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Hydrologist Information Management System 1. Introduction 2. Background 3. Hardware/Software Configuration 4. Upgrade Installation Steps 5. Starting SHIMS 6. Viewing the Forecast Point Summary Display 7. Viewing and Editing Forms 7.1.1 Location Form - Page 1 7.1.2 Location Form - Page 2 7.2.1 River Gage Form - Page 1 7.2.2 River Gage Form - Page 2 7.3.1 Forecast Point Form - Page 1 7.3.2 Forecast Point Form - Page 2 7.3.3 Forecast Point Form - Page 3 7.4 Reservoir Form 7.5 RiverPro Form 7.6 Site-Specific Form 8. Viewing and Editing Tables 9. Generating Reports 10. Running Utilities 11. Exiting SHIMS 12. Trouble Shooting APPENDICES A. Data Field Descriptions I. Main Screen II. Summary Screen III. Location Form IV. River Gage Form V. Forecast Point Form VI. Reservoir Form VII. RiverPro Form VIII. Site-Specific Form B. Valid Entries for Select Fields C. Sample Reports D. Sample RiverPro Product E. SHIMS Database Structure F. SHIMS Files |
APPENDIX A. DATA FIELD DESCRIPTIONS
This appendix lists all the data fields in the SHIMS database and gives a detailed
description of each field regarding its format and content.
Upon invoking SHIMS, there is a main screen that presents the user options in a menu
bar, and displays a list of all stations in the body of the screen. One of these menu bar
options, the Summary option, displays an overview of information for a single forecast
point. Another option, the Forms option, allows access to the various forms that
provide the user interface to the data. All SHIMS data fields are contained in one of
these forms. The available forms are the Location, River Gage, Forecast Point,
Reservoir, RiverPro, and Site-Specific information.
The field descriptions are grouped by the screen form on which they are displayed. To
be complete, this appendix also includes discussion of the fields in the Main
display and in the Summary display. Because their data fields are also contained in
the other forms, the discussions for the Main and Summary displays mention these fields
only by reference to the forms that detail the given field.
The displays which contains the fields that are described in this Appendix
are:
Main Screen
Summary Screen
Location Forms (2 pages)
River Gage Forms (2 pages)
Forecast Point Forms (3 pages)
RiverPro Form (1 page)
Reservoir Form (1 page)
Site-Specific Form (1 page)
In the list of fields that follow, each data field is identified with an index
number that identifies the field with regard to its position in the displayed form.
Listed with the index number is the field name field as given in the displayed form.
For all except the Main and Summary screen descriptions, this is followed by the name
of the table in which the field is stored, and the name of the field in the table, in
parentheses. Finally, this is followed by the format of the data field.
Some of these fields are particularly useful in the WFO Hydrologic Forecast
System (WHFS) being deployed with AWIPS. These fields are noted as such. Review the
descriptions of these data sets as their content and purpose with special
attention.
I. Main Screen
The Main screen in SHIMS contains a list of stations in the SHIMS database,
and for each station, there is some associated information also listed. The
following fields are displayed:
1 Location
NWS location identifier. All information is defined for a given location.
2 Name
Name of the location. Refer to the Name field in the Location Form, Page 1.
3 Detail
Distance and direction from the post office. Refer to the Detail field in the
Location Form, Page 1.
4 County
County in which the location is located. Refer to the County field in the Location Form, Page 1.
5 Basin
Basin in which the location is contained. Refer to the Basin field in the Location Form, Page 1.
6 Type
Type of station. Refer to the Type field in Location Form, Page 1.
II. Summary Screen
The Summary screen gives the following information for a particular forecast point.
1 Location
NWS location identifier. All information is defined for a given location. The location, name, and
basin are shown together in the background of the display.
2 Name
Name of the location. Refer to the Name field in the Location Form, Page 1.
3 Basin
Basin in which the location is contained. Refer to the Basin field in the Location Form, Page 1.
4 Critical Stage
Stage for which damage information is specified. The critical stage information allows scrolling
through multiple entries. Refer to the Stage field in the Forecast Points Form, Page 1.
5 Critical Stage Damage
Damage associated with the specified stage. Refer to the Summary field in the Forecast Point
Form, Page 1.
6 Observer Name
Name of observer for location. Refer to the First and Surname fields in the Location Form, Page
1.
7 Observer Phone
Phone number of observer. Refer to the Home field in the Location Form, Page 1.
8 Telemetry Device
Type of telemetry at location. Refer to the Type field in the Location Form, Page 2.
9 Telemetry Phone
Phone number of telemetry site, if applicable. Refer to the Phone (Telemetry section) field in the
Location Form, Page 2.
10 Telemetry Owner
Owner of the telemetry installation. Refer to the Owner (Telemetry section) field in the Location
Form, Page 2.
11 Contact Name
Name of person to contact regarding location; not necessarily an observer. The contacts
information allows scrolling through multiple entries. Refer to the Contact field in the Location
Form, Page 2.
12 Contact Phone
Phone number of contact. Refer to the Phone (Contacts) field in the Location Form, Page 2.
13 Contact Concerns
Concerns that the contact person may have. Refer to the Concerns field in the Location Form,
Page 2.
14 Historical Crest Stage
Stage of historical crest. The historical crest information allows scrolling through multiple entries.
Refer to the Stage field in the River Gage Form, Page 2.
15 Historical Crest Date
Date associated with historical crest. Refer to the Date field in the River Gage Form, Page 2.
16 Remarks
General remarks. Refer to the Remarks field in the Forecast Point Form, Page 2.
III. Location Forms
Location Form - Page 1 (Geographic/Physical)
1 Location (Location.Lid) Alphanumeric 8
The NWS Handbook No. 5 identifier, as assigned by the NWS Office of Systems Operations
(OSO). The majority of the entries in this field will be formatted as a three (3) character station
identifier, followed by the two character state identifier; however, some identifiers (ASOS, etc.) are
3 characters in length, while some identifiers could be more than 5 characters in length.
2 Name (Location.Name) Alphanumeric 25
The name of the city/town nearest to where the station is located. The city/town should be one
listed in the Rand McNally Commercial Atlas. The city should be in the same state as the actual
location of the station. The name should not include descriptions not part of the actual name of the
city, such as "near", "River", "Creek", etc., nor should it include the distance and direction
normally given in the Detail field, as described below.
The name given is used throughout the WHFS applications to identify the station. Do not add
extraneous information to this field to describe the station; this information should be specified in
the appropriate field.
3 Basin (Location.Rb) Alphanumeric 30
The name of the river basin in which the station is located. The river basin name used for this field
should be the name as would be used for an E-19, even though an E-19 may not be necessary for
the location (e.g. if describing a precipitation gage only station).
4 Lat/Lon (Location.Lat) Alphanumeric 9
(Location.Lon) Alphanumeric 9
The latitude and longitude in [d]dd mm ss format (degrees minutes seconds). For locations west of
the 100th meridian, the longitude is entered in ddd mm ss format. For locations with only a river
gage, the values entered are for the river gage location. For locations with both a river gage and a
rain gage location, the values entered are for the rain gage location and the river gage coordinates
are entered with the River Gage information.
If the actual value of the seconds (ss portion of the coordinates) is not known, leave that portion
blank, rather than entering 00 for the seconds. In order to display properly on AWIPS background
maps, all stations should have the accurate coordinates to the nearest second.
5 Elevation (Location.Elev) Numeric
The elevation, to the nearest whole foot, of the normal ground surface where the station is located.
If the station is a precipitation station (either with or without a river gage being present), the
elevation entered is for the ground surface at the rain gage location. Do not enter commas between
the thousands and hundreds of feet digits. Elevations are normally referenced to NGVD 1929; if
another datum is used, make a comment of the datum used in the remarks field. This value is used
by the WHFS applications.
6 Station No (Location.Sn) Alphanumeric 10
The official station index number assigned by the National Climatic Data Center (NCDC) through
the Regional Cooperative Manager (RCM). The 2 digit state id, four digit station number, and 1 or
2 digit climatic division number are separated by a dash. Use the format: xx-xxxx-x[x]. The entry
should be left blank if there is no assigned index number. Do not use the "N" for the climate
division. Refer to Appendix B for the 2 digit state numbers.
7 County (Location.Co) Alphanumeric 20
The name of the county (parish in Louisiana, borough in Alaska) in which the station is located. Be
consistent in the usage of case of characters for the county name, i.e. always use uppercase or
mixed case when giving the name. Don't give the same county name in two different forms.
8 State (Location.St) Alphanumeric 2
The 2-character postal abbreviation for the state name where the station is located, such as AK for
Alaska, UT for Utah, etc.
9 Revise (Location.Lrevise) Date
The date, in mm/dd/yyyy format (e.g. 10/30/1996), that changes were last made to information for
this station. If the field is blank, the current date will be entered. The revision date entered here
is for the B-44 type information for the station, and will appear on the B-44A produced by SHIMS. If
a B-44 is in effect for the station - the date on the B-44 should be the date entered in this field. If
no B-44 exists for the station, the date entered in this field may then be either the date of the E-19,
or the current date if changes are being made to location information. The revision date for E-19
type data is entered in the Revise Date field on the River Gage Screen Form.
10 WFO (Location.Wfo) Alphanumeric 3
The office in whose CWA (County Warning Area) the station is located. This would also be the
office responsible for cooperative program management for the station and electronics maintenance.
(See the discussion of the HSA field on the use of modernized identifiers).
11 RFC (Location.Rfc) Alphanumeric 5
The five character identifier for the River Forecast Center (RFC) in whose area the location
resides. The valid entries are listed in Appendix B.
12 HSA (Location.Hsa) Alphanumeric 3
3-character AFOS identifier for the office with Hydrologic Service Area (HSA) responsibility for
this location. See Appendix B for a list of office identifiers. NWS office identifiers officially
remain the "old" AFOS identifiers until Stage II operations begin, which is at the end of AWIPS
deployment; however, in many cases the "modernized" identifiers are beginning to be used. For
purposes of consistency, "modernized" identifiers should be entered in this field.
13 Hydro Unit (Location.Hu) Alphanumeric 8
Hydrologic Unit Number obtained from state Hydrologic Unit Maps published by the USGS.
There are no dashes used in this field - only the numerical digits of the number.
14 Detail (Location.Detail) Alphanumeric 10
The direction and distance the station is from the post office of the city listed in Name. The
distance is given in whole miles, and the direction is given as one of 16 compass points, (i.e., 2
SSW, 5 S, 1 NE, etc.)
15 Begin Date (Location.Sbd) Date
Date that observations began at this station. The format is mm/dd/yyyy (e.g. 11/15/1996).
16 Type (Location.Type) Alphanumeric 4
The type of information the station has. The choices are O - Observer, R - River Gage, P -
Precipitation, and I - Inactive. If multiple entries are required to define the station type, do not use
spaces between the characters. For example, a type of ORP would be entered for a station that has
an observer and reports river stage and precipitation.
17 Net (Location.Net) Alphanumeric 3
The cooperative program network for the station. Valid entries are: A - climatological, B -
hydrological, AB - both climatological and hydrological. Enter U for unofficial stations.
Location Form - Page 1 (Observer)
18 Surname (Observer.Lname) Alphanumeric 28
The last name of the observer, or the name of the institution taking observations.
19 First (Observer.Fname) Alphanumeric 12
The first name of the observer. Leave blank for institutions.
20 Address (Observer.A1) Alphanumeric 30
(Observer.A2) Alphanumeric 30
(Observer.A3) Alphanumeric 30
The three lines in this field are for the street address portion of the mailing address for the
observer/institution. Do not include the city, state, or zip code in this field; they are stored in
separate fields.
21 City (Observer.City) Alphanumeric 30
The name of the city for the postal mailing address of the observer.
22 St (Observer.St) Alphanumeric 2
The 2-character postal abbreviation for the state portion of the mailing address. For example, NM
for New Mexico or NY for New York.
23 Zip (Observer.Zip) Alphanumeric 10
The 5 digit or 9 digit Zip Code for the mailing address. If a 9 digit Zip Code is used, the format is
xxxxx-xxxx.
24 Comms (Observer.Comm) Alphanumeric 10
The communication method the observer normally uses to report the observation. Some options
include: Phone (for non 1-800 calls), INWATS (for 1-800 calls), ROSA, Touchtone.
25 Sponsor (Observer.Spon) Alphanumeric 7
The sponsoring appropriation for a paid observer or reimbursable station (S&E, FC-9, etc.)
26 Rate (Observer.Rate) Dollar
The monthly fee, in dollars, paid to the observer.
27 Recip (Observer.Reci) Alphanumeric 15
The NWS office or external agency that first receives the report from this station. For ROSA,
CADAS, or HADS stations, the recipient should be entered as the HSA office even though the data
does not come directly into that office.
28 Report (Observer.Rprt) Alphanumeric 60
The elements of the observer's report and the corresponding criteria for the observer to make
reports.
29 DoS (Observer.Dos) Date
The beginning date, in mm/dd/yyyy format, that this observer or institution began taking
observations at this station.
30 Home (Observer.Hphone) Alphanumeric 12
The home telephone number of the observer for this location, in aaa-ppp-nnnn format.
31 Work (Observer.Ophone) Alphanumeric 18
The work telephone number, or the institution's phone number, in aaa-ppp-nnnn-xxxxx. The xxxxx
field is for the extension number the observer can be reached on (use only the numerical part of the
extension number - do not enter the "x" abbreviation).
32 SSN (Observer.Ssn) Alphanumeric 11
The observer's Social Security number, in xxx-xx-xxxx format.
33 Gender (Observer.Gn) Alphanumeric 1
The gender of the observer. The options are: M - male, F - female, I - Institutional.
34 Task No (Observer.Tsk) Alphanumeric 13
Task code to which cost for the station are charged. The station may be a standard NWS supported
station (S&E) or supported by another agency through the reimbursable program. The entry in this
field is the actual task number to which to charge station operations.
35 CD-404 (Observer.Ornr) Alphanumeric 4
The last four digits of the order number on the CD-404 of a paid observer.
Location Form - Page 2 (Data Collection Platform)
36 Owner (Dcp.Downer) Alphanumeric 10
The owner agency/entity for the data collection platform.
37 GOES ID (Dcp.Goes) Alphanumeric 8
The ID that NESDIS has assigned to this platform.
38 Criteria (Dcp.Criteria) Alphanumeric 50
The criteria for the platform to initiate random reports. Platforms often have multiple criteria, such
as limits and rate of change for multiple parameters (precipitation, stage, etc.).
39 Time (Dcp.Rptime) Alphanumeric 8
The first reporting time after midnight on the 24-hour UTC (Universal Coordinated Time) clock
that the platform is scheduled to report. The format is hh:mm:ss. This information is used by the
WHFS applications to help identify late or missing reports.
40 Freq (Dcp.Rptfreq) Numeric
The number of minutes between routine scheduled transmissions from the platform. For example,
a platform that reports routinely every 4 hours would have an entry of 240. This information is
used by the WHFS applications to help identify late or missing reports.
Location Form - Page 2 (Telemetry)
41 Type (Telm.Device) Alphanumeric 10
The type of telemetry device at this location. Some examples are: LARC, CR10, etc. This
definition is used by the WHFS applications to classify a station according to the sources of data.
42 Payor (Telm.Payor) Alphanumeric 10
The agency/entity that pays the communications cost for the device.
43 Owner (Telm.Towner) Alphanumeric 10
The agency/entity that owns the device.
44 Criteria (Telm.Tcriteria) Alphanumeric 50
The criteria by which the telemetry device will initiate calls to the collecting NWS office. Some
devices (such as LARCs) can have multiple criteria based both on absolute limits and rate-of-change.
45 Sensor ID (Telm.Sensorid) Alphanumeric 10
The ID the device uses in its reports, if it is not the LID of the station. Examples would be ALERT
stations or possibly telemetry devices owned by other agencies.
46 Phone (Telm.Tphone) Alphanumeric 12
The telephone number for the telemetry device, in aaa-ppp-nnnn format.
47 Cost (Telm.Tcost) Dollar
The monthly cost of the communications service for the device. This amount need only be entered
for devices where the communications costs are paid by the NWS.
48 Freq (Telm.Rptfreq) Numeric
A count of the minutes between routine interrogations of the telemetry device. For example, a
LARC that is interrogated by CADAS every 6 hours under routine conditions would have an entry
of 360 in this field. This value is used by the WHFS applications to determine when reports are
expected.
Location Form - Page 2 (External Cooperation)
Note: The external cooperators information allows scrolling through the multiple entries for the
current location.
49 Agency (Extcoop.Agency) Alphanumeric 8
The name of the agency which is an external cooperator for this location. This should be given as
the name of the agency only, not the specific office of that agency. For example, specify USCE for
the Corps of Engineers, do not specify that it is the Baltimore office. Use the following field for
the particular office. Multiple agencies can be specified for a given location; such as the Bureau of
Reclamation, a local Flood District, etc. Refer to Appendix B for appropriate entries for this field.
50 Office (Extcoop.Office) Alphanumeric 20
The name of the specific office for the corresponding office. This allows multiple offices for a
given location to be specified, if appropriate. Refer to Appendix B for appropriate entries for this
field.
Location Form - Page 2 (Parameters)
Note: This parameter information allows scrolling through the multiple entries for the current
location.
51 Type (Parm.Type) Alphanumeric
The source of the measured parameter. The choices are: D - data collection platform; T -
telemetry; O - observer. There can be multiple entries for any or all types, for example: if a DCP
reports river stage (HG) and precipitation (PC) and an observer reports precipitation (PP) and back-up
river bstage (HG), there would be 2 entries for Type D and 2 entries for Type O for that location.
If a D type entry is entered, the DCP information for the location should be entered also. Do not
enter DCP reported data as T - data are recorded by either an observer or a DCP; all other
reporting devices are considered T (i.e. Telemetry).
52 Parameter (Parm.Parm) Alphanumeric 2
The 2-letter SHEF code for the parameter(s) reported.
Location Form - Page 2 (Contacts)
Note: The contacts information allows scrolling through the multiple entries for the current
location.
53 Sequence (Contact.Seq) Numeric
The numerical sequence, in order of importance, for listing of the contacts. For example, entering
a number 1 will cause that entry to be the first entry displayed, a number 3 will cause the entry to
be the third entry displayed, etc.
54 Contact (Contact.Contact) Alphanumeric 24
The name of the contact. Contacts could possibly be: cooperating agencies, emergency managers,
city officials, etc. This field is not intended to contain the name of any observers at the site. The
WHFS applications provide special access and display of this helpful information.
55 Phone (Contact.Cphone) Alphanumeric 17
The phone number to be used to access the contact. If multiple phone numbers are required, such
as day time and night time numbers, enter the most used number in this field and enter the other
number(s) in the Remarks field for the contact.
56 Remarks (Contact.Cremark) Alphanumeric 255
This field can be used to enter any remarks relating to this contact, such as alternate phone
numbers, the criteria to be used to call the contact, specific times not to call the contact, etc.
Location Form - Page 2 (Remarks)
57 Remarks (Location.Lremark) Alphanumeric 255
This field can be used to enter remarks for anything pertinent to the location. This field is
separate from the remarks field associated with the contacts information.
IV. River Gage Forms
River Gage Screen Form - Page 1 (Geographic/Physical)
1 LID (Rvrsta.Lid) Alphanumeric 8
NWS location identifier.
2 Stream (Rvrsta.Stream) Alphanumeric 32
The name of the river/stream where the gaging site is located. The latest published name should be
used. If there are discrepancies, contact the owner of the gage. Always try and spell out the full
name of the river/stream, abbreviations such as "R" for river, "S" for stream, or "F" for fork
should NOT be used unless there is no room within the allotted space. Any name changes should
be documented in the station history.
The name of the stream is used by the WHFS applications. It is used by the River Product
Formatter to identify the stream which the location gages. It also is used to identify upstream and
downstream relationships; if multiple locations are on the same river or stream, always use
identical wording to specify the stream for the locations.
3 Revise Date (Rvrsta.Rrevise) Date
The date this stations river station information was revised. Enter this in the form of mm/dd/yyyy
(e.g. 11/15/1996).
For official river forecast points, this date should be the date an E-19 was fully revised. Simply
adding a historic stage, correcting a spelling error, or transferring data from the old E-19 into
SHIMS does not constitute a full revision. For river data points (i.e. that are not official forecast
points), when entering information from an existing E-19 into SHIMS, this date should be the
issuance date on the cover page of the E-19. If you leave this field blank, the current date will be
inserted.
4 Lat (Rvrsta.Rlat) Alphanumeric 9
Lon (Rvrsta.Rlon) Alphanumeric 9
Latitude/longitude of the river gage in degrees, minutes, and seconds. Enter this in the form of
[D]DD MM SS (e.g. 39 59 59). If you do not know the value of seconds field, leave it blank; do
not insert "00". This value may differ from the location's latitude/longitude entered in the Location
Form.
5 Drainage Area (Rvrsta.Da) Numeric
Drainage area in square miles. For small drainages, entries to the nearest hundredths of square
miles are permissible.
6 River Mile (Rvrsta.Mile) Numeric
River miles that the gage is above the mouth of the river. River miles should be entered to nearest
tenth of a mile. The latest figure published by the USGS or USCE should be used. For sites used
only by the NWS, the distances should be compared with the river mile for nearby published USGS
stations for consistency. The river mile is used by the WHFS applications to develop river profile
displays.
7 Flood Stage (Rvrsta.Fs) Numeric
National Weather Service (NWS) flood stage in feet. Flood stage values should be entered to the
nearest whole foot if at all possible. Values to the nearest half foot or even tenth of a foot are
permissible. The WHFS applications rely heavily on the flood stage to monitor the hydrologic
state of a location.
Flood stage is where flood damage begins in the reach of the river gage. The flood stage should be
for the reach of the river defined in the Forecast Point Screen. Leave blank if not determined.
Refer to WSOM Chapter E-02 for a more thorough definition. A few locations use the MSL as
zero datum. As a result, flood stage may be a 3 or 4 digit number.
8 Flood Flow (Rvrsta.Fq) Numeric
This is the discharge flow at flood stage in cubic-feet-per-second (CFS).
9 Zero Datum (Rvrsta.Zd) Numeric
Elevation of the gage zero (when the gage reads zero) in feet above Mean Sea Level. Ordinarily,
gage zeroes are reported to the nearest 0.01 foot. A datum value should always be obtained and
entered. The datum should be entered to the same precision as it is provided. This value for
USGS sites is found in Water Resources Data. The zero datum value is used by the WHFS
applications.
10 Datum Reference (Rvrsta.Vdatum) Alphanumeric 20
Reference datum the Zero Datum is based. This generally is National Geodetic Vertical Datum of
1929 (NGVD 29) or North American Vertical Datum of 1988 (NAVD 88). Technically, the term
"Mean Sea Level" is not used any more. Not all locations use these two datums. For example,
river gages on the Ohio River use NGVD 1913; NGVD 1913 is referred to as the Ohio River
Datum.
11 Period of Record (Rvrsta.Por) Alphanumeric 30
Period of record description. A suggested format is "08/15/1875 to 12/07/1941". This field indi-
cates when records began at the site and if applicable, when they ended at a site. Some locations
have breaks in their record. Include a short description if appropriate.
12 Rated (Rvrsta.Rated) Alphanumeric 20
(Rvrsta.Ratedat) Date
Part 1: Agency that has developed a rating for the gaging site. If no agency has rated the gage and
the rating used is synthetic, enter "SYNTHETIC". Part 2: If possible, list the date of the release
of the most recent rating. This will allow comparison of the dates of the RFC's rating with the
latest USGS rating.
13 Lat/Lon Source (Rvrsta.Rsource) Alphanumeric 20
Source of the latitude and longitude. This could be from the USGS description form, a topographic
map, some GIS software package, or a Global Position System (GPS).
Most topographic maps use the North American Datum of 1927 (NAD 27). GPS can use NAD 27,
but also uses the newer NAD 84. NAD 83 and NAD 84 are considered identical for NWS
purposes. The differences between NAD 27 and NAD 84 are non-linear and vary from 10 to 450
meters around the United States.
14 Leveling (Rvrsta.Level) Alphanumeric 20
The agency which performed levels to the site and the date it was completed, if known. Levels
should be done periodically by the agency responsible for verifying the stability of the elevations
and records.
The USGS is typically very good about running levels to their sites. A comment like "USGS
Recently" is acceptable in many cases. If it is a NWS site, please be more specific and keep level
notes on file.
15 Forecast type (Rvrsta.Fcstype) Alphanumeric 9
An indicator of the type of forecasts issued. Appropriate entries are;
H - headwater
D - daily (stage)
Q - daily (discharge)
S - snowmelt
F - flood (stage)
P - pool elevation
I - reservoir inflow
G - flood (discharge)
W - water supply
To define a river location as an official forecast point, specify that it has a forecast type of flood
(F). The forecast type field is used by the WHFS applications to classify river locations.
If additional entries are needed, please clear them with your Regional Hydrologist. Multiple
responses may be entered (i.e. DQ or HSF). Be sure to check that an "S" meaning daily stage is
not inadvertently in this field; change the "S" to a "D".
16 USGS No (Rvrsta.Gsno) Alphanumeric 10
U.S. Geological Survey stream gage number in the format of RBSSSSXX or RB-SSSS.XX. The
recommended format is RBSSSSXX; the format RB-SSSS.XX, which was used through 1969, is
still acceptable. This field should be blank if the site does not have a USGS number assigned to it.
Your local U.S. Geological Survey office should be able to provide you with a number.
17 Bankfull (Rvrsta.Bf) Numeric
Bankfull stage in feet. Leave blank if the bankfull stage has not been determined. The bankfull
stage should be for the reach of the river defined in the Forecast Point Screen. This value could be
the same as flood stage, but is generally lower.
Bankfull stage is generally the level at which the stream is flowing bank to bank; unusually low
portions along the reach are inundated at the bankfull level. In many areas of the United States,
bankfull level can be reached several times a year. Bankfull can also be the level where peaks
above base discharge are listed in WRD published by the USGS.
18 Check Bar (Rvrsta.Cb) Numeric
The check bar reading of a wire weight stream gage in feet above the zero datum. Normally the
reading is precise to hundredths of feet. Only river stations with a wire weight gage have a check
bar reading. The check bar reading can be obtained on site by a field visit or from a USGS gage
description form.
19 Pool (Rvrsta.Pool) Numeric
Normal pool elevation is for gaging stations located on navigable rivers where there are locks and
dams. If a gage site is located behind a low head dam, a pool stage would likely exist also. The
value represents the normal water pool at this site. For most river gages there will NOT be a pool
stage. In this case, leave the field blank.
20 Action (Rvrsta.Astg) Numeric
This is the action stage for the location. It typically is below flood stage, and is the stage at which
particular attention should be given to the situation at the location such as closing of gates, starting
pumps, etc. A value should be entered; do not leave blank unless absolutely unavoidable. The
action stage is used by the WHFS applications.
21 Tidal Effect (Rvrsta.Tide) Alphanumeric 8
Indicates any tidal effects at the river gage site. Appropriate entries are "None", "Minor",
"Moderate" or "Major". Enter the worse case effect and include desired details in Remarks field
for the River Gage. Tidal effects are common along the coastal areas of the United States. There
are no tidal effects in the interior portion of the United States.
22 BW Effect (Rvrsta.Backwater) Alphanumeric 8
Indication of any backwater effects at the river gage site. Appropriate entries are "None",
"Minor", "Moderate" or "Major". Enter the worse case effect and include desired details in
Remarks field for the River Gage.
The USGS do not generally place their gaging sites in backwater. In flat terrain, backwater effects
can extend for miles. Headwater locations of flood control reservoirs may experience backwater.
River Gage Form - Page 1 (Gage History)
Note: The gage history information allows scrolling through the multiple entries for the current
location.
23 Type (Gage.Eqc) Alphanumeric 10
Types of gaging equipment that have been at the gaging site. These entries should be a history of
equipment at the sites. This will require multiple gage type entries at most river forecast sites. It is
rare that only one type of gage is at a collocated USGS site. For each gage type, all the fields for
the Gage History should be entered. For fields which the information is not known, leave blank.
Type of river gages include: Staff, Wire Weight, Electric Tape, Various Recording Gages, Slope,
Pressure and Sonic. With only 10 characters allotted for this field, some abbreviations will be
necessary. A few suggestions include: "Wire Wt for Wire Weight", "Elec Tape" for Electric Tape
and "Recorder" for devices used to log the time and river stages.
24 Owner (Gage.Owc) Alphanumeric 10
The agency that owns the gage. In the case where the USGS has abandoned a site and the NWS
has taken over, the NWS is the owner of the gage. Typical owners include the Corps of Engineers,
USGS, NWS, Bureau of Reclamation, or state and local entities.
25 Maintained (Gage.Maint) Alphanumeric 10
The agency responsible for maintaining the river gage. It is not unusual for the Corps of Engineers
to own the gage and the USGS to maintain it, or a city or state may own a gage and it will be
maintained by another entity. Abandoned USGS sites taken over by the NWS are maintained by
the NWS.
26 Begin (Gage.Gbegin) Date
The date the gage began service. Enter in the form of mm/dd/yyyy.
27 End (Gage.Gend) Date
The date the gage discontinued service. Enter in the form of mm/dd/yyyy. If the gage is still in
service, leave this field blank.
28 Location (Gage.Gloc) Alphanumeric 255
The exact location of the gage, remarks or comments about this gage. This may include any
recording devices connected to it, comments about the gage or its history and any other pertinent
comments.
River Gage Form - Page 2 (Crest History)
Note: The historical crest information allows scrolling through the multiple entries for the current
location.
29 Stage (Crest.Stgcrst) Numeric
Listing of the significant historical flood crests in feet, to a precision of hundredths of feet if
available. For flood crests which were based on a different datum, they should be converted to the
current datum. In the Crest Remarks field, the stage based on the datum at the time of the flood
and old datum should be listed.
Datums which were changed only in response to survey corrections or changes are immune to this
provision. The conversion is necessary when datum changes were the result of physically raising
or lowering the gage. Frequently, ironing out these distinctions is troublesome, but nonetheless
vital to an accurate history at a gaging site.
This information should be available from the USGS Water Supply data, U.S. Weather Bureau
Daily River Stages, or publications from other agencies. Much of the data for the section is
available on CD-ROM. Care should be taken to insure that information on the flood stages is
accurate and can be proven. Sources of this information should be listed in the References section
of the Forecast Point Form.
If time is short, enter the most significant floods as a start. Be sure to include the record flood and
significant seasonal floods. The WHFS applications use the historical crest information for
inclusion in the formatted products and for general comparison and display purposes.
30 Date (Crest.Datcrst) Date
The date the flood crest occurred. Enter in the form of mm/dd/yyyy. If the month and/or day is
not known, enter a "01" for the month and/or day. Be sure to check that another crest does not
have the same date that you entered for the missing date. If there is another crest with this date,
you must select another day of the month. Include a note about the date uncertainty in the Crest
Remarks field.
31 Time (Crest.Timecrst) Alphanumeric 5
Local time when the crest occurred, using the 2400 hour clock. Use the format HH:MM. Leave
blank if not available.
32 Flow (Crest.Q) Numeric
Discharge in cubic-feet-per-second (CFS). This should only include field discharge measurements
or discharge estimates from the USGS. Do not use a rating curve to obtain a discharge value.
Leave blank if there is no published discharge.
33 Survey (Crest.Hw) Alphanumeric 1
Put an "X" in this column to indicate if high water marks were used to determine the flood crest
height as opposed to a gage reading. Record or significant floods before the river station began
would have been determined from high water marks. Leave blank if gage height was determined
by a river gage.
34 Old Datum (Crest.Old) Alphanumeric 1
Place an "X" in this field to indicate if the gage used to measure the flood had a different datum
from the current datum. In the Crest Remarks field, the stage based on the datum at the time of the
flood and old datum should be listed.
35 Ice Jam (Crest.Jam) Alphanumeric 1
Place an "X" in this column to indicate if the flood crest was the result of ice jamming effects. If
flood debris also cause a significant effect on the crest, also place an "X", and indicate this in the
Crest Remarks field. If there are no ice or debris jamming effects, leave blank.
36 Preliminary (Crest.Prelim) Alphanumeric 1
Indicates whether this entry is preliminary in nature, or has been declared as official by the
appropriate agencies. Many offices update their crest table shortly after a flood event. If this is a
USGS site, an "X" should be entered in this field to mark the crest preliminary. After the USGS
publish the data, change the crest to their value and remove the "X".
37 Suppress (Crest.Suppress) Alphanumeric 1
Place an "X" in this field if it is desirable to suppress the printing of this flood crest on the E-19
picture page. For locations with many crests, printing only the most significant flood crests is
important for quick and easy reference.
38 Rem (Crest.Cremark) Alphanumeric 80
Comments about this flood crest. For flood crests which are based on an old datum, the old datum
and stage based on the old datum should be listed here. For example, a stage of 22.10 feet
occurred in 1965 based on a datum of 191.73 feet. In 1989, the datum was raised 3 feet to its
current level of 194.73 feet. The 1965 flood crest would be 19.10 feet based on the current datum
established in 1989. The entry for this flood in field 32 on this page should be 19.10 feet. In this
section, the remark should be, "Stage measured was 22.10 feet based on old datum of 191.73 feet."
Comments about significant channel improvements and levee affecting later floods should also be
included in this field.
River Gage Form - Page 2 (Remarks)
39 Remarks (Rvrsta.Rremark) Alphanumeric 255
Any general comments about the river gage site. This will appear in the remarks section of the E-19A.
V. Forecast Point Forms
Forecast Point Form - Page 1 (Hydrologic Conditions)
1 Lid (Descrip.Lid) Alphanumeric 8
NWS location identifier.
2 Proximity (Descrip.Prox) Alphanumeric 6
A word describing the relationship of the gage to the location name entered on the location form.
Since the field is only six characters long, the word must be short. Suggested entries are: "at",
"near", "above" or "below". The field is used in the WHFS applications to associate the location
of a station on a river. For example, a descriptive phrase may be used such as
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