This script set gets buoy data from www.ndbc.noaa.gov and formats a placefile for GRLevelX software to display icons for buoys, and mouse-over popups with text for the current observation from the buoy.
One script is to run via cron to gather the data routinely (get-buoy-data.php).
The buoys.php script is to be accessed by including the website URL in the GRLevelX placefile manager window.
This script reads the two files from www.ndbc.noaa.gov and creates
- buoy-info-inc.php file which contains the parsed and formatted metadata for each buoy and
- buoy-data-inc.php file which contains the parsed and formatted observation data for each buoy.
It should be run by cron every 5 minutes to keep the data current. Keep in mind that many buoys report only once per hour so loading more often won't result in 'new' data.
This script generates a GRLevelX placefile from the buoy-info-inc.php and buoy-data-inc.php files on demand by a GRLevel3 instance. It will return buoy icons with popup info for each buoy within 250 miles of the current radar selected in GRLevel3. It requires the following files:
- buoy-info-inc.php (produced by get-buoy-data.php for the current buoy metadata)
- buoy-data-inc.php (produced by get-buoy-data.php for the current buoy observation data)
The script uses 2 icon files: buoy-icons.png, windbarbs-kt-white.png
If you run the script for debugging in a browser, add ?version=1.5&dpi=96&lat={latitude}&lon={longitude} to
the buoys.php URL so it knows what to select for display.
Additional documentation is in each script for further modification convenience.
Upload the following files in a directory under the document root of your website. (We used 'placefiles' in the examples below)
- get-buoy-data.php
- buoys.php
- windbarbs-kt-white.png
- buoy-icons.png
Set up cron to run get-buoy-data.php like:
*/5 * 1 * * * cd $HOME/public_html/buoy-placefile;php -q get-buoy-data.php > buoy-status.txt 2>&1
be sure to change the public_html/buoy-placefile to the directory where you installed the scripts.
Run the script once (to generate data) by https://your.website.com/buoy-placefile/get-buoy-data.php
That will show
get-buoy-data.php V1.00 - 24-Sep-2023 - webmaster@saratoga-weather.org
.. Loaded https://www.ndbc.noaa.gov/activestations.xml which has 264383 bytes.
.. saved XML to activestations.xml
.. activestations.xml created='2023-09-24T14:50:01UTC' buoy count='1323'
.. buoy counts by type
372 buoy
67 dart
688 fixed
55 oilrig
89 other
51 tao
1 usv
.. saved buoy-info-inc.php with 1325 entries (includes 2 legend entries).
.. Loaded https://www.ndbc.noaa.gov/data/latest_obs/latest_obs.txt which has 105434 bytes.
.. saved raw TXT data to latest_obs.txt.
.. saved buoy-data-inc.php with 884 buoy entries.
.. Done
Then you can test the metar-placefile script by using your browser to go to
https://your.website.com/buoy-placefile/buoys.php?version=1.5&dpi=96&lat=37.0&lon=-122.0
If that returns a placefile, then add your placefile URL into the GRLevelX placefile manager window.
Sample buoys.php output:
; placefile with conditions generated by buoys.php V1.00 - 24-Sep-2023 - webmaster@saratoga-weather.org
; Generated on Sun, 24 Sep 2023 14:53:05 +0000
;
Title: NDBC Buoy Observations - Sun, 24 Sep 2023 14:53:05 +0000 - Saratoga-Weather.org
Refresh: 5
Color: 255 255 255
Font: 1, 12, 1, Arial
IconFile: 1, 19, 43, 2, 43, windbarbs-kt-white.png
IconFile: 2, 17, 17, 8, 8, buoy-icons.png
Threshold: 999
; generate 41013 Frying Pan Shoals, NC at 33.441,-77.764 at 248 miles S
Object: 33.441,-77.764
Threshold: 999
Icon: 0,0,210,1,2
Text: -17, 13, 1, 78
Color: 0 148 255
Text: -17, -13, 1, 79
Color: 255 255 255
Icon: 0,0,000,2,2,"BUOY 41013 Frying Pan Shoals, NC\n (33.441,-77.764)\n----------------------------------------------------------\nTime: Sunday, Sep 24 (14:10Z)\nTair: 77.9F (25.5C)\nTdew: 69.4F (20.8C)\nTwtr: 78.8F (26.0C)\nWind: SSW 9 mph (14 km/h, 8 kt)\n gust 11 mph (18 km/h, 10 kt)\nPres: 29.96 inHg (1014.6 hPa)\nAPD: 5.5 sec\nWvDir: ESE\n\nPgm: NDBC Meteorological/Ocean\nOwner: NDBC\n----------------------------------------------------------"
End:
; generate 41024 Sunset Nearshore, NC (SUN2) at 33.837,-78.477 at 233 miles SSW
Object: 33.837,-78.477
Threshold: 999
Icon: 0,0,70,1,1
Text: -17, 13, 1, 73
Color: 0 148 255
Text: -17, -13, 1, 76
Color: 255 255 255
Icon: 0,0,000,2,2,"BUOY 41024 Sunset Nearshore, NC (SUN2)\n (33.837,-78.477)\n----------------------------------------------------------\nTime: Sunday, Sep 24 (13:08Z)\nTair: 72.5F (22.5C)\nTdew: 68.2F (20.1C)\nTwtr: 75.6F (24.2C)\nWind: ENE 7 mph (11 km/h, 6 kt)\n gust 9 mph (14 km/h, 8 kt)\nPres: 29.94 inHg (1013.9 hPa)\n\nPgm: IOOS Partners\nOwner: CORMP\n----------------------------------------------------------"
End:
Special thanks to Mike Davis, W1ARN of the National Weather Service, Nashville TN office for his testing/feedback during development.
