METAR conditions display

This package of scripts is designed for standalone (outside the Saratoga AJAX/PHP template set) use. The equivalent function is already built in to the wxmetar.php page in the template set.

It uses two of the built-in functions from the template set:
get-metar-conditions-inc.php
include-metar-display.php
so to have easy maintenance for future releases of those two scripts, it is strongly recommended you not modify them. All needed customization can be performed in the metar-display.php script.

Version 1.18 of the script offers a choice of data source for the raw METAR. The default source is tgftp.nws.noaa.gov for the most current data. An alternate source from api.weather.gov may be used, but is likely to have more 'stale' data than the tgftp.nws.noaa.gov primary service. Enable the alternate source in get-metar-conditions-inc.php by:

$useMetarAPI = true;

or in a Settings.php (Saratoga template) by:

$SITE['useMetarAPI'] = true;

Settings inside metar-display.php sample page

// Customize this list with your nearby METARs by
// using http://saratoga-weather.org/wxtemplates/find-metar.php to create the list below

$MetarList = array( // set this list to your local METARs
// Metar(ICAO) | Name of station | dist-mi | dist-km | direction |
  'KNUQ|Moffett Nas/Mtn, California, USA|9|14|N|', // lat=37.4000,long=-122.0500, elev=12, dated=28-FEB-12
  'KSJC|San Jose, California, USA|9|14|NE|', // lat=37.3667,long=-121.9167, elev=24, dated=28-FEB-12
  'KRHV|San Jose/Reid, California, USA|12|19|ENE|', // lat=37.3167,long=-121.8167, elev=41, dated=28-FEB-12
  'KPAO|Palo Alto, California, USA|14|23|NNW|', // lat=37.4667,long=-122.1167, elev=2, dated=28-FEB-12
  'KSQL|San Carlos Airpo, California, USA|21|34|NW|', // lat=37.5167,long=-122.2500, elev=1, dated=28-FEB-12
  'KWVI|Watsonville, California, USA|27|44|SSE|', // lat=36.9333,long=-121.7833, elev=43, dated=28-FEB-12
  'KHWD|Hayward, California, USA|28|44|N|', // lat=37.6667,long=-122.1167, elev=21, dated=28-FEB-12
  'KSFO|San Francisco, California, USA|30|49|NW|', // lat=37.6167,long=-122.3667, elev=3, dated=28-FEB-12
  'KHAF|Half Moon Bay, California, USA|31|50|WNW|', // lat=37.5167,long=-122.5000, elev=21, dated=28-FEB-12
  'KOAK|Oakland, California, USA|31|50|NNW|', // lat=37.7000,long=-122.2167, elev=26, dated=28-FEB-12
  'KLVK|Livermore, California, USA|31|51|NNE|', // lat=37.7000,long=-121.8167, elev=117, dated=28-FEB-12
  'KCVH|Hollister Muni, California, USA|42|68|SE|', // lat=36.9000,long=-121.4167, elev=70, dated=28-FEB-12
  'KSNS|Salinas, California, USA|48|77|SSE|', // lat=36.6667,long=-121.6000, elev=30, dated=28-FEB-12
  'KMRY|Monterey, California, USA|49|78|SSE|', // lat=36.5833,long=-121.8500, elev=66, dated=28-FEB-12
  'KCCR|Concord, California, USA|50|81|N|', // lat=38.0000,long=-122.0500, elev=11, dated=28-FEB-12
// list generated Wed, 09-Jan-2013 4:39pm PST at http://saratoga-weather.org/wxtemplates/find-metar.php
);
$maxAge = 75*60; // max age for metar in seconds = 75 minutes
#
$SITE['cacheFileDir']   =  './cache/';   // directory to use for scripts cache files .. use './' for doc.root.dir
$SITE['tz'] 			= 'America/Los_Angeles'; //NOTE: this *MUST* be set correctly to
// translate UTC times to your LOCAL time for the displays.
//  http://us.php.net/manual/en/timezones.php  has the list of timezone names
//  pick the one that is closest to your location and put in $SITE['tz'] like:
//    $SITE['tz'] = 'America/Los_Angeles';  // or
//    $SITE['tz'] = 'Europe/Brussels';
$SITE['timeFormat'] = 'D, d-M-Y g:ia T';  // Day, 31-Mar-2006 6:35pm Tz  (USA Style)
$SITE['latitude']		= '37.27153397';    //North=positive, South=negative decimal degrees
$SITE['longitude']		= '-122.02274323';  //East=positive, West=negative decimal degrees

$condIconDir = './metar-images/';  // directory for metar-images with trailing slash
$SITE['fcsticonstype'] = '.jpg'; // default type='.jpg'
#                                // use '.gif' for animated icons from # http://www.meteotreviglio.com/
$SITE['uomTemp'] = '°F';  // ='°C', ='°F'
$SITE['uomBaro'] = ' inHg';   // =' hPa', =' inHg'
$SITE['uomWind'] = ' mph';    // =' km/h', =' mph'
$SITE['uomRain'] = ' in';     // =' mm', =' in'
$SITE['uomDistance'] = ' mi'; // =' mi' or =' km'
// end of customizations

**$MetarList = array( ... );**

This array of elements controls which METAR sites will be displayed. Generate this list from the find-metar https://saratoga-weather.org/wxtemplates/find-metar.php utility and copy the customized output to replace the contents of the sample above.

**$maxAge**

This is the number of seconds to use to determine the maximum age of the METAR report to display. The default is 75*60 = 75 minutes (which is reasonable given that METAR observations are usually posted hourly).

**$SITE['cacheFileDir']**

This specifies the directory to use to store the raw METAR observations. The default is './cache/'.

**$SITE['tz']**

This specifies the valid PHP timezone to use. Visit https://us.php.net/manual/en/timezones.php for the proper value for your timezone.

**$SITE['timeFormat']**

This specifies the output format for the times displayed. Use the PHP date format descriptors to change this.

**$SITE['latitude']**

The decimal latitude of your location. use positive number for Northern Hemisphere and negative number for Southern Hemisphere.

**$SITE['longitude']**

The decimal longitude of your location. Use positive number for East of GMT (Europe, etc) and negative number for West of GMT (Americas, etc).

**$condIconDir**

This specifies the relative location of the metar-images directory. Default is './metar-images/'

**$SITE['fcsticonstype']**

This specifies the type of icon to use. Default is '.jpg' for the NOAA-style picture condition icons. Use '.gif' for the animated GIF icons from meteotreviglio.com

**$SITE['uomTemp']**

This specifies the units for temperature display. Valid values are: ='\°C' for Centigrade (will also cause cloud heights to display in meters) ='°F' for Fahrenheit (will also cause cloud heights to display in feet and temperatures in both F and C)

**$SITE['uomBaro']**

This specifies the units for barometric pressure. Valid values are: =' hPa' for hecto-Pascals (World) (display only hPa ) =' inHg' for inches of mercury (USA) (will result in dual inHg and hPa displays)

**$SITE['uomWind']**

This specifies the units for wind speed. Valid values are: =' km/h' for kilometers-per-hour (World) (will result in km/h only displays) =' mph' for miles-per-hour (USA,UK) (will result in dual mph and km/h displays)

**$SITE['uomRain']**

This specifies the units for precipitation (not reported by METAR stations, but included for completeness). Valid values are: =' mm' for millimeters =' in' for inches

**$SITE['uomDistance']**

This specifies the units for distance (used for visibility reporting). Valid values are: =' km' for kilometers (will result in km-only displays) =' mi' for miles. (will result in dual mi and km displays)

Sample output