Using ArcView 3.x legend files (*.

avl) with extracted NDFD GRIB2 files in both

ArcView 3.x and ArcGIS 8.x (ArcMap)

1.) Using the NDFD GRIB2 Decoder & Download Program (1.42), download the
desired region (Download tab), click on the GIS tab, and then navigate to the
appropriate folder. For example, I want to get the latest NDFD GRIB2 files for
the Mid-Atlantic. I make sure I am on the download tab, I click on Mid-Atlantic
and make sure it is highlighted and then click on either the FTP or HTTP
download button. Once the data is downloaded I click on the GIS tab and
navigate to the midatlan folder in the left frame and double-click on it. All the
*.bin files should appear in the right frame (12 files).
2.) Next double-click on the desired GRIB2 file to view the contents in the table
window below. Then click on the desired forecast interval to be converted to GIS
shapefiles. This will highlight the desired record in the table. For example, I
want to extract the Quantitative Precipitation Forecast (qpf.bin) for the date
01/24/2004 at 0600 (UTC), so I double-click on the qpf.bin file and get a list of
all the forecast records. I click on the one under the Valid Date (UTC) heading
for 01/24/2004 0600 and it will highlight. See figure below.

3.) Once the desired record is highlighted browse to the desired folder to store the
GIS shapefile by clicking on the browse button. Name the file by manually
typing in the file name. Alternatively, press the Recommend button, and it will
recommend a naming convention of: 200401240600_qpf.shp for a shapefile for
01/24/04 0600 (UTC). This will allow one to keep it time specific for later
reference. The default is to create a file sample.shp in the output folder in the
Degrib1.4 directory (eg c:/ndfd/degrib1.4/output/sample.shp) The Recommend
button will also suggest that you store it in a folder which is the same as the
region being downloaded. For example, it will put it in midatlan and store all
mid-atlantic shapefiles there. Using the Recommend button will result in the
following: c:/ndfd/degrib1.4/output/midatlan/200401240600_qpf.shp. NOTE: If
you change the
filename from the
default, make sure
that it contains one
and only one dot in
the file name,
otherwise you will
get something similar
to the following:

4.) Next select the type of shapefile to extract. Options are a point, small polygon, or
large polygon. The point shapefile represents the centroids of each NDFD grid
cell. The small polygon shapefile represents each individual grid cell and the
large polygon represents the dissolved boundaries of the grid cells based on
similar values (for example, all similar adjacent temperatures will be included in
one polygon). Selecting large polygons will reduce the file size of the shapefile
by several times (five is typical) and enable faster loading redraw time. This
option is recommended for simple data viewing and analysis.
5.) Leave the Include Missing Values not checked and make sure to enter in
number of decimals in the Round data to: _______ decimals field. This
specifies the number of decimals the value in the shapefile attribute table will
include. For exporting into ArcView and ArcGIS and using predefined legends,
always use 0 decimals for all elements except snow, qpf, and waveh. Most of the
elements including maxt, mint, pop12, sky, td, temp, wdir, wspd, and wx use 0
decimals because the color tables used for these elements are in whole numbers.
Snow, qpf, and waveh use 1 decimal place in the color table, so 1 should be
entered for these. Note: The Recommend button will also select 1 or 0
depending on the selected variable.

6.) Make sure under the Choose File Type the file type chosen is SHP and leave
the default settings for Units as English (F, kts, inch), and Force radius of the
Earth at 0 km. When all of these parameters are selected click on the Generate
.shp file button. When the process is done a small Done window will pop up.
Click on the OK button. The shapefile has been created from the GRIB2 file
and has been saved to the directory you specified in step 3.
Loading Legends in ArcView 3.x to view GRIB2 Derived Shapefiles
1.) Open ArcView and add the desired
shapefile as a theme into your view.
When a polygon shapefile or point
shapefile is loaded, the default legend
is a single symbol legend type and an
arbitrary color is chosen. If you
change the legend properties to display
the dataset as a graduated color,
ArcView will randomly assign a color
ramp to the range of values. The same
is true if you select a unique value
legend. In order to be consistent with
the legends used on the NDFD web
pages and the ones created by the
SuperImageGen tool, a predefined
legend needs to be loaded. Predefined
legends in ArcView are stored as
ArcView Legend Files or AVL files.

2.) Double-click on the polygon or point shapefile theme in the view. A legend
window will be displayed. In this example a polygon shapefile for QPF was
extracted using the DEGRIB tool and added as a theme to a view in ArcView.
Editing the legend is a simple task. After double-clicking on the theme and
getting the legend editor window, click on the Load button. This will display
the load legend window which enables you to browse to the appropriate legend
file and choose the
legend. Going back
to the example,
choosing the qpf.avl
file will load in the
polygon legend for
QPF that is needed.

3.) There are two AVL files for each GRIB2 element.
One is for either the large or small polygon version,
and the other is for points. The point AVL files are
denoted by a _points extension to the file name.
After selecting the correct AVL file and clicking on
the OK button the legend will begin to be loaded.
A small load legend window will pop up letting you
select the attribute field to use for the legend. In the
example, the qpf field will be the default. The All
radio button is checked and all you have to do is click
on the OK button to load the legend.
4.) Once a legend is selected and loaded, the legend will then be displayed in the
legend editor window. You can scroll through the legend to make sure it looks
correct and click on the Apply button and then close the window by clicking on
the X in the upper right hand corner of the window. This legend is based on
unique values and because the QPF shapefile values have been rounded to the
nearest tenth decimal place the legend reflects this. This will load the legend and
display it in the view. For the example, the QPF shapefile can now be viewed in
with the same colors and on the NDFD website.

Loading Legends in ArcGIS 9.3 (ArcMap) to view GRIB2 Derived Shapefiles

1.) Open ArcMap and add the desired shapefile as a theme to the view. As with
ArcView 3.x, ArcMap will assign a single value legend and assign a random
color. If you want to view the dataset as graduated colors you can choose from a
number of color ramps, but none will match the NDFD color tables. In order to
load predefined legends into ArcMap you must import the ArcView legend files
(AVLs) into ArcMap using the next steps.
2.) In this example, QPF will be used to demonstrate the process. Right-clicking on
the QPF theme in the view and choosing properties from the pull-down menu will
bring up the layers properties dialog box. Choosing the Symbology tab will
bring you to the legend definition window. To load in an ArcView legend, click
on the Import button in the upper right hand corner of the window.

3.) An Import Symbology window

will then pop up prompting you to
import a predefined legend. Click
on the second radio button to
Import symbology definition
from an ArcView 3 legend file
(*.avl):. Then navigate to where
the legend file is located by
clicking on the brose icon. In the

example, choose the qpf.avl to load the polygon qpf

legend. Make sure the Complete symbology
definition radio button is clicked and then click on
the OK button. This will display an Import
Symbology Matching Dialog window. The Value
Field should display the attribute field ArcMap will
use to create the legend. Make sure the correct field
is selected. From the example, the QPF field should
be selected and then the OK button should be
clicked.
4.) The ArcView 3 legend will be loaded into ArcMap
and be displayed in the under the Symbology tab.
Scroll through the legend to make sure it looks right.
Click on the Apply button and then click the OK
button. The legend will be displayed in the map view
and will match the NDFD colors for the particular
element. In this case, the QPF legend matches the
QPF legend for the NDFD web pages.

Index of ArcView Legend Files (_point denotes point legend)

Heat Index
Max Temp
Max Temp Spring
Max Temp Summer
Max Temp Winter
Min Temp
Min Temp Spring
Min Temp Summer
Min Temp Winter
Probability of Precipitation (12hrs)
Quantitative Precipitation Forecast
Relative Humidity
Sky Cover
Snow Amount
Temp
Temp Spring
Temp Summer
Temp Winter
Dew Point
Dew Point Spring
Dew Point Summer
Dew Point Winter
Wave Height
Wind Chill
Weather

heatindex.avl
heatindex_point.avl
maxt.avl
maxt_point.avl
maxt_springfall.avl
maxt_springfall_point.avl
maxt_summer.avl
maxt_summer_point.avl
maxt_winter.avl
maxt_winder_point.avl
mint.avl
mint_point.avl
mint_springfall.avl
mint_springfall_point.avl
mint_summer.avl
mint_summer_point.avl
mint_winter.avl
mint_winter_point.avl
pop12.avl
pop12_point.avl
qpf.avl
qpf_point.avl
rh.avl
rh_point.avl
sky.avl
sky_point.avl
snowamt.avl
snowamt_point.avl
t.avl
t_point.avl
t_springfall.avl
t_springfall_point.avl
t_summer.avl
t_summer_point.avl
t_winter.avl
t_winter_point.avl
td.avl
td_point.avl
td_springfall.avl
td_springfall_point.avl
td_summer.avl
td_summer_point.avl
td_winter.avl
td_winter_point.avl
waveheight.avl
waveheight_poin.avl
windchill.avl
windchill_point.avl
wx.avl
wx_point.avl