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ADDS Dataserver 0.9 Release Notes (February 2006)
New data sources
- AIR/SIGMETs
- Stations. This is an ADDS-maintained source and should not be considered an official source of this data
XML data format changes
All XML output now includes an embedded reference to its schema. This was done to more closely resemble the NWS's "Current Observations" XML format. The formats were modified to increase consistency across data sources and to correct misleading units and names.
METAR Output Changes
Please update to latest METAR XML schema: METAR 1.1 Schema
| Original Value |
New Value |
Remarks |
| altim_mb |
altim_in_hg |
Changed from millibars to inches of mercury |
| slp_mb |
sea_level_pressure_mb |
|
| cloud_base_ft |
cloud_base_ft_agl |
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| conditions |
sky_condition |
Removed the 'conditions' element, the sky_condition
elements are no longer a sub-element (sub-category) of conditions |
| sensor_status_indicators |
quality_control_flags |
The flags are not always related to sensor status |
| pressure_tendency_mb_per_hr |
three_hr_pressure_tendency_mb |
Pressure tendency is over a 3 hour period |
|
flight_category |
New field. Flight category (VFR,MVFR,IFR,LIFR) derived
from cloud ceiling and visibility. See
http://adds.aviationweather.noaa.gov/
metars/description_ifr.php |
PIREP Output Changes
Please update to latest PIREP XML schema: PIREP 1.1 Schema
| Original Value |
New Value |
Remarks |
| cloud_base_ft |
cloud_base_ft_msl |
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| cloud_top_ft |
cloud_top_ft_msl |
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| icing_base_ft |
icing_base_ft_msl |
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| icing_top_ft |
icing_top_ft_msl |
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| turbulence_base_ft |
turbulence_base_ft_msl |
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| flight_level_ft |
altitude_ft_msl |
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| station_id |
|
Removed, this is not reliably decoded |
| ac_type |
aircraft_ref |
In some cases this will refer to flight numbers or other information instead of the aircraft type |
| 'above_ground_level' quality control flag |
above_ground_level_indicated |
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| 'conditions' element removed |
sky_condition, turbulence_condition, icing_condition |
sky_condition, turbulence_condition and icing_condition are no longer sub-elements (sub-categories) of conditions |
TAF Output Changes
Please update to latest TAF XML schema: TAF 1.1 Schema
| Original Value |
New Value |
Remarks |
| altim_mb |
altim_in_hg |
Now in inches of mercury instead of millibars |
| 'cloud' element removed |
'sky_condition' element |
To be consistent with METAR and PIREP output |
| 'cloud_cover' element |
'sky_cover' attribute |
To be consistent with METAR and PIREP output |
| 'cloud_base_ft' element |
'cloud_base_ft_agl' attribute |
To be consistent with METAR and PIREP output |
| 'cloud_type' element |
'cloud_type' attribute |
To be consistent with METAR and PIREP output |
| turbulence_min_alt_mb |
turbulence_min_alt_ft_agl |
incorrect units |
| turbulence_max_alt_mb |
turbulence_min_alt_ft_agl |
incorrect units |
| icing_min_alt_mb |
icing_min_alt_ft_agl |
incorrect units |
| icing_max_alt_mb |
icing_max_alt_ft_agl |
incorrect units |
| max_or_min |
max_temp_c,min_temp_c |
Instead of specifying max_or_min=true or false and a temperature value, it is now broken into max_temp_c and min_temp_c for clarity. These are actual temperature units and are similar in role to sfc_temp_c except they are used in cases when maximum or minimum temperatures are reported |
Query updates
- Added mostRecentForEachStation query. It is available for METARS
and TAFS.
NOTE: there are limitations on the amount of data that may be retrieved at once with this constraint. A query for the most recent METAR for each station in the world over the last 2 hours will easily exceed the maximum number of results even before the results are filtered down to the most recent for each station. This maximum may be adjusted in future releases
- Added capabilities to the stationString constraint. Queries by country and US state/Canadian province are now supported. '@co' will return all stations within Colorado. '~ca' will return all stations in Canada. 'kden,@ak,~ca' will return KDEN, all stations in Alaska, and all stations in Canada
- There is now an altitude constraint (min and max). PIREPS and
AIRSIGMETS support this constraint
- The hoursBeforeNow constraint now supports fractional hours (1.5 hours before now, for example)
Other changes
- Performance improvements and bug fixes
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