C.12.4.1 GENERAL
C.12.4.2 EXISTING UNIVERSAL GEOGRAPHIC CODE
C.12.4.3 NEW UNIVERSAL GEOGRAPHIC CODE
C.12.4 Universal Geographic Code (UGC)
C.12.4.1 General
The Universal Geographic Code (UGC) is a site specific identifier used for warnings, watches, forecasts, and any other products needing geographic coding to assist in site-specific distribution. The "existing UGC" will be phased out by the National Weather Service and will be replaced by a "new UGC" which will be consistent with the ability of weather products to identify more localized areas within a county to which the forecast/warning applies. This section describes the characteristics of both the "existing UGC" and the "new UGC."
C.12.4.2 Existing Universal Geographic Code
C.12.4.2.1 Existing UGC Code Format and Elements
In the existing UGC, the format consists of 6 alphanumeric characters followed by a purge date/time in UTC. Each code group (including date/time) is ended by a dash (-). There are two variations to the code: one version uses a "C" for the third character and is for products issued on a county-by-county basis (mainly short-fused warnings); the other uses a "Z" for the third character, and is for products issued for unique NWS zone(s) or for part or all of a state(s).
C.12.4.2.2 Explanation of UGC Code Elements
SSCNNN-DDHHMM- For Short -Fuse Warnings and follow-up Severe Local Storm Watch Area Outlines (by county redefinition);
or
SSZNNN-DDHHMM- For Severe Local Storm Watches, Longer-Fuse Watches and Warnings, Public Forecast, Marine Forecasts and Warnings, etc.
where:
SS is the Two letter state or Great Lakes I.D.
C indicates that the number NNN that follows represents a county or independent city, or
Z The NNN that follows represents a unique NWS zone (land or water) or part or all of a state (or Great Lake).
NNN (After "C"), the number of the county/city(1), or
(After "Z"), the number of the zone or part or all of a state(2)
DD is the purge Date (UTC)
HH Is the purge hour (UTC)
MM is the purge Minutes (UTC)
- is the code separator/end of address
C.12.4.2.3 Examples of Warnings in the existing UGC
(A) Examples For Individual Counties/Cities
Code County/City
(1) MEC003- Aroostook County, Maine
(2) KYC101- Henderson County, Kentucky
(3) C0C041- El Paso, Colorado
(4) VAC760- Richmond, Virginia (politically independent city)
(5) MOC510- St. Louis, Missouri (politically independent city)
(B) More Than One County In Same State
If a warning is for more than one county in the same state, the appropriate county number(s) will be added (with each group separated by a dash). Note that the "SSC" does not need to proceed each county number set after the first grouping.
Also, the county number sets do not have to be in numerical sequence.
Example:
ILC043-089-031-191650- Warning for DuPage, Kane and Cook Counties, Illinois; expires on 19th of the month at 1650 UTC.
(C) County(s) In More Than One State
If a warning is for counties in more than one state, the appropriate state I.D. and county numbers will be added.
Example
SDC127-NEC043-173-IAC193-149-040030- Warning for Union County, South Dakota; Gakota and Thurston Counties, Nebraska; and Woodbury and Plymouth Counties, Iowa; expires on the 4th of the month at 0030 UTC>
C.12.4.2.4 Examples of Watches in the existing UGC
Severe storm watches issued by the SPC cover large areas, frequently containing (parts of) several states. Since so many counties would be involved in using the "C" form, watches, instead, will use the "Z" form of the geographic code, allowing large areas to be encompassed in one code grouping. (Severe Local Storm Watch Area Outlines issued by local offices after the SPC watch, list counties and use the "C" form.)
For implementation of the code in watches, the NNN following the "Z" will be three zeros "000". The SSZ000 is used to designate any part or all of a state which falls within the watch area.
(A) Examples Of Codes For Individual States
Code State
(1) CAZ000- (All or any part of) California
(2) TXZ000- (All or any part of) Texas
(3) VAZ000- (All or any part of) Virginia
(B) Examples Of Actual Code For More Than One State
SCZ000-GAZ000-FLZ000-160200- Watch area encompasses (all or parts of) South Carolina, Georgia, and Florida, and expires on the 16th of the month at 0200 UTC (10 PM EDT on the 15th).
Note that the code will not refer to coastal waters. The phrase "And Adjacent Coastal Waters," however, will be found in the text of the Watch, as appropriate.
(C) The Great Lakes will be Coded
Code State
(1) LSZ000- (All or any part of) Lake Superior
(2) LMZ000- (All or any part of) Lake Michigan
(3) LHZ000- (All or any part of) Lake Huron
(4) LEZ000- (All or any part of) Lake Erie
(5) LOZ000- (All or any part of) Lake Ontario
Example including Great Lakes:
WIZ000-MIZ000-LSZ000-LMZ000-022315-
Watch area encompasses ( all or parts of) Wisconsin, Michigan, and (all or parts of) Lake Superior and Lake Michigan; expires on the 2nd of the month at 2315 UTC (615 PM CDT).
C.12.4.2.5 Existing Universal Geographic Code Placement
The composition and total number of lines of the communication headers of Warnings and Watches (and any other messages) will vary according to the circuits through which they are disseminated, e.g., Family of Services, NOAA Weather Wire Service (NWWS), etc.
The placement of the UGC code will occur in either of two formats:
(1) For those products that contain only one narrative text (e.g., warnings, watches, statements, and certain state [1- 5 days] forecasts, etc.), the UGC code will always be found immediately after the WMO line of the communications header (see examples).
(2) For those products that contain two or more narrative texts under
one AFOS/WMO identifier (e.g., zone, short term, marine, forecasts, and
certain state forecasts), the UGC code will be found not after the WMO
line as in (1) above, but a separate UGC code will be found immediately
before each narrative text with a $$ (double dollar sign) immediately following
each narrative text.
C.12.4.2.5.1 Samples of UGC Placement Format 1
Sample Warning Message
| AFOS** | STLSVRMCI | ||||
| WMO(DUMMY) | TTAAØØ KMCI 251531 | ||||
| UGC CODE | KSC103-209-MOCO47-165-251600- | ||||
| BLANK LINE | |||||
| MND LINES | BULLETIN-IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED | ||||
| SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING | |||||
| NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE KANSAS CITY M0 | |||||
| 1029 AM CDT TUE JUN 25 1985 | |||||
| BLANK LINE | |||||
| WARNING STATEMENT | THE NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE HAS ISSUED A SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNING EFFECTIVE UNTIL 1100 AM CDT FOR PEOPLE IN THE FOLLOWING COUNTIES OF | ||||
| BLANK LINE | |||||
| COUNTIES AFFECTED | NORTHEAST KANSAS...EASTERN LEAVENWORTH ... | ||||
| AND WYANDOTTE | |||||
| WEST CENTRAL MISSOURI...WESTERN CLAY...AND PLATTE | |||||
| BLANK LINE | |||||
| BASIS FOR WARNING ETC. | AT 1025 AM CDT...RADAR SHOWED A LINE OF SEVERE THUNDERSTORM FROM...REST OF TEXT... | ||||
Sample Watch Message
| AFOS | MKCSEL2 |
| WMO | TTAAØØ KMKC 301701 |
| UGC CODE | NEZ000-KSZ000-MOZ000-IAZ000-ILZ000-010023- |
| BLANK LINE | |
| MND LINES BULLETIN-IMMEDIATE BROADCAST REQUESTED | |
| TORNADO WATCH NUMBER 992 | |
| STORM PREDICTION CENTER, NORMAN, OK | |
| 1201 PM CDT MON SEP 30 1985 | |
| BLANK LINE | |
| TEXT | THE STORM PREDICTION CENTER HAS ISSUED A TORNADO WATCH FOR PORTIONS OF EASTERN NEBRASKA NORTHEASTERN KANSASNORTHERN AND CENTRAL MISSOURI SOUTHERN IOWAEXTREME WEST CENTRAL ILLINOIS FROM 415 PM CDT UNTIL 723 PM CDT THIS MONDAY AFTERNOON AND EVENING. |
| TORNADOES...LARGE HAIL...DANGEROUS LIGHTNING AND DAMAGING THUNDERSTORM WINDS ARE POSSIBLE IN THESE AREAS. | |
| THE TORNADO WATCH AREA IS ALONG AND 70 STATUTE MILES EITHER SIDE OF A LINE FROM GRAND ISLAND NEBRASKA TO SAINT LOUIS MISSOURI. | |
| C.12.4.2.5.2 Example of UGC Placement Format 2: Sample Public Zone Forecast Product | |
| AFOS** | BOSZFPRI |
| WMO(DUMMY) | TTAAØØ KBOS 170800 |
| BLANK LINE | |
| MND LINES | RHODE ISLAND ZONE FORECASTS |
| NATIONAL WEATHER SERVICE TAUNTON MA | |
| 357 AM EDT FRI OCT 17 1997 | |
| BLANK LINE | |
| UGC CODE | RIZ001>005-171900- |
| Area Affected | BRISTOL-EASTERN KENT-NORTHWEST PROVIDENCE-SOUTHEAST PROVIDENCE-WESTERN
KENT-
INCLUDING THE CITIES OF...WOONSOCKEDT...PROVIDENCE...WARWICK |
| Current Time/Date | 357 AM EDT FRI OCT 17 1997 |
| BLANK LINE | |
| TEXT | .TODAY...MOSTLY SUNNY AND COOL. HIGH 55 TO 60. NORTH WIND 10 MPH.
.TONIGHT...MOSTLY CLEAR THEN INCREASING CLOUDINESS LATE. LOW RANGING FROM NEAR 40 IN THE URBAN CENTERS TO THE MID 30'S IN THE COUNTRYSIDE. LIGHT NORTH WIND. .SATURDAY...MOSTLY CLOUDY. HIGH 55 TO 60. |
| BLANK LINE | |
| $$ | |
| UGC CODE | RIZ006-007-171900- |
| MND | NEWPORT-WASHINGTON...BLOCK ISLAND-INCLUDING THE CITY OF...NEWPORT
357 AM EDT FRI OCT 17 1997 |
| BLANK LINE | |
| TEXT | .TODAY...MOSTLY SUNNY AND COOL. HIGH 55 TO 60. NORTH WIND 10 TO 15
MPH.
.TONIGHT...MOSTLY CLEAR WITH INCREASING CLOUDINESS LATE. LOW 40 TO 454. .SATURDAY...MOSTLY CLOUDY. HIGH NEAR 55. |
| $$ | |
C.12.4.3 New Universal Geographic Code (New UGC)
C.12.4.3.1 New UGC Code Format and Elements
In the new Universal Geographic Code (UGC), the basic format consists of 6 alphanumeric characters for the first code group, followed by a dash (-), and then followed either by the purge date/time in UTC (in the case where only one state and/or county applies), or, in the case of multiple states, counties, or parts thereof, one set of 4 alphanumeric characters for each of these entities, followed by a dash (-), and finally by the purge date/time in UTC. Thus, as described above, in a single watch or warning, there may be multiple state IDS and multiple county FIPS codes.
C.12.4.3.2 Explanation of New UGC Elements
The five elements that comprise the specific new UGC are as follows:
SS is the State ID(The two alpha-character Federal designation for each state), or in the case of marine areas, it is the Ocean or Great Lake ID.
P is the Part of County indicator (1 - 9; 0 indicates the entire county). The Part of County designation will be unique for each county. In the case of marine areas, it is the part of the marine area.
NNN indicates the County FIPS#, as specified in FIPS PUB 55; Codes For Named Populated Places and Related Entities of the States of the United States, current volume. In the case of marine areas, it is the marine area number.
DDHHMM is the Purge of the watch or warning date/time (hour, minute) in UTC
- is the County/Marine Area separator, and End of Code symbol
C.12.4.3.3 New UGC Format - Geographic Examples
Geographic examples of the new UGC format are:
(a) Single State & County: ssPnnn-DDHHMM-
(b) Single State, Multiple County: ssPnnn-Pnnn-Pnnn-DDHHMM-
(c) Multiple State & Multiple County: ssPnnn-Pnnn-ssPnnn-Pnnn-DDHHMM-
C.12.4.3.4 New UGC Format - Specific Examples
Specific examples of the new UGC format are:
(a) KS7167-120730-
Part 7 of Russell County, Kansas, expires on the 12th day at 7:30 UTC.
(b) MD0031-6033-222200-
In the state of Maryland, all of Montgomery county, and part 6 of Prince Georges county, expires on the 22nd day, at 22:00 UTC.
(c) IL5093-7169-IN8045-0055-050530-
In the state of Illinois, part 5 of Kendall county and part 7 of Schuyler
county; in the state of Indiana, part 8 of Fountain county and all of Greene
county; expires on the 5th day, at 5:30 UTC.
C.12.4.3.5 New UGC Placement
The structure of the communication message for Warnings and Watches will be the same and will dictate the placement of the UGC code line(s). The nominal structure is as follows with the UGC in bold:
Start of Message ZCZC
Comms Header WMO Header
Blank Line
Product Header MND Lines
Blank Line
UGC Line(s) State (or Ocean/Great Lake),Part of County, FIPS# (or marine area)
(Optional Plain Names of Counties (or other areas).
language descriptors)
Text Text of Warning or Watch
Blank Line
End of Text $$
Blank Line
UGC Line(s) State, (or Ocean/Great Lake),Part of County, FIPS#(or marine area)
(Optional Plain language descriptors)
Text
Text of Warning or Watch
Blank Line
End of Text $$
Blank Line
End of Message NNNN
For more details on the Message Header Description, see Section C.12.3.
EXISTING UGC NEW UGC
| UGC Element | Element Description | UGC Element | Element Description | |
| SS | State ID; two alpha characters, Federal designation | SS | State ID; two alpha characters, Federal designationor Ocean/Great Lake ID. | |
| C
or Z |
C means that the following NNN is a County or
independent city. Z means that the following NNN is an NWS Zone or part or all of a State |
P | Part of County (or marine area) Indicator (1-9), or 0 for entire county. | |
| NNN | for C means County FIPS#; specified in FIPS Pub 55;
for Z means the number of the Zone or part or all of a State |
NNN | County FIPS#; specified in FIPS Pub 55 (or marine area number). | |
| DDHHMM | Purge of watch/warning;day,hour,minute in UTC | DDHHMM | Purge of watch/warning;day,hour,minute in UTC | |
| - | Code separator or end of address | - | County/Marine Area separator, and End of Code symbol |
1. The county (or politically independent city not in a county) is represented by a Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS) number, issued by the Census Bureau. Each county/independent city within a state has a unique FIPS number (001, 003, etc.) although the numbers are repeated from state to state.
2. For the UGC code in Severe Local Storm Watches, the NNN will be set to 000. For combined Severe Local Storm and Special Marine Warnings, both the SSCNNN- and the SSZNNN- groups of the UGC will be used.
National Weather Service