SHOWCast Manual - v2021-10-26

INSTALLATION MANUAL
CONTENTS
1 INTRODUCTION ......................................................................................................... 4
1.1 Objective ...................................................................................................................................... 4
2 DOWNLOADING SHOWCAST ................................................................................... 5
3 SHOWCAST DIRECTORY STRUCTURE .................................................................. 5
4 OPENING THE SHOWCAST INTERFACE FOR THE FIRST TIME ........................... 6
5 INSTALLING THE SHOWCAST PROCESSING MODULE ........................................ 7
5.1 Installing on Windows ................................................................................................................ 8
5.2 Installing on Linux ....................................................................................................................... 8
5.3 The SHOWCast Installer Terminal ........................................................................................... 8
6 BASIC SHOWCAST CONFIGURATION .................................................................. 12
6.1 Configuring the showcast_start.py file ................................................................................... 12
6.2 Configuring the showcast_config.py file ................................................................................ 13
6.3 Configuring the showcast_cleaner.py file ............................................................................. 15
6.4 Configuring the showcast_start_windows.bat or showcast_start_linux.sh file ................ 16
7 ADVANCED SHOWCAST CONFIGURATION ......................................................... 16
7.1 Parallel processing ................................................................................................................... 16
7.2 Network configuration .............................................................................................................. 17
8 STARTING THE SHOWCAST PROCESSING MODULE ......................................... 19
9 THE SHOWCAST IMAGERY AND HTML STRUCTURE ......................................... 21
10 THE SHOWCAST PRODUCT SELECTION INTERFACE ........................................ 22
10.1 Selecting a product category .................................................................................................. 23
10.2 Opening a quicklook ................................................................................................................. 24
10.3 Changing from the “Full Disk” interface to the “User Sector” interface ............................ 25
10.4 Visualizing a Product Quick Guide ......................................................................................... 26
11 THE SHOWCAST ANIMATION INTERFACE ........................................................... 27
11.1 Animation interface commands .............................................................................................. 28
12 CUSTOMIZING THE PLOTS .................................................................................... 29
12.1 Using your own logo ................................................................................................................. 29
12.2 Using your own labels .............................................................................................................. 29
13 OPTIMIZING SHOWCAST ACCORDING TO THE AVAILABLE HARDWARE ....... 31
INPE - National Institute for Space Reseach - Meteorological Satellites and Sensors's Division Page 2 of 66
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14 THE SHOWCAST “CLOUD” MODULE .................................................................... 32

14.1 Configuring the Cloud module ................................................................................................ 33
14.2 Starting the Cloud module ....................................................................................................... 34
15 SHOWCAST RELEASE HISTORY ........................................................................... 35
16 SHOWCAST USER EXAMPLES .............................................................................. 36
17 ADVANCED CONFIGURATION VIA SCRIPTS........................................................ 42
18 CONCLUSION .......................................................................................................... 43
19 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS ......................................................................................... 44
20 APPENDIX I: VISUALIZED PRODUCTS.................................................................. 45
21 APPENDIX II: READER NOTES .............................................................................. 66
Fig. 1: SHOWCast running at INPE - National Institute for Space Reseach - Brazil (January 16,
2020).
INSTALLATION MANUAL
1 INTRODUCTION
This document will introduce SHOWCast (Simple HTML Operational Wrapper for
GEONETCast-Americas), a processing and visualization tool for GEONETCast-Americas
users created by Diego Souza (INPE - Brazil). SHOWCast provides a basic HTML structure
for product selection and animation, and Python scripts to convert satellite data into
imagery automatically. SHOWCast can also be used with other satellite reception
mechanisms like GRB, Amazon AWS and UNIDATA THREDDS. The package runs on
both Windows and Linux operational systems.
Fig. 2: First version of SHOWCast running in a GNC-A station (November 6, 2019).
1.1 Objective
The primary goals for the development of SHOWCast are: Provide a free tool that can be
customized (both processing and visualization) and put into operations without the need of
having a BIG knowledge in programming and web development (human resources issue)
and provide a free tool that can be adapted to the available hardware (technology
resources issue).
INSTALLATION MANUAL
2 DOWNLOADING SHOWCAST
You may download the latest version of SHOWCast at the following link:
https://geonetcast.wordpress.com/showcast/
A compressed file called “SHOWCast_v_X_X_X.zip” will be downloaded (the “X”’s will be

the package version number). You may extract it anywhere in your machine. All the
necessary files for running SHOWCast will be stored at this directory.
3 SHOWCAST DIRECTORY STRUCTURE
After unzipping the package, you will see the following directory structure when accessing
the SHOWCast directory for the first time:
Cloud: SHOWCast “Cloud” Module
Colortables: Some color palettes used by part of the
Python scripts.
Guides: “Quick Guides” (PDF format) for various
satellite products visualized.
HTML: The HTML and visualization structure.
Installer: The SHOWCast installation files.
Legends: Some legends used by part of the plots.
Logos: Logos used by the scripts.
Logs: Log files (what have been already processed).
Maps: Background maps used by part of the scripts.
Output: Historical plots generated by SHOWCast
(they are not part of the animation or HTML structure).
Scripts: Python scripts used to process the products.
Shapefiles: Shapefiles used by the scripts.
Utils: Software utilities (e.g.: third-party)
SHOWCast.html: SHOWCast visualization interface.
showcast_start_*: Start the SHOWCast processing
on Windows (“.bat”) or Linux (“.sh”).
Fig. 3: The SHOWCast directory.
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4 OPENING THE SHOWCAST INTERFACE FOR THE FIRST TIME
If you double-click at the “SHOWCast.html” icon, the SHOWCast visualization interface

will be opened.
Fig. 4: The SHOWCast visualization menu opened for the first time
On the left side of the page, you may navigate through the product categories. You will see
the message “NO IMAGE AVAILABLE” for all the product thumbnails, because we didn’t
activate the SHOWCast processing yet.
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5 INSTALLING THE SHOWCAST PROCESSING MODULE
SHOWCast uses Python to process information, and provides an easy way to install
Python and all the libraries needed. First, access the “Installer” folder in the SHOWCast
main directory:
Fig. 5: Accessing the SHOWCast “Installer” folder
Inside this folder, we have two installation files, one for Windows
(showcast_install_windows.bat) and one for Linux (showcast_install_linux.sh). Also,
we have a folder called “Miniconda3” (where the installation files are found). There’s no
need to access this “Miniconda3” folder.
Fig. 6: Installation scripts for Linux and Windows operational systems
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5.1 Installing on Windows
If you are installing on Windows, just double click the “showcast_install_windows.bat”.
5.2 Installing on Linux
If you are using Linux, please change the permissions of the SHOWCast subfolders:
chmod -R 777 *
And execute the “showcast_install_linux.sh” script: ./showcast_install_linux.sh
5.3 The SHOWCast Installer Terminal
On both Windows or Linux, the SHOWCast installer will show up. It has the same
structure, independent if you are using Windows or Linux:
Fig. 7: The SHOWCast installer prompt
First, the prompt will ask if you want to proceed with the Miniconda installation. Miniconda
provides everything we need to process data: Python (the programming language used to
process our data), a “Library Manager” (used to install the required Python libraries) and a
Virtual Environment Manager (where our libraries will be installed). Enter ‘y’ + ‘Enter’ (or
just ‘y’ on Linux) and Miniconda will be installed automatically (this will take some minutes).
INSTALLATION MANUAL
Fig. 8: Miniconda being installed automatically by the SHOWCast installer
After this step, a new “Miniconda3” folder will appear in the SHOWCast main directory.
This is where all Python related files will be. There’s no need to access this folder.
Fig. 9: New “Miniconda3” folder at the SHOWCast main directory
When the Miniconda installation is finished, the prompt will ask if you want to proceed with
the SHOWCast environment installation. This step will install the Python libraries in a virtual
environment called “showcast”. Enter ‘y’ + ‘Enter’ (or just ‘y’ on Linux) and the environment
will be created automatically.
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This step could take a considerable amount of time, depending on your internet and
hardware capabilities.
Fig. 10: Installing the SHOWCast virtual environment
This images below show the installation in process. First, the Python libraries that will be
installed are listed. The following Python packages and its dependencies are set to be
installed:
affine, cartopy, folium, gdal, geopandas, glymur, matplotlib, metpy, netcdf4,
pandas, pygrib, pyhdf, pyorbital, pyproj, pyresample, rasterstats, satpy, siphon,
pip and pillow.
Fig. 11: SHOWCast environment creation (the libraries are listed)

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Then, the libraries are installed:
Fig. 12: SHOWCast environment creation (the libraries are installed)
After some minutes, when you see the following message, the SHOWCast processing
modeule installation has been finished.
Fig. 13: SHOWCast installation finished

At this point, SHOWCast is installed. There’s no need to execute any commands, just close
the terminal. Now we can proceed with the SHOWCast configuration.
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6 BASIC SHOWCAST CONFIGURATION
We need to configure SHOWCast so it processes the data according to our needs.

Basically, we have four files that need to be configured:
1-) SHOWCast_v_X_X_X\Scripts\showcast_start.py: On this script, we’ll configure our

data ingestion directory (from GNC-A, GRB, Amazon, etc.).
2-) SHOWCast_v_X_X_X\Scripts\showcast_config.py: On this script, we’ll configure
which data we want to process and how we want to process (region, resolution, etc.).
3-) SHOWCast_v_X_X_X\Scripts\showcast_cleaner.py: This is optional. On this script,

we configure the automatic deletion of historical files (both ingestion and or
processing).
4-) SHOWCast_v_X_X_X\showcast_start_linux.sh
or
SHOWCast_v_X_X_X\showcast_start_windows.bat:
On this script, we select the number of parallel processed that will be started by
SHOWCast (more details on 6.4).
Let’s see how to configure each file:
6.1 Configuring the showcast_start.py file
In the variable “ingest_dir”, insert the name of the directory where you are ingesting data.
By default, it is configured as ‘D://data//fazzt//’. Change it according to your needs.
In the variable “vis_dir”, insert the name of the directory where you want your images to
be stored. By default, it is configured as showcast_dir + ‘//HTML//Output//’. There’s no
need to change this, except if you want to have multiple machines running SHOWCast in
your internal network.
Some important considerations:

• Do not use directories that has spaces in their names (e.g: ‘D://my data//fazzt//’).
• It is mandatory to use double slashes (‘//’). Windows use backslashes ‘\’ and Linux
use forward slashes ‘/’. By using double slashes, the code will work for both O.S.
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• It is mandatory to use double slashes (‘//’) at the end of the variable.

• You may use network addresses like: ‘//192.168.10.1//fazzt//’ for both variables.
Fig. 14: Configuring the showcast_start.py variables
6.2 Configuring the showcast_config.py file
Let’s configure the data we want to process and how we want to process them.
For each product that SHOWCast has been tested and configured to process, you will find
the following block of code inside the showcast_config.py script:
Fig. 15: Configuring the showcast_config.py variables (sectorized GOES-16 Band 13)
For each block of code, you will see the following variables:
sss_pppppp_rrr = True or False
where:
sss: three letters to designate the satellite or category
pppppp: six letter to designate the product type
rrr: three letter to designate the region (fdk - Full Disk, or sec - Sectorized)
example: g16_band13_sec (sectorized GOES-16 Band-13)
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If set as True, this product will be processed, if set as False, it will not be processed.
sss_pppppp_rrr_process: Number of the parallel processing cycle this product will be

processed (more on item 6.4). The default value for all the products is 1 (a single
processing cycle). By changing this value for different group of products, you may optimize
your processing scheme.
sss_pppppp_rrr_directory: Sub directory within the ingestion directory this product is

found.
sss_pppppp_rrr_identifier: A unique part of the file names so this file can be detected by
the scripts.
Example: '*L2-CMIPF-M*C13_G16*.nc'
sss_pppppp_rrr_max_files: Maximum number of non processef files SHOWCast will

process in a single run.
sss_pppppp_rrr_extent: For the sectorized products, the region you would like to plot
(min. lon, min. lat, max. lon, max. lat).
Example: [-55.0, -25.0, -40.0, -10.0]
sss_pppppp_rrr_resolution: The desired plot resolution in km.
sss_pppppp_rrr_interval: For the GOES-R products, the scan minute interval we want
to plot (00, 10, 20, 30, 40 and / or 50).
Example: [‘10’,’20’,’30’,’40’,’50’] - Note: Do not use spaces!
sss_pppppp_rrr_config: A configuration string used by the scripts. Mainly, this is used to

differentiate sectorized products and products that use the same files to be produced (so
it may be included in the log file, even if it is using the same file as other products).
sss_pppppp_rrr_script: The script used to process this product.
sss_pppppp_rrr_output: Where the historical plots will be stored. You may use network
addresses like: ‘//192.168.10.1//Output//’ to direct the plot to another machine in your
network.
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6.3 Configuring the showcast_cleaner.py file
Let’s configure if and how we want to delete historical data.
In the variable “ingest_dir”, insert the name of the directory where you are ingesting data.
By default, it is configured as ‘D://data//fazzt//’. Change it according to your needs.
In the variable “delete_historical_output”, you select if you want to delete SHOWCast

historical data (True) or if you do not want to delete SHOWCast historical data (False).
By default, this is set as True.
In the variable “delete_historical_ingest”, you select if you want to delete your ingestion
historical data (True) or if you do not want to delete ingestion historical data (False). By
default, this is set as False.
In the variables “max_days_output” and “max_hours_output” you configure how many

days and hours you want to store the SHOWCast data. By default, these are configured
to 3 days and 0 hours.
In the variables “max_days_ingest” and “max_hours_ingest” you configure how many

days and hour you want to store the ingestion data. By default, these are configured to 3
days and 0 hours.
Fig. 16: Configuring the showcast_cleaner.py variables
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6.4 Configuring the showcast_start_windows.bat or showcast_start_linux.sh file
We saw on item 6.2 that we may configure in which parallel processing cycles we would
like to add a given product. In order to configure how many parallel processing cycles
showcast will create when executed, change the num_process variable in the
showcast_start_windows.bat or showcast_start_linux.sh script.
Fig. 17: Changing the number of parallel processing cycles for Windows
Fig. 18: Changing the number of parallel processing cycles for Linux
7 ADVANCED SHOWCAST CONFIGURATION
7.1 Parallel processing
In older versions of SHOWCast, processing products sequentially was the only option, and
this could cause huge delays in the processing scheme. If one of the products take long to
process, all the other subsequent products would be delayed.
Fig. 19: Sequential processing in old versions of SHOWCast
In newer versions of SHOWCast, we have the option to create multiple parallel process,
as seen in 6.4 and select which group of products will be processed in each parallel cycle,
as seen in 6.2.
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This allows users to test different setups and optimize the solution for their hardware.
Fig. 20: Parallel processing in newer versions of SHOWCast
Any number of processes can be configured in the showcast_start_windows.bat or

showcast_start_linux.sh and any number of products can be added to each process. By
default, SHOWCast has a single process (“num_process” = 1) and all the products are
processed in this single process (“sss_pppppp_rrr_process” = 1). Users should change
this accordingly. A suggestion is to have very frenquent files (like GLM data) in a dedicated
process. Also, products that demands processing power (like NUCAPS) is also
recommended to have its own cycle.
7.2 Network configuration
In older versions of SHOWCast, it was not possible to share SHOWCast files running in
different workstations in a local network. We had the possibility of running the ingestion,
processing, storage and visualization in a single workstation:
Fig. 21: Ingestion, processing, storage and visualization in a single workstation

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We also have the possibility to run the ingestion in one workstation and the processing,
storage and visualization in another workstation, using a network address when configuring
the “ingest_dir” variable in the showcast_start.py script (item 6.1), using for example
(ingest_dir = ‘//192.168.10.1//fazzt//’) in the second workstation.
Fig. 22: Ingestion in one workstation, processing, storage and visualization in a second
workstation
In newer versions of SHOWCast, it is possible to have multiple workstations sharing

SHOWCast data. If we configure the “vis_dir” variable in the showcast_start.py script
(item 6.1) using a network address, we could have one workstation ingesting data, another
workstation for data processing only, and another workstation for both data processing and
visualization. By doing this we can split the data processing in multiple machines.
Fig. 23: Ingestion in one workstation, processing and visualization split in two workstations
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Another possibility is to direct the historical plots to a dedicated workstation, using a

network address when configuring the sss_pppppp_rrr_output variable for each product
in the showcast_config.py (item 6.2).
Fig. 24: Configuring a dedicated workstation for historical data storage
8 STARTING THE SHOWCAST PROCESSING MODULE
To start the SHOWCast processing module, in the SHOWCast main directory, if you are
using Windows, just double click the showcast_start_windows.bat, if you are using
Linux, execute the showcast_start_linux.sh script (./showcast_start_linux.sh).
Fig. 25: Starting the SHOWCast processing module
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When starting the processing module, the following terminals will be open:
• A main terminal that will call the others

• One terminal for each parallel process configured on showcast_start.py
“num_process” variable (6.4). Each parallel cycle will process the products as
configured on showcast_config.py, in the sss_pppppp_rrr_process variable
(6.2).
• One terminal for the showcast_cleaner.py deletion routines (6.3).
Fig. 26: SHOWCast processing module being executed (credits: William Abarca - MARN El
Salvador)
Each product enabled in the showcast_config.py (set as “True”) will be processed by its
parallel process and if the processing is successful for a given product, the thumbnails will
start to appear in the SHOWCast main interface and the visualization and animation
interfaces will be populated.
Each plot will be saved on the SHOWCast_v_X_X_X\Output folder. The plots found on
this folder are the historical plots and they are not the plots used by the visualization and
animation interfaces. These interfaces use the plots found on the
SHOWCast_v_X_X_X\HTML\Output folder, which uses plots copied from the
SHOWCast_v_X_X_X\Output folder.
To summarize, in the SHOWCast_v_X_X_X\HTML\Output we have plots from a certain

period of time, and on the SHOWCast_v_X_X_X\Output folder we have everything.
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9 THE SHOWCAST IMAGERY AND HTML STRUCTURE
In SHOWCast, we have basically two directories where the plots are stored:
The Output directory: Located at SHOWCast_v_X_X_X/Output/, this is where all the

historical plots are stored. If, for example, you do not want to use the SHOWCast animation
interface, and just want to use the plots in your own server, this is the folder to look at.
The sub folders have the following naming convention:
SSS/PPPPPP_RRR/
Where:
• SSS – Three letter representing the satellite our main category (e.g.: G16).
• PPPPPP – Six letter representing the product name (e.g.: BAND13).
• RRR – Three letters representing the region (FDK or SEC)
Inside each subfolder, the plots have the following naming convention:
SSS_PPPPPP_RRR_YYYYMMDDHHMN.webp
Where: YYYYMMDDHHMN - Year, Month, Day, Hour and Minutes
The HTML directory: Located at SHOWCast_v_X_X_X/HTML/Output/, this is where all

the HTML and animation files are stored. The sub folders have the following naming
convention:
SSS/PPPPPP_RRR/
Where:
• SSS – Three letter representing the satellite our main category (e.g.: G16).
• PPPPPP – Six letter representing the product name (e.g.: BAND13).
• RRR – Three letters representing the region (FDK or SEC)
Inside each subfolder, the plots have the following naming convention:
SSS_PPPPPP_RRR_N.webp
Where “N” is the animation frame (e.g.: From “1” to “20”).

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10 THE SHOWCAST PRODUCT SELECTION INTERFACE
When the processing module is started, the plots will start to appear in the SHOWCast
main interface. In the left side of the interface, we have the product categories and on the
right side, the thumbnais showing the product “quicklooks”. These quicklooks show the
most recent plot a a given product.
Fig. 27: The SHOWCast main interface showing the processed products (credits: Gustavo
Rodriguez - CSPU / Uruguayan Air Force)
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10.1 Selecting a product category
There are four main product categories in the SHOWCast product selection menu:
GEOSTATIONARY SATELLITES, POLAR SATELLITES, NWP / FORECAST and NWS
ICSC (The US National Weather Service "International Services and Communication
Systems"). To facilitate the navigation, you may hide and show each category by clicking
at the checkbox near each category title:
Fig. 28: Hiding / showing product categories to facilitate the navigation
To select a product set, just click at the product name on the left menu. The selected
product set box will change to dark blue, and a white arrow will appear. By clicking it, the
visualization preview in the right side will be changed, according to the product selection.
Fig. 29: Selecting a product set in the SHOWCast interface menu

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10.2 Opening a quicklook
The interface thumbnails show the last plot generated for a particular product. If you click
on it, the quicklook will be visualized in a new browser tab.
Fig. 30: Opening a quicklook
Fig. 31: Quicklook being visualized in a new browser tab
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10.3 Changing from the “Full Disk” interface to the “User Sector” interface
The combobox in the upper-side part of the interface allows users to change from the
SHOWCast’s “Full Disk” visualization window to the “User Sector” (products on the
cylindrical equidistant projection) visualization window.
Fig. 32: Changing from the “Full Disk” interface to the “User Sector” interface
When the interface is changed, we see the same product thumbnails, but for the sectorized
region, as configured for each product on the showcast_config.py. The “Fulls Disks” are
available for the products from the “GEOSTATIONARY SATELLITES” menu category.
Fig. 33: SHOWCast’s “User Sector” interface

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10.4 Visualizing a Product Quick Guide
For some products, there are “Quick Guides” available. These guides are developed by
the satellite community (CIRA, NASA SPORT, etc.) and have basic information related to
a given product (applications, limitations, importance, interpretation, etc.). To visualize a
Quick Guide, click at the “Quick Guide” hyperlink below a product quicklook.
Fig. 34: Opening a product “Quick Guide”

The Quick Guide will be opened in a new browser tab:
Fig. 35: Visualizing a product “Quick Guide”

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11 THE SHOWCAST ANIMATION INTERFACE
To open the SHOWCast animation window for a given product, just click at the hyperlink
right below the product quicklook.
Fig. 36: Opening the SHOWCast animation interface for a given product
The SHOWCast animation window will be opened:
Fig. 37: SHOWCast animation window

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11.1 Animation interface commands
These are the commands of the SHOWCast animation interface:
: Start the animation.
: Stop the animation.
: Keep animating even if the animation window is

refreshed. If you want an animation loop to run, always being
updated with the latest imagery available automatically, keep
this checked.
: Previous animation frame.
: Next animation frame.
: Looping Animation Mode. The animated frames go from

the first to the last and restart from the beginning.
: “Boomerang” Animation Mode. The animated frames go

from the first to the last and from the last to the first.
: Decrease or increase the animation speed.
: Zoom out or zoom in.
: Select the product to visualize.
: Frame currently being shown.
: Enable / Disable drawing.
Fig. 38: The SHOWCast

animation window.
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12 CUSTOMIZING THE PLOTS
12.1 Using your own logo
In order to use your own logo in the plots, simply put your logo (PNG format) inside the
“Logos” folder in the SHOWCast main directory, and call it “my_logo.png”. By default,
the logo from INPE will be added to the plots.
Fig. 39: Adding your own logo to the SHOWCast plots
12.2 Using your own labels
Inside the SHOWCast_v_X_X_X/Utils/Labels folder there are some “.ini” files with labels
definitions. These files are called:
labels_example.ini: Example label configuration file with the Brazilian capitals.

labels_g16.ini: Label configuration file for the GOES-16 plots.
labels_g17.ini: Label configuration file for the GOES-17 plots.
labels_gfs_crb.ini: Label configuration file for the GFS plots (C. America + Caribbean).
labels_gfs_sam.ini: Label configuration file for the GFS plots (South America).
labels_msg.ini: Label configuration file for the METEOSAT plots.
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Inside each “.ini” file, you have the label definitions. You man change it according to your
needs.
label: What will be written on this label.

lon: Longitude to put this label.
lat: Latitude to put this label.
x_offset: offset (in lon. degrees) where the label will be shown.
y_offset: offset (in lat. degrees) where the label will be shown.
size: Label size.
color: Label color.
marker_type: They way the marker will be represented
(https://matplotlib.org/stable/api/markers_api.html).
marker_color: The color inside the marker.
marker_size: The marker size.
Fig. 40: Label definitions

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The labels_example.ini is an example label configuration file with the Brazilian capitals.
Fig. 41: Plot created with the example label configuration file
13 OPTIMIZING SHOWCAST ACCORDING TO THE AVAILABLE HARDWARE
It is possible to adapt SHOWCast to the available hardware, changing the following

configurations for each product in the showcast_config.py:
• Select which products will be processed (True) or not (False).

• Parallel processing: Select in which process cycle each product will be processed.
• Select which region we want to plot. Smaller the region, less computer power is
required.
• Select the plot’s final resolution. Lesser the resolution, less computer power is
required.
• Select the plot minute interval (for GOES-R products).
• Use multiple servers to produce the imagery.
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Fig. 42: Optimizing SHOWCast according to the available hardware
14 THE SHOWCAST “CLOUD” MODULE
The SHOWCast “Cloud” module gives the user the possibility of downloading data from
Amazon (AWS) or UNIDATA (THREDDS). This is very useful if a user wants to
complement their GEONETCast-Americas data (or other receive mechanisms they have),
or if they would like to use SHOWCast without having a physical receive station.
Fig. 43: The SHOWCast “Cloud” module

It is important to mention that the data source for Amazon (AWS) is NOAA’s PDA (Product
Distribution and Access). If PDA is going through a maintenance, it is possible that there’s
no data available from Amazon. In the other hand, the data source for UNIDATA are
different GRB stations, so the data is always available, unless we have a maintanence in
the GOES-R satellites.
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14.1 Configuring the Cloud module
All the files related to the Cloud module are inside the SHOWCast_v_X_X_X/Cloud/
folder. These are the steps required to use the Cloud module:
1-) Define where the downloaded data is going to be saved: In the

SHOWCast_v_X_X_X/Cloud/Scripts/grb_unidata_download_config.py or
SHOWCast_v_X_X_X/Cloud/Scripts/pda_aws_download_config.py, configure the
variable “ingest_folder” with the directory you want to save the data.
Fig. 44: Configuring where we want to store the data
2-) Define which product you want to download: In the

SHOWCast_v_X_X_X/Cloud/Scripts/grb_unidata_download_config.py or
SHOWCast_v_X_X_X/Cloud/Scripts/pda_aws_download_config.py, configure the
products you want to download from Amazon or UNIDATA.
Note: In the current SHOWCast release, from Amazon it’s possible to download all GOES-
R Bands (L1b or L2), all Level 2 derived products, GLM and SUVI data. From UNIDATA,
it is possible to download all GOES-R Bands (L1b only). For both services, the GOES-R
imagery and products are available for the CONUS, MESOSCALE and FULL-DISK
domains. SHOWCast currently processes FULL-DISKS only. With little modification, it
could easily process CONUS and MESOSCALES, but this is not in the scope of this
document.
Fig. 45: Configuring which products we want to download

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Fig. 46: Configuring the Cloud module (summary)
14.2 Starting the Cloud module
After configuring which data we want to download and where to store the data, in order to
run the Cloud module, if you are using Windows, just double click the
“pda_aws_download_start_windows.bat” or “grb_unidata_download_start_windows.bat”,
and if you ware using Linux, execute the “pda_aws_download_start_windows.sh” script
or the “grb_unidata_download_start_windows.sh”. The Cloud module terminal will be
open.
Fig. 47: Starting the Cloud module (summary)

During the download, the data is stored in a “tmp” folder, located at:
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SHOWCast_v_X_X_X/Cloud/Scripts/tmp/
When the download is finished, the files are moved to the directory configured, and the
files may be processed and visualized.
Fig. 48: Downloading and visualizing data with the SHOWCast Cloud module
Note: If you configure the same directory for both the Cloud module (“ingest_folder”
variable) and the SHOWCast processing module (“ingest_dir” variable in the
“showcast_start.py” script), you may use SHOWCast without having a receive station
like GNC-A.
15 SHOWCAST RELEASE HISTORY
The following SHOWCast versions have been release until the time this document was
written:
• V 1.0 (Nov 06 2019): Initial version (57 products)

• V 1.1 (Nov 14 2019): New products
• V 1.2 (Nov 27 2019): Region and resolution configuration
• V 1.3 (Jan 20 2020): Logos, Labels, Annotations and Legends
• V 1.4 (Feb 04 2020): New products
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• V 2.0 (Jul 8 2020): New interface, Easier installation, New Products

• V 2.1 (Jul 30 2020): “Cloud” module
• V 2.2 (Nov 23 2020): Parallel processing / New Products (121 products)
• V 2.3 (Mar 23 2021): 20 s GLM, GFS, ISCS, Ozone (140+ products)
• V 2.4 (Jul 1 2021): ALPW, SST, SST-A, SST-T, OC, New Features (150+ products)
• V 2.5 (Oct 8 2021): 16 Bands, RGB’s, WebP, Interval
16 SHOWCAST USER EXAMPLES
We have basically three kinds of SHOWCast users:
• Users who want to use both processing and visualization interfaces, adapting it
according to their needs:
Fig. 49: Using both SHOWCast processing and visualization interfaces (credits: William Abarca
[MARN El Salvador])
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Fig. 50: Using both SHOWCast processing and visualization interfaces (credits: Ricardo Valenti
[Argentine Air Force])
Fig. 51: Using both SHOWCast processing and visualization interfaces (credits: Gustavo Rodriguez
[Uruguayan Air Force])
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• Users who already have means for visualization and just would like to use the script
examples found at SHOWCast_v_X_X_X/Scripts:
Fig. 52: Using only the SHOWCast example scripts (credits: Ever Barreto [Asunsíon Catholic
University] / Wilson Caballero [DINAC] - Paraguay)
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• Users who create big SHOWCast adaptations, like the “SHOWCast.GR” solution
created by HNMS - Hellenic National Meteorological Service (Greece):
Fig. 53: “SHOWCast.GR” (credits: Dimitrious Papanastasiou [HNMS - Greece])
In this example, SHOWCast was adapted to process the content from the EUMETCast-
Europe service, like 15-minute METEOSAT Second Generation data, among other new
features like a multi panel visualization interface.
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Or the INMET SEPIS solution created by INMET (Brazilian National Weather Service):
Fig. 54: “INMET SEPIS” (credits: Kleber Ataíde [INMET - Brazil])
In this example, SHOWCast was adapted and new features have been created, like a
product comparison interface, a slide show, or exporting to Google Earth.
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SHOWCast has also been used to teach students (satellite data access and processing).
Fig. 55: Using SHOWCast in the classroom (credits: Demilson Quintão [IPMET - Brazil])
Fig. 56: Using SHOWCast in the classroom (credits: Demilson Quintão [IPMET - Brazil])
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17 ADVANCED CONFIGURATION VIA SCRIPTS
Some SHOWCast configuration aspects are still available only via scripts. Making these
changes easily configurable is on the plans for future releases.
These are the parameters:
- Number of animation frames: The default number of frames for the animations
are 20 for most products (30 for GFS and 60 for NUCAPS Soundings). You may
change the number of frames in the scripts found at SHOWCast_v_X_X_X/Scripts/,
by changing the parameter “nfiles”.
Fig. 57: Changing the number of animation frames via scripts
Note: If you change the “nfiles” parameter in the scripts, it is also necessary to
change the “last_image” variable in the correspondent HTML file for that particular
product. The “nfiles” from the Python script and te “last_image” must be equal.
Fig. 58: Changing the number of animation frames in the HTML files
- GFS plot interval configuration: In order to configure the GFS plots start hour,
end hour and interval, it is necessary to edit the GFS python scripts found at
SHOWCast_v_X_X_X/Scripts/. You need to configure the following variables:
“hour_ini”, “hour_end” and “hour_inc”. In the example below, plots will be created
between 0 and 120 hours, with a 3-hour interval, totalizing 40 plots per GFS run.
Fig. 59: Configuring the GFS plot interval

INSTALLATION MANUAL
18 CONCLUSION
SHOWCast is a simple yet powerful data processing and visualization package developed
mainly using Python.
It works with GEONETCast-Americas, GOES-R GRB, Amazon AWS, UNIDATA

THREDDS and other satellite data reception mechanisms ingesting the same files it’s
configured to process.
As seen on this manual, it is relatively easy to get started and it may be used as a starting
point for your own processing scheme. If your institution does not have a processing
mechanism or visualization interfaces, you may use SHOWCast and adapt it according to
your needs. If you already have a visualization interface available (e.g.: your own
webpage), you may use only the plots that are generated routinely (available at the
“Output” folder) or use the example scripts as a reference. If you are an experienced
programmer or web developer, you may make it bigger and better!
SHOWCast provides easy data access for those who doesn’t have a receive station
through the “Cloud” module and it also can be used to teach students on satellite data
access and processing (it currently has +120 Python example scripts).
New features and optimizations are being added over time based on user suggestions, so
do not hesitate to contact me!
[email protected]
I’m very happy with the knowledge gained, lessons learned and friends made throughout
the SHOWCast development process.
INSTALLATION MANUAL
19 ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS
I would like to thank some colleagues that contributed during the development of
SHOWCast:
William Abarca (MARN - El Salvador): Helped with scripting adjustments, bug

corrections, troubleshooting, testing different hardware setups, optimizations and
suggestions.
Gustavo Rodriguez (FAU - Uruguay): For patiently testing new releases, helping with
bug corrections and making great suggestions.
Ricardo Valenti (FAA - Argentina): For helping understanding the ISCS messages and
the processing development, also testing SHOWCast with an awesome portable setup and
making great suggestions.
Demilson Quintão (IPMET - Brazil), Henry Ramírez (FAP - Peru), Kleber Ataíde
(INMET - Brazil): For testing new releases and making great suggestions.
Diego Enoré (INPE - Brazil): For helping in the development of the (hyper complicated)
NUCAPS Sounding scripts.
Ester Regina Ito (INPE - Brazil): For the great help in the development of the GFS plots.
Juan José Amides Figueroa (MARN - El Salvador): For helping in the development of
the GFS plots (color palletes suggestions and GDI processing example).
José Galvez (NOAA): Troubleshooting the GDI processing scripts.
Douglas Uba, Renato Galante, Rogerio Batista (INPE - Brazil) and Marcial Garbanzo
(UCR - Costa Rica): Great Python advices from these experts!
Seth Clevenstine (NOAA) [2021], Natalia Donoho (NOAA) [2018-2020], Hongming Qi

[2017], and Paul Seymour (NOAA) [2008-2017]: GEONETCast-Americas Broadcast
Managers.
Eric Madsen (NOAA) - NESDIS International and Interagency Affairs: For the great
contributions to the GNC-A community and the INPE / NOAA Cooperation.
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20 APPENDIX I: VISUALIZED PRODUCTS
The following product categories are available for visualization in the latest release.
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• GOES-16: Individual ABI Bands (Full Disk and Sectorized)
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• GOES-16: RGB Composites (Full Disk and Sectorized)
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• GOES-16: Data Products (Full Disk and Sectorized)
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• GOES-16: Multispectral Imagery (Full Disk and Sectorized)
• GOES-16: Multispectral Imagery (Sectorized)
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• GOES-16: GLM (Full Disk and Sectorized)
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• GOES-16 + GOES-17 Mosaic (Sectorized)
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• GOES-17 Bands and Composites (Full Disk and Sectorized)
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• METEOSAT Bands and Composites (Full Disk and Sectorized)
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• GCOM-W1 AMSR2 Imagery and Products
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• NUCAPS Soundings
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• Blended Rain Rate
• Blended TPW and TPW Anomaly
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• Blended Ozone
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• CIRA Advected Layered Precipitable Water
• Flood Mapping Products
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• SST, SST Anomaly and SST Trend
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• Ocean Color
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• Multimission / DMSP Sea Ice Products
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• JPSS VIIRS Vegetation Products
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• Multimission Fire / Hot-Spots
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• GFS Plots (Central America + Caribbean / South America) - 00Z and 12Z Run
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• Forecast Charts (Central America + Caribbean / South America)
INSTALLATION MANUAL
21 APPENDIX II: READER NOTES

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INSTALLATION MANUAL

14 THE SHOWCAST “CLOUD” MODULE .................................................................... 32

Fig. 2: First version of SHOWCast running in a GNC-A station (November 6, 2019).

A compressed file called “SHOWCast_v_X_X_X.zip” will be downloaded (the “X”’s will be

3 SHOWCAST DIRECTORY STRUCTURE

4 OPENING THE SHOWCAST INTERFACE FOR THE FIRST TIME

If you double-click at the “SHOWCast.html” icon, the SHOWCast visualization interface

5 INSTALLING THE SHOWCAST PROCESSING MODULE

Fig. 5: Accessing the SHOWCast “Installer” folder

Fig. 6: Installation scripts for Linux and Windows operational systems

5.1 Installing on Windows

If you are installing on Windows, just double click the “showcast_install_windows.bat”.

5.2 Installing on Linux

5.3 The SHOWCast Installer Terminal

Fig. 7: The SHOWCast installer prompt

Fig. 8: Miniconda being installed automatically by the SHOWCast installer

Fig. 9: New “Miniconda3” folder at the SHOWCast main directory

Fig. 10: Installing the SHOWCast virtual environment

Fig. 11: SHOWCast environment creation (the libraries are listed)

Then, the libraries are installed:

Fig. 12: SHOWCast environment creation (the libraries are installed)

Fig. 13: SHOWCast installation finished

6 BASIC SHOWCAST CONFIGURATION

We need to configure SHOWCast so it processes the data according to our needs.

1-) SHOWCast_v_X_X_X\Scripts\showcast_start.py: On this script, we’ll configure our

3-) SHOWCast_v_X_X_X\Scripts\showcast_cleaner.py: This is optional. On this script,

Let’s see how to configure each file:

6.1 Configuring the showcast_start.py file

Some important considerations:

• It is mandatory to use double slashes (‘//’) at the end of the variable.

Fig. 14: Configuring the showcast_start.py variables

6.2 Configuring the showcast_config.py file

sss_pppppp_rrr = True or False

sss_pppppp_rrr_process: Number of the parallel processing cycle this product will be

sss_pppppp_rrr_directory: Sub directory within the ingestion directory this product is

sss_pppppp_rrr_max_files: Maximum number of non processef files SHOWCast will

Example: [-55.0, -25.0, -40.0, -10.0]

sss_pppppp_rrr_resolution: The desired plot resolution in km.

Example: [‘10’,’20’,’30’,’40’,’50’] - Note: Do not use spaces!

sss_pppppp_rrr_config: A configuration string used by the scripts. Mainly, this is used to

sss_pppppp_rrr_script: The script used to process this product.

6.3 Configuring the showcast_cleaner.py file

Let’s configure if and how we want to delete historical data.

In the variable “delete_historical_output”, you select if you want to delete SHOWCast

In the variables “max_days_output” and “max_hours_output” you configure how many

In the variables “max_days_ingest” and “max_hours_ingest” you configure how many

Fig. 16: Configuring the showcast_cleaner.py variables

6.4 Configuring the showcast_start_windows.bat or showcast_start_linux.sh file

7 ADVANCED SHOWCAST CONFIGURATION

7.1 Parallel processing

Fig. 19: Sequential processing in old versions of SHOWCast

Fig. 20: Parallel processing in newer versions of SHOWCast

Any number of processes can be configured in the showcast_start_windows.bat or

7.2 Network configuration

Fig. 21: Ingestion, processing, storage and visualization in a single workstation

In newer versions of SHOWCast, it is possible to have multiple workstations sharing

Another possibility is to direct the historical plots to a dedicated workstation, using a

Fig. 24: Configuring a dedicated workstation for historical data storage

8 STARTING THE SHOWCAST PROCESSING MODULE

Fig. 25: Starting the SHOWCast processing module