GFE Techniques and Skills

Here is a listing of various techniques and skills which you need to develop in order to gain the most utility from the gridded forecast editor software package. This list is arranged by subject, but using the GFE software requires thorough knowledge of a wide variety of operations. Through repetition, executing each of these skills and techniques should become second nature, like calling up a satellite picture on D2D.

This document is intended for forecasters who have been thoroughly trained on the operational use of the GFE; it it not for the novice.  Each forecaster should be able to demonstrate a mastery of each of these skills before attempting to use the GFE for complete operational forecasts.

Edit Area actions

  1. Draw a freehand Edit Area. Solution

  2. Select an Edit Area that includes four different forecast  zones of your choice.  Solution

  3. Select an Edit Area based on a given elevation.    Solution

  4. Select an Edit Area that includes locations where the dew point is above a value that you specifiy.    Solution

  5. Select an Edit Area that covers locations with a certain type of weather. Solution

  6. Save an Edit Area in a Quick Set button, clear the Edit Area and restore it with the same Quick Set button.    Solution

  7. Zoom the Spatial Editor so that only a portion of your CWA is displayed. Hint: there are two ways to do this.    Solution
Grid Manager actions
  1. Stretch the valid time of any grid block.    Solution

  2. Copy the contents of one grid block into another grid block.  Solution

  3. Select a time range and list of parameters, then copy data from a selected model into the FCST database.    Solution

  4. Create a grid from Scratch. Stretch the valid time of that grid and split it into more than one grid.    Solution

  5. Assign a "null" value to an entire grid.    Solution

  6. Select several grids and use Time Shift to move the  grids to another time period.    Solution


Loading Weather Elements

  1. Load the temperatures, dew points and winds from each of the short and medium range models into the Grid Manager.    Solution

  2. Load all of the Fire Weather parameters into the Grid Manager.  Solution

  3. Load all of the Public weather parameters into the Grid Manager. Solution

  4. Create a new Weather Element Group that contains QPF, Wx, Sky, and SnowAmt Solution


Editing actions

  1. Perform an interpolation based on "Gaps".    Solution

  2. Perform an interpolation based on "Edited Data". What needs to be done before executing this action?    Solution

  3. Adjust the values for an entire grid by a specified amount.  Solution

  4. Adjust the wind speeds for an entire grid by a specified amount. Solution

  5. Adjust the values for just a portion of a grid by a specified amount. Solution

  6. Adjust the wind directions for a selected portion of a grid by a specified amount.    Solution

  7. Smooth the data contained in a grid.    Solution

  8. Pickup a value from the spatial editor's color bar and assign it to a selected Edit Area.    Solution

  9. Create a new weather value of your choice and use it to assign weather to a selected Edit Area.    Solution

  10. Create a new discrete value of your choice and use it to assign discrete values to a selected Edit Area.    Solution


Smart Tools

  1. Run a Smart Tool for just the area covered by your WFO.   Solution

  2. Adjust a QPF grid using the Orographic Smart Tool.    Solution

  3. Interpolate temperatures to hourly grids and derive a MaxTemp grid from these grids using the Smart Tool.    Solution

  4. Derive a SnowAmt grid from the QPF field using the appropriate Smart Tool. Solution

  5. Run a Smart Tool on multiple grids, but only over a selected Edit Area Solution


Miscellaneous and More Complex actions

  1. Display a grid as an image, then change the Color Table that is being used. Solution

  2. Change the color of a graphic. (Think how you would do this on D2D.) Solution

  3. Assign a weather type to the portion of a grid covered by a certain PoP value.    Solution

  4. Assign values to a PoP grid based on different threshold values in the QPF grid for that time.    Solution

  5. Save and Publish the data.    Solution