time. (i.e. in the above example, the 6-hour probability of precipitation exceeding 0.01" is valid from
12Z-18Z Apr 02.) If you click on the link in the timeline,
a larger, printable version of the forecast will display.
To the right of the menu bar (and displayed below) are options to change the forecast display.
You can view precipitation probabilities for different amounts (ranging from 0.01" to 3.00") OR view all of the
precipitation amounts valid at a selected forecast time. Note that the menu bar will be combined into a single column
rather than split as seen below.
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Choosing a different precipitation amount will display a
menu bar similar to that at the
start of this section, but show the probability of precipitation exceeding the newly chosen amount for each 6-hour period.
Choosing a particular valid time will result in different menu bar (shown below).
Similar to the forecast period timeline, either mouse over a precipitation amount
to view the forecast in the
main window or click on the amount to bring up a larger,
printable version of the forecast.
Below is an example of the main display for the 6-hour probability of precipitation exceeding a specified amount.
Precipitation Amount by Percentile
If you choose to view precipitation amounts broken down by percentile, a menu bar similar to the following will display below the tabs.
This format and navigation is identical to the 6-hour
Probability of precipitation menu bar,
except that at the top, the QPF percentile is displayed. The default
when initially opening this web page is the 50
th percentile.
To the right of the menu bar (and displayed to the right) are options to change the forecast display.
You can view different QPF percentiles (ranging from the 5th through
the 95th...the default is the 50th percentile) OR view all of the
QPF percentiles valid at a selected forecast time. Note that the menu bar will be combined into a single column
rather than split as seen below.
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Choosing a different percentile will result in a
menu bar similar to that at the start of this section,
but with a different percentile value. Choosing
a particular valid time will result in a different menu bar (shown below). Similar to the forecast period timeline, either mouse over a percentile
to view the forecast in the
main window or click on the percentile to bring up a larger, printable version of the forecast.
Below is an example of the main display area for the 6-hour precipitation amounts by percentile.