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STAR / SMCD / OPDB - NOAA Products Validation System (NPROVS) - NPROVS

NARCS

Download the program

Last Updated: 01/24/2023

Click here to download NARCS
Version (4.11)

*** NOTE: Beginning with version 4.02, it is necessary to include two external libraries within a "lib" directory that is in the same directory as NARCS.jar. If these libraries are not present, NARCS will create them and then display a dialog box that will say that the program needs to be restarted. At that point, close the dialog box and restart the program to resume normal operation.

NARCS Quick Start Guide     Version History

Download the files

NARCS data are available: via anonymous FTP

If your browser does not support use of FTP, try using a FTP client (like WINSCP). Use ftp.star.nesdis.noaa.gov for Host Name, Username = anonymous and Password, if required, your email address. Then, change directory to pub/smcd/opdb/nprovs/narcs

There are several files with qualifiers:

  • Second qualifier indicates whether it is standard NPROVS or NPROVPLUS which is only for a certain set of dedicated RAOB stations
  • Third qualifier indicates a particular RAOB, conus meaning for just N. America region, nrt is Near Real Time, rep means reprocessed (usually for new RAOBS included)
  • Last qualifier is a date indicating last update. These files all start with 20080410 which is when NPROVS was started. NPROVSPLUS did not start till 20130714.

An example is narcs_nprovs_nrt_20190911.dat which is a standard NPROVS Near-Realtime file with data starting on April 10, 2008 and updated on September 11, 2019

NARCS Overview

The NPROVS Archive Statistics (NARCS) program is used to view long-term vertical accuracy statistics for multiple processing systems compared to a common baseline system (radiosondes). Daily, weekly and monthly statistics are generated for bias, standard deviation, root mean square, r-squared and sample size.

NARCS makes it easy to view the historical performance of all systems. It is capable of quickly identifying a variety of features:


NARCS Comparison System Comparison

The relative performance of different systems can be compared for any chosen time period.
NARCS Seasonal
Seasonal Trends

Seasonal trends are easily identifiable.
NARCS Spikes
Occasional Bad Data

If bad or questionable data are present in a system, the results from NARCS will often show the existence of the data. It also makes it easy to isolate individual days with bad data to make it easier to track down the problem.
NARCS Sudden Problem
Sudden Problems

Negative changes in the performance of a system can be seen using NARCS.
NARCS Improvement
Performance Improvements

When changes to a system result in positive improvements in system performance, NARCS can verify the results.


Installing and Running NARCS

NARCS is a Java program. As such, it can be run on any system on which Java has been installed including Windows, Mac OS X, Linux and others. Installing the program is typically as simple as copying the NARCS.jar file (linked above) to a folder on a local computer. The icon can then be double-clicked to run it.

More information about running NARCS can be found in the NARCS User's Guide and the NARCS Quick Start Guide