Now available: AJAX/PHP multilingual website templates

[vpokroglo]

Ken, You are genious! With latest cu-defs and tags update You have resolved all issues with european dates dd.mm.yyyy (dot separator)!

[saratogaWX]

Just wondering how the function to display "Feels Like" works. Earlier today when it was about 82.8F and some humidity, it was displaying a "Feels Like" value of 96F. However.. my records show today's Heat Index only going to 85.8F, and Apparent Temperature only going as high as 89.4F. What value was this displaying?

I looked around and saw in some files it uses Heat Index, Wind Chill and Apparent temperature somehow but I'm not do adapt in PHP to figure out what exactly it was doing, or how it could somehow come up with the 96F reading. Likewise is there a way I can eliminate Apparent Temperature from being used in "Feels Like" function? (I feel it always reports to high of a temperature and feel Heat Index is more accurate, at least for me personally and would like for it to either display Heat Index or Wind Chill only). While I'm at it to, is there a way for Feels Like to display tenths of a digit? (Ex. 89.4F instead of 84F)

I discovered a small bug in how the Cumulus-plugin and the ajaxCUwx.js handle the 'feelslike' temperature.

The PHP in CU-defs.php set the $feelslike based on temperature, humidity and heat-index, and the ajaxCUwx.js sets it based on temperature, humidity and humidex, so the number is likely to change when the AJAX cuts in as the humidex is different from heat-index.

I'm making a change to ajaxCUwx.js to replace

Code: Select all

        // FeelsLike
        temp = cTempToC(realtime[2]); // note.. temp in C
        if (temp <= 16.0 ) {
		  feelslike = cTempToC(realtime[24]); //use WindChill
		} else if (temp >=27.0) {
		  feelslike = cTempToC(realtime[42]); //use Humidex 
		} else {
		  feelslike = temp;   // use temperature
		}
		var feelslike  = Math.round(convertTempC(feelslike));
        set_ajax_obs("ajaxfeelslike",feelslike + uomTemp);
		// # mike challis added heatColorWord feature
		var heatColorWord = heatColor(realtime[2],realtime[24],realtime[42]); 
		set_ajax_obs("ajaxheatcolorword",heatColorWord);

with

Code: Select all

        // FeelsLike
        temp = cTempToC(realtime[2]); // note.. temp in C
        if (temp <= 16.0 ) {
		  feelslike = cTempToC(realtime[24]); //use WindChill
		} else if (temp >=27.0) {
		  feelslike = cTempToC(realtime[41]); //use Heat Index
		} else {
		  feelslike = temp;   // use temperature
		}
		var feelslike  = Math.round(convertTempC(feelslike));
        set_ajax_obs("ajaxfeelslike",feelslike + uomTemp);
		// # mike challis added heatColorWord feature
		var heatColorWord = heatColor(realtime[2],realtime[24],realtime[41]);
		set_ajax_obs("ajaxheatcolorword",heatColorWord);

so the AJAX update will match the PHP for source values used.

The apparent temperature reported by Cumulus uses the Australian BOM calculation for it's value. Even though the current CU-defs.php assigns the Cumulus apparent temperature to the $feelslike value, it is overridden by

Code: Select all

list($feelslike,$heatcolourword) = CU_setFeelslike ($temperature,$windch,$heati,$uomtemp);

further on in the code which overrides the $feelslike = $WX['apptemp'];

Since the feelslike temperature is an estimate only, I don't recommend changing it to display a fractional digit and it's unlikely to make much difference in how it feels.. is 89.4 really perceived as that much more than 89 ?

BTW.. I know our Canadian friends prefer use of Humidex so I'll try working up a mod for their defs/AJAX that allows them to use Humidex instead of heat-index for their feelslike display.

Best regards,
Ken

[saratogaWX]

Ken, You are genious! With latest cu-defs and tags update You have resolved all issues with european dates dd.mm.yyyy (dot separator)!

Thanks for the kind words!
I'm glad the fixes worked for your date format.

Best regards,
Ken

[beteljuice]

The apparent temperature reported by Cumulus uses the Australian BOM calculation for it's value. Even though the current CU-defs.php assigns the Cumulus apparent temperature to the $feelslike value, it is overridden by
Code:
list($feelslike,$heatcolourword) = CU_setFeelslike ($temperature,$windch,$heati,$uomtemp);
further on in the code which overrides the $feelslike = $WX['apptemp'];

So are you saying that you have a function to specifically change Cumulus 'feels like', and if so, is it optional ?

Thinking further along, for all users of your code ....
User 'feels like' Options to be ..

• Station set
  'Saratoga' reasoning
  Austrailian BOM reasoning

[WoodburyMan]

Just wondering how the function to display "Feels Like" works. Earlier today when it was about 82.8F and some humidity, it was displaying a "Feels Like" value of 96F. However.. my records show today's Heat Index only going to 85.8F, and Apparent Temperature only going as high as 89.4F. What value was this displaying?

I looked around and saw in some files it uses Heat Index, Wind Chill and Apparent temperature somehow but I'm not do adapt in PHP to figure out what exactly it was doing, or how it could somehow come up with the 96F reading. Likewise is there a way I can eliminate Apparent Temperature from being used in "Feels Like" function? (I feel it always reports to high of a temperature and feel Heat Index is more accurate, at least for me personally and would like for it to either display Heat Index or Wind Chill only). While I'm at it to, is there a way for Feels Like to display tenths of a digit? (Ex. 89.4F instead of 84F)

I discovered a small bug in how the Cumulus-plugin and the ajaxCUwx.js handle the 'feelslike' temperature.

The PHP in CU-defs.php set the $feelslike based on temperature, humidity and heat-index, and the ajaxCUwx.js sets it based on temperature, humidity and humidex, so the number is likely to change when the AJAX cuts in as the humidex is different from heat-index.

I'm making a change to ajaxCUwx.js to replace

Code: Select all

        // FeelsLike
        temp = cTempToC(realtime[2]); // note.. temp in C
        if (temp <= 16.0 ) {
		  feelslike = cTempToC(realtime[24]); //use WindChill
		} else if (temp >=27.0) {
		  feelslike = cTempToC(realtime[42]); //use Humidex 
		} else {
		  feelslike = temp;   // use temperature
		}
		var feelslike  = Math.round(convertTempC(feelslike));
        set_ajax_obs("ajaxfeelslike",feelslike + uomTemp);
		// # mike challis added heatColorWord feature
		var heatColorWord = heatColor(realtime[2],realtime[24],realtime[42]); 
		set_ajax_obs("ajaxheatcolorword",heatColorWord);

with

Code: Select all

        // FeelsLike
        temp = cTempToC(realtime[2]); // note.. temp in C
        if (temp <= 16.0 ) {
		  feelslike = cTempToC(realtime[24]); //use WindChill
		} else if (temp >=27.0) {
		  feelslike = cTempToC(realtime[41]); //use Heat Index
		} else {
		  feelslike = temp;   // use temperature
		}
		var feelslike  = Math.round(convertTempC(feelslike));
        set_ajax_obs("ajaxfeelslike",feelslike + uomTemp);
		// # mike challis added heatColorWord feature
		var heatColorWord = heatColor(realtime[2],realtime[24],realtime[41]);
		set_ajax_obs("ajaxheatcolorword",heatColorWord);

so the AJAX update will match the PHP for source values used.

The apparent temperature reported by Cumulus uses the Australian BOM calculation for it's value. Even though the current CU-defs.php assigns the Cumulus apparent temperature to the $feelslike value, it is overridden by

Code: Select all

list($feelslike,$heatcolourword) = CU_setFeelslike ($temperature,$windch,$heati,$uomtemp);

further on in the code which overrides the $feelslike = $WX['apptemp'];

Since the feelslike temperature is an estimate only, I don't recommend changing it to display a fractional digit and it's unlikely to make much difference in how it feels.. is 89.4 really perceived as that much more than 89 ?

BTW.. I know our Canadian friends prefer use of Humidex so I'll try working up a mod for their defs/AJAX that allows them to use Humidex instead of heat-index for their feelslike display.

Best regards,
Ken

Thanks for the info Ken! I've modified my files accordingly. However I doubt I'll be having any more days where heat index is being used, yesterday was the last I bet. Doesn't look like we'll be breaking out of the 60F's in the next week at least.. Fall is here. Time for some good windchill values now!

Also a neat feature I added to one of my pages I thought I'd share. For those interested in watching the sky's at night I added a clear sky chart to my astronomy page. http://www.grudzien.us/wxastronomy.php. I had to expand the style sheets to a width of 875 vs 800 for it to fit right.

Also sent some beer money your way! Thanks again!

[saratogaWX]

The apparent temperature reported by Cumulus uses the Australian BOM calculation for it's value. Even though the current CU-defs.php assigns the Cumulus apparent temperature to the $feelslike value, it is overridden by
Code:
list($feelslike,$heatcolourword) = CU_setFeelslike ($temperature,$windch,$heati,$uomtemp);
further on in the code which overrides the $feelslike = $WX['apptemp'];

So are you saying that you have a function to specifically change Cumulus 'feels like', and if so, is it optional ?

Thinking further along, for all users of your code ....
User 'feels like' Options to be ..

• Station set
  'Saratoga' reasoning
  Austrailian BOM reasoning

Yes, there's a function in the CU-defs.php that sets both the $feelslike and $heatcolourword. The ajaxCUwx.js has a function for determining what 'heatcolourword' should be used based on the realtime.txt, and what 'feelslike' should be updated too.

I think what you'd proposed about a Settings-weather.php setting to allow folks to pick which variety of 'feelslike' should be used in their area is a good idea. I'll do that (and see how to feed the selection to the ajax script too).

Each of the weather software packages offer some type of index reflecting how the current conditions 'feel' to mere humans, but they're all a bit different:

Weather-display sets %feelslike% tag based on temperature, wind-chill, and humidex. It also has an apparent temp tag (per AU BOM calcs).

VWS sets ^vxv027^ with the Virtual Temperature (but I can't find the computational basis for that in the VWS docs)

Weather-Link sets <!--thw--> which adds Wind to the temp/humidity calc (according to Davis app note 28).

Meteohub doesn't offer a specific variable for 'feelslike', but does have the usual suspects (heat-index, humidex).

Cumulus has tags for heat-index, humidex, and the apparent temperature (per AU BOM calc)

Whew... So for station geographical location and weather software used, there is no current 'best fit' for all.
Geographically, the USA prefers heat-index, Canada prefers humidex, and AU prefers Apparent temp .. other countries likely use heat-index (just a guess on my part).

I'll do up the mods so Cumulus users can pick heat-index, humidex or apparent temp to use when 'heat' is the issue, and wind-chill will be used for all the low-temperature events.

Best regards,
Ken

[saratogaWX]

Thanks for the info Ken! I've modified my files accordingly. However I doubt I'll be having any more days where heat index is being used, yesterday was the last I bet. Doesn't look like we'll be breaking out of the 60F's in the next week at least.. Fall is here. Time for some good windchill values now!

Also a neat feature I added to one of my pages I thought I'd share. For those interested in watching the sky's at night I added a clear sky chart to my astronomy page. http://www.grudzien.us/wxastronomy.php. I had to expand the style sheets to a width of 875 vs 800 for it to fit right.

Also sent some beer money your way! Thanks again!

I've also had the starmap (from Fourmilab Your Sky on my Sun/Moon/Sky page .. it's a neat application!

Thanks for your kind donation!

Best regards,
Ken

[WoodburyMan]

Thanks for the info Ken! I've modified my files accordingly. However I doubt I'll be having any more days where heat index is being used, yesterday was the last I bet. Doesn't look like we'll be breaking out of the 60F's in the next week at least.. Fall is here. Time for some good windchill values now!

Also a neat feature I added to one of my pages I thought I'd share. For those interested in watching the sky's at night I added a clear sky chart to my astronomy page. http://www.grudzien.us/wxastronomy.php. I had to expand the style sheets to a width of 875 vs 800 for it to fit right.

Also sent some beer money your way! Thanks again!

I've also had the starmap (from Fourmilab Your Sky on my Sun/Moon/Sky page .. it's a neat application!

Thanks for your kind donation!

Best regards,
Ken

Neat! Added that to mine as well. Didn't know there were any web-based ones I could use in HTML.

[josebp]

Hi Ken, back with the predictions.
When writing the post, the predictions have been blank, although WU they are running.
Best regards
José
--------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Hola Ken, a vuelta con las predicciones.
A la hora de escribir el post, las predicciones se han quedado en blanco,,, aunque en WU están funcionando.
Saludos,
José

[saratogaWX]

Another small change to the WU-forecast.php (ML) to address yet another WU website change. I sure hope their website stabilizes soon.

Download: WU-forecast.php (ML) Version 1.22 16-Sep-2011 for old WD/PHP/World-ML or V3 Base-World template set)
or use the Update utility for V3 templates

Best regards,
Ken

[JennyLeez]

Hi Ken,
Talk about go from one extreme to another.
Many thanks once again for fix. You must be getting sick of working on this file for sure.
Cheers
Jenny

[saratogaWX]

Posted an update to ajaxCUwx.js and CU-defs.php (with a new spec in Settings-weather.php) to support selection of feelslike temperature from either heat-index(default), humidex, or apparent temperature.

Updates from update utility page.

Best regards,
Ken

[WoodburyMan]

Just did the latest update. Not sure if it's the update or just happened to be at the time time, or something wrong with Weather.gov's servers. If I go to my forecast page ( http://www.grudzien.us/wxforecast.php ) and click on "Hazardous Weather Outlook", it gives me this link. http://www.weather.gov/showsigwx.php?wa ... er+Outlook Going to that page I get the following message..

National Weather Service
Wed Oct 05 2011 08:19:50 GMT-0400 (Eastern Daylight Time)
This site will be down for maintenance on Saturday 10/1.

Please use the following links for NWS forecasts and services.Forecasts:
http://forecast.weather.gov/zipcity.php
*Please type your zip code into the search box

Radar:
http://radar.weather.gov

Air Quality:
http://airquality.weather.gov

Aviation:
http://aviationweather.gov

River and Lake Forecasts and Observations:
http://water.weather.gov

Graphical Forecasts:
http://graphical.weather.gov


We apologize for any inconvenience that this might cause.

Not sure how long it's been doing that, given it's now the 5th and they stated it would only be down the 1st it might be an issue. **HOWEVER** I noticed if I go to Weather.gov and type in my zip code to view the forecast on their site, I get the "Hazardous outlook" link there it works. http://forecast.weather.gov/showsigwx.p ... er+Outlook Notice the URL has forecast.weather.gov where as the other doesn't have the forecast subdomain. The same also goes for the frost advisory (Our first of the year ) on the forecast page, however it works on the main Advisory page and Home/Index page perfectly fine, only the Forecast page does this.

The Line/URL I use for that location for forecast in Settings.php is the following if it helps

Code: Select all

"KOXC|Woodbury|http://forecast.weather.gov/MapClick.php?lat=41.55496712080976&lon=-73.22537899017334&site=aly&unit=0&lg=en&FcstType=texttextField2=-122.022&e=1&TextType=2",

If I enter that URL manually into my browser and view the page, the links on the page for the advisories work fine as well.

Any insight would help. Thanks!

[saratogaWX]

Looks like the NWS is tweaking the website again, and no longer offers warning info via www.weather.gov (but instead uses forecast.weather.gov, as you said).

Thanks for spotting the issue! I've fixed the advforecast2.php script (V3.02) and it's now available via the updates page for Base-USA template users.

Best regards,
Ken

[WoodburyMan]

Wow! That was quick! Uploaded and works like a charm. Thanks!!!