NMQ Verification System (QVS) Tutorial
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Figure 1. Main NMQ window features.
Note navigational tabs at the top of the window and link to NMQ blog in
the left column.
 "open larger image in new window")
Figure 2. Composite reflectivity showing navigation
aids on the left.
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Figure 3. Zoomed CREF display with
"counties" and "radars" overlays. Note the "Pan" options
under "Map Coverage."
Site Overview
Figure 1 (right) shows an image of the main NMQ window. Tabs along the top allow access to various products and analysis tools. Various current products are also displayed and can be accessed by clicking in the individual windows.
The NMQ blog lists updates to the system, such as bug fixes and parameter changes.
General format and site navigation
Except for the Inventory and Time Series tabs, each product tab has a general theme or template as follows (see Figures 2 and 3, at right):
- Submit/Refresh: This button must be clicked after a product, time, or overlay has been selected, to refresh the displayed image.
- View Product: Used to select the desired product (see Appendix A for definitions).
- Time Navigation: Select product by time; about eight months of data are available.
- Map Coverage: Once the initial image (Figure 2) is zoomed by clicking on the image, "pan arrows" appear to allow navigation around the U.S. (Figure 3). The image latitude/longitude dimensions are shown in the lower right corner. Four zoom levels are available.
- Map Overlays: Various overlays (see Figure 3
for examples) are available and may slow image creation response time,
particularly at the CONUS scale.
- The RRCT overlay is used with the radar reflectivity comparison tool, which is not available outside the ROC.
- Analysis Tools: Some pages have an "Analysis Tools" button at the lower left. These tools are described in more detail in the related tab descriptions.
Tabs
The following tabs are used to access different products. Click on the links to go directly to each section.
- Inventory - Provides information on product availability
- Mosaic 3D Levels - Images of the different levels of the 3D Mosaic reflectivity data
- Mosaic 3D Derived - Products derived from the 3D reflectivity data
- VPR - Vertical profiles of reflectivity from individual radars
- RUC - Rapid Update Cycle model data
- Q2 - Experimental next-generation QPE products
- Gauge - Rain gauge and Q2 verification products
- Satellite - Satellite IR images
- Diagnostics - Freezing level and bright band algorithm products
- Time Series - Plot time series of up to 4 variables
