WX 200 Weather Station Software
(630-1015) Using the Almanac Faxback Doc. # 38358
Every night after midnight (if your PC is turned on and the software is
open), your AccuWeather for Windows Weather Station Software analyzes the
date it stored in the Recent Observations window that day and automatically
creates other useful weather data based on the stored information. It
stores the new data in an "almanac" file.
Notes:
If the software is not open and does not record data on any given day,
there will be no data for that day in the almanac file. (Hint: the
longer the software is open and recording weather data, the more
almanac data there will be.)
If the software is not open right after midnight, it stores any
unrecorded data from the last day it was open in the Almanac the next
time you open the software.
Opening/Closing an Almanac File
The software creates a separate almanac file for each month, and a separate
entry in the almanac for each day of that month.
To open an almanac file, click on Almanac on the Weather Station window.
The open window appears. Click on the name of the almanac file you want
to open (for example, select 1997 sep.alm for September, 1997 data), then
click on OK. After a few seconds (almanac files can be big, so it might
take a little while depending on your computer's speed), the Almanac
window appears. The data displayed in the Almanac window is organized like
a spreadsheet, and the records in the spreadsheet are sorted by date.
Notes:
You can view only part of an almanac file's data on the screen at one
time. To view other data in the window, click and drag the side or
bottom scrollbars.
You can open only one almanac file at a time.
AccuWeather for Windows does not create its first almanac file until
after midnight on the first day you run the software. If you try to
open an almanac file before then, no file name appears in the Open
window. Wait until after midnight (the next day, for example), then
try again.
In the Almanac window, you can:
Add weather data not automatically stored by the software
(your high and low temperature predictions, for example) or edit any
currently stored data.
Type in daily weather observations, such as the time a storm occurred,
your forecast prediction, sky conditions, visibility, obstructions to
visibility, obstructions to visibility, and so on.
View the computer-generated forecast for any day's weather information
stored in the selected almanac file.
Print all records in the selected almanac file.
Almanac Data Description
This table lists and briefly describes all data you can view and edit in
an almanac file.
Notes:
The first (untitled) column on the left side of the spreadsheet shows
the month/day/year (such as 9/10/97 for September 10, 1997) when the
data in that row was recorded.
Weather conditions marked with (checkmark) are automatically
calculated and stored in the almanac based on the data you stored for
the selected month in the Monthly Normals section of the Setup For
Your Weather Station window.
Weather conditions marked with (SYMBOL) are not automatically
calculated and stored in the almanac file. To store data in that
column, you must manually add it.
If only a single number (such as 10 for the 10th day of the month)
appears in the date column, that means no data is stored in the
almanac for that date.
If the date column shows a month/day/year, but that date's row in the
spreadsheet contains only data you entered (such as Normal High or
Low Temp), that means the software has not stored data for the
selected date (a future date or a date in the past when the program
was not open, for example).
Weather Condition Description
(Almanac Column Name)
Daily High Temp Highest daily temperature
Daily Low Temp Lowest daily temperature
Daily Avg Temp Average daily temperature
Normal High Temp (Checkmark) Normal high temperature
Normal Low Temp (Checkmark) Normal low temperature
Normal Avg Temp (Checkmark) Normal average temperature
Departure from Normal Calculated as
Daily Avg Temp - Normal Avg Temp
Heating Degree Days Calculated at 65 F - Daily Avg Temp
Cooling Degree Days Calculated as Daily Avg Temp - 65 F
High Dew Point Highest daily dew point temperature
Low Dew Point Lowest daily dew point temperature
Lowest Wind Chill Lowest daily wind chill temperature
Highest Heat Index Highest daily heat index
Average Relative Humidity Average daily relative humidity percentage.
Daily Rainfall Total daily rainfall
Daily Snowfall Total daily snowfall
Snow on Ground Accumulated snowfall on the ground
Average Wind Speed Direction of Highest Wind Speed
Highest Wind Speed Highest daily wind speed
Direction Highest Wind Direction the highest wind was blowing
Highest Pressure Highest daily barometric pressure
Lowest Pressure Lowest daily barometric pressure
Average Pressure Average daily barometric pressure
Record High Temp Highest temperature ever recorded
Record High Year Highest temperature recorded that year
Record Low Temp Lowest temperature ever recorded
Record Low Year Lowest temperature recorded that year
My Predicted High Your predicted daily high temperature
My Predicted Low Your predicted daily low temperature
Predicted High Diff Predicted high difference;
calculated as My Predicted High
- Daily High Temp
Predicted Low Diff Predicted low difference; calculated as
My Predicted Low - Daily Low Temp
Monthly Summary Shows a summary for the month
(below the last date row (or month-to-date, if before the end or
in the almanac) the month) of most weather conditions that
are automatically calculated by the
software and stored in the almanac.
Editing an Almanac File
To edit (add, change, or delete) data in an almanac file, open that file
then follow these instructions for each cell you want to edit.
To add data in an empty cell, simply click on that cell so a box
appears around it, then type in the data.
To change the data in a cell, double-click on that cell so the cursor
flashes in the stored data, double-click again to highlight the data,
then type in the new data. The new data replaces the old.
To clear the data in a cell (and set the value to zero), double-click
on that cell so the cursor flashes in the stored data, double-click
again to highlight the data, then press Delete or Backspace.
When you finish, click on OK to save your changes and close the Almanac
window.
Note:
To exit without saving your changes, click on Cancel.
Storing Your Observations/Comments in the Almanac
To store your own weather observations and comments
(up to 156 alphanumeric characters) for any day of the month in an
almanac, open the almanac and click anywhere on that date's row.
Then click on the box below Enter Your Daily Weather Observations or
Your Forecast at the bottom of the screen and type in the information
you want to store.
Here are some hints on information you might want to store:
Your predicted forecast for today based on the weather conditions
right now and over the last 48 hours, so you can compare your forecast
for tomorrow with the actual forecast generated by your software.
The times a storm begins and ends (to account for high winds or heavy
rainfall, for example)
Sky conditions (such as the types of clouds you can see)
Visibility (how far you can see) or obstructions to visibility
(fog, for example)
Using the Almanac Forecast
The almanac includes special algorithms (mathematical programs) that
create a forecast for each day of the month based on the weather
conditions stored in the almanac for the last two days. For example, the
almanac creates a forecast for September 7 based on the data stored for
September 5 and 6.
To view the almanac's forecast for today or any past day, simply click
anywhere on that date's row in the almanac. The forecast for that date
appears in the box below Preliminary Forecast: at the bottom of the
Almanac window.
Note:
The software does not display a forecast for a date that does not
have weather data stored for the days it uses to create the forecast.
Printing an Almanac File
To print all data stored in an almanac file, open that file, then click on
Print and follow the instructions in the window that appears.
Note:
You can print only an entire almanac file.
(LB/km-03/12/1997)