bomrang

Introduction

bomrang provides functions for interacting with Australian Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) Weather Data Services forecasts. BoM serves several types of data data as XML, JSON and SHTML files. This package fetches these files, parses them and return a tidy data frame. Satellite imagery files are also made available to the public via anonymous ftp. bomrang provides functionality to query, fetch and create raster::stack() objects of the GeoTIFF imagery.

Using bomrang

Several functions are provided by bomrang to retrieve Australian Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) data. A family of functions retrieve weather data and return tidy data frames; get_precis_forecast(), which retrieves the précis (short) forecast; get_current_weather(), which fetches the current weather from a given station; get_ag_bulletin(), which retrieves the agriculture bulletin; and get_weather_bulletin() which fetches the 0900 and 1500 weather bulletins. A second family of functions retrieve information pertaining to satellite imagery, get_available_imagery() and the imagery itself, get_satellite_imagery(). The last group functions provides internal functionality for bomrang itself; update_forecast_towns(), which updates an internal database of forecast locations distributed with the package, sweep_for_stations() which returns the nearest weather stations to a point in Australia and, manage_cache() that provides facilities for managing cached satellite imagery.

Using `get_current_weather`

get_current_weather() takes one of two arguments: station_name and latlon, returning the current weather observations (and the observations of the last 72 hours) for the given location.

If station_name is used, the weather observations for the last 72 hours are returned for that station. If the string provided is ambiguous, the function returns an observation for one of the possible stations and emits a warning to offer unambiguous station names.

If latlon is used, the observations returned are from the station nearest to that latitude-longitude coordinate. latlon values are entered as decimal degrees, e.g. -34, 151 for Sydney. The function also emits a message, to tell the user which station was used.

Results

The table returned will have different fields depending on the station that is selected.

Example

Following is an example fetching the current weather for Melbourne.

library("bomrang")

## 
## Data (c) Australian Government Bureau of Meteorology,
## Creative Commons (CC) Attribution 3.0 licence or
## Public Access Licence (PAL) as appropriate.
## See http://www.bom.gov.au/other/copyright.shtml

Melbourne_weather <- get_current_weather("Melbourne (Olympic Park)")
head(Melbourne_weather)

##   sort_order   wmo                full_name history_product
## 1          0 95936 Melbourne (Olympic Park)        IDV60801
## 2          1 95936 Melbourne (Olympic Park)        IDV60801
## 3          2 95936 Melbourne (Olympic Park)        IDV60801
## 4          3 95936 Melbourne (Olympic Park)        IDV60801
## 5          4 95936 Melbourne (Olympic Park)        IDV60801
## 6          5 95936 Melbourne (Olympic Park)        IDV60801
##   local_date_time local_date_time_full        aifstime_utc      lat
## 1      15/08:30am  2017-12-15 08:30:00 2017-12-14 21:30:00 -37.8255
## 2      15/08:00am  2017-12-15 08:00:00 2017-12-14 21:00:00 -37.8255
## 3      15/07:30am  2017-12-15 07:30:00 2017-12-14 20:30:00 -37.8255
## 4      15/07:00am  2017-12-15 07:00:00 2017-12-14 20:00:00 -37.8255
## 5      15/06:30am  2017-12-15 06:30:00 2017-12-14 19:30:00 -37.8255
## 6      15/06:00am  2017-12-15 06:00:00 2017-12-14 19:00:00 -37.8255
##        lon apparent_t cloud cloud_base_m cloud_oktas cloud_type
## 1 144.9816       17.3     -           NA          NA          -
## 2 144.9816       16.1     -           NA          NA          -
## 3 144.9816       16.0     -           NA          NA          -
## 4 144.9816       15.6     -           NA          NA          -
## 5 144.9816       15.1     -           NA          NA          -
## 6 144.9816       14.8     -           NA          NA          -
##   cloud_type_id delta_t gust_kmh gust_kt air_temp dewpt  press press_msl
## 1            NA     4.1       13       7     18.4  10.8 1013.1    1013.1
## 2            NA     3.9       15       8     17.7  10.3 1012.9    1012.9
## 3            NA     3.5       13       7     17.1  10.5 1012.8    1012.8
## 4            NA     3.0       11       6     16.5  10.8 1012.7    1012.7
## 5            NA     1.4        0       0     14.5  12.0 1012.5    1012.5
## 6            NA     1.5        0       0     14.3  11.5 1012.4    1012.4
##   press_qnh press_tend rain_trace rel_hum sea_state swell_dir_worded
## 1    1013.1          -          0      61         -                -
## 2    1012.9          -          0      62         -                -
## 3    1012.8          -          0      65         -                -
## 4    1012.7          -          0      69         -                -
## 5    1012.5          -          0      85         -                -
## 6    1012.4          -          0      83         -                -
##   swell_height swell_period vis_km weather wind_dir wind_spd_kmh
## 1           NA           NA     10       -       SE            7
## 2           NA           NA     10       -      ESE            9
## 3           NA           NA     10       -       SE            7
## 4           NA           NA     10       -       SE            6
## 5           NA           NA     10       -     CALM            0
## 6           NA           NA     10       -     CALM            0
##   wind_spd_kt
## 1           4
## 2           5
## 3           4
## 4           3
## 5           0
## 6           0

Using `get_precis_forecast`

This function only takes one argument, state. The state parameter allows the user to select the forecast for just one state or a national forecast. States or territories are specified using the official postal codes or full name with fuzzy matching performed via agrep()

ACT - Australian Capital Territory
NSW - New South Wales
NT - Northern Territory
QLD - Queensland
SA - South Australia
TAS - Tasmania
VIC - Victoria
WA - Western Australia
AUS - Australia, returns national forecast including all states, NT and ACT.

Results

The function, get_precis_forecast(), will return a data frame of the weather forecast for the daily forecast for selected towns. See Appendix 1 for a full description of the fields and values.

Example

Following is an example fetching the forecast for Queensland.

library("bomrang")

QLD_forecast <- get_precis_forecast(state = "QLD")
head(QLD_forecast)

##   index product_id state     town       aac      lat      lon elev
## 1     0   IDQ11295   QLD Brisbane QLD_PT001 -27.4808 153.0389  8.1
## 2     1   IDQ11295   QLD Brisbane QLD_PT001 -27.4808 153.0389  8.1
## 3     2   IDQ11295   QLD Brisbane QLD_PT001 -27.4808 153.0389  8.1
## 4     3   IDQ11295   QLD Brisbane QLD_PT001 -27.4808 153.0389  8.1
## 5     4   IDQ11295   QLD Brisbane QLD_PT001 -27.4808 153.0389  8.1
## 6     5   IDQ11295   QLD Brisbane QLD_PT001 -27.4808 153.0389  8.1
##      start_time_local end_time_local UTC_offset      start_time_utc
## 1 2017-12-15 05:00:00     2017-12-16      10:00 2017-12-14 19:00:00
## 2 2017-12-16 00:00:00     2017-12-17      10:00 2017-12-15 14:00:00
## 3 2017-12-17 00:00:00     2017-12-18      10:00 2017-12-16 14:00:00
## 4 2017-12-18 00:00:00     2017-12-19      10:00 2017-12-17 14:00:00
## 5 2017-12-19 00:00:00     2017-12-20      10:00 2017-12-18 14:00:00
## 6 2017-12-20 00:00:00     2017-12-21      10:00 2017-12-19 14:00:00
##          end_time_utc minimum_temperature maximum_temperature
## 1 2017-12-15 14:00:00                  NA                  30
## 2 2017-12-16 14:00:00                  21                  31
## 3 2017-12-17 14:00:00                  20                  31
## 4 2017-12-18 14:00:00                  21                  30
## 5 2017-12-19 14:00:00                  21                  31
## 6 2017-12-20 14:00:00                  20                  32
##   lower_precipitation_limit upper_precipitation_limit         precis
## 1                        NA                        NA  Mostly sunny.
## 2                         0                       0.4 Partly cloudy.
## 3                        NA                        NA Partly cloudy.
## 4                        NA                        NA Partly cloudy.
## 5                        NA                        NA  Mostly sunny.
## 6                        NA                        NA         Sunny.
##   probability_of_precipitation
## 1                           30
## 2                           31
## 3                           31
## 4                           30
## 5                           31
## 6                           32

Using `get_ag_bulletin`

get_ag_bulletin() only takes one argument, state. The state parameter allows the user to select the bulletin for just one state or a national forecast. States or territories are specified using the official postal codes or full name with fuzzy matching performed via agrep().

NSW - New South Wales
NT - Northern Territory
QLD - Queensland
SA - South Australia
TAS - Tasmania
VIC - Victoria
WA - Western Australia
AUS - Australia, returns bulletin for all states and NT.

Results

The function, get_ag_bulletin(), will return a data frame of the agriculture bulletin for selected stations. See Appendix 3 for a full list and description of the fields and values.

Example

Following is an example fetching the ag bulletin for Queensland.

library("bomrang")

QLD_bulletin <- get_ag_bulletin(state = "QLD")
head(QLD_bulletin)

##   product_id state dist   wmo  site          station          full_name
## 1   IDQ60604   QLD   38 95482 38026       Birdsville BIRDSVILLE AIRPORT
## 2   IDQ60604   QLD   38 94333 38003           Boulia     BOULIA AIRPORT
## 3   IDQ60604   QLD   40 94578 40842 Brisbane Airport      BRISBANE AERO
## 4   IDQ60604   QLD   39 94387 39128        Bundaberg     BUNDABERG AERO
## 5   IDQ60604   QLD   31 94287 31011           Cairns        CAIRNS AERO
## 6   IDQ60604   QLD   44 94510 44021      Charleville   CHARLEVILLE AERO
##        obs_time_local        obs_time_utc
## 1 2017-12-14 09:00:00 2017-12-13 23:00:00
## 2 2017-12-14 09:00:00 2017-12-13 23:00:00
## 3 2017-12-14 09:00:00 2017-12-13 23:00:00
## 4 2017-12-14 09:00:00 2017-12-13 23:00:00
## 5 2017-12-14 09:00:00 2017-12-13 23:00:00
## 6 2017-12-14 09:00:00 2017-12-13 23:00:00
##                                                                            time_zone
## 1 c(1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1)
## 2 c(1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1)
## 3 c(1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1)
## 4 c(1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1)
## 5 c(1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1)
## 6 c(1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1, 1)
##        lat      lon  elev bar_ht start  end r   tn   tx  twd   ev   tg
## 1 -25.8975 139.3472  46.6   47.0  2000 2017 0 32.1 44.5 18.5   NA   NA
## 2 -22.9117 139.9039 161.8  158.3  1886 2017 0 27.8 41.5 12.0 22.4 24.5
## 3 -27.3917 153.1292   4.5    9.5  1992 2017 0 18.1 27.6  4.9  5.8 15.2
## 4 -24.9069 152.3230  30.8   31.5  1942 2017 0 18.1 30.2  6.3   NA   NA
## 5 -16.8736 145.7458   2.2    8.3  1941 2017 0 21.4 32.8  6.8   NA   NA
## 6 -26.4139 146.2558 301.6  303.3  1942 2017 0 24.0 37.9 13.1   NA   NA
##     sn   t5  t10  t20  t50  t1m  wr
## 1   NA   NA   NA   NA   NA   NA  NA
## 2   NA   NA   NA   NA   NA   NA  NA
## 3 12.4 30.0 27.0 26.0 27.0 25.0 203
## 4   NA 25.5 25.7 26.2 25.9 25.9  NA
## 5   NA   NA   NA   NA   NA   NA  NA
## 6   NA   NA   NA   NA   NA   NA  NA

Using `get_weather_bulletin`

This function takes two arguments, state for the desired state; and morning if TRUE, return the 9am bulletin for the nominated state; otherwise return the 3pm bulletin. States or territories are specified using the official postal codes.

ACT Australian Capital Territory (will return NSW)
NSW - New South Wales
NT - Northern Territory
QLD - Queensland
SA - South Australia
TAS - Tasmania
VIC - Victoria
WA - Western Australia

Results

The function get_weather_bulletin() will return a tidy data frame of BoM data for the requested state(s) or territory.

Example

Following is an example fetching the 3PM bulletin for Queensland.

qld_weather <- get_weather_bulletin(state = "QLD")
head(qld_weather)

##         stations cld8ths wind_dir wind_speed_kmh temp_c_dry temp_c_dew
## 1     Coconut Is      NA       SE              4         31         NA
## 2        Coen Ap      NA       NE             11         30         19
## 3        Horn Is      NA       SE             19         30         23
## 4 Lockhart River       8      ESE             15         29         23
## 5    Palmerville      NA        S             11         29         18
## 6       Scherger      NA      ESE              7         29         21
##   temp_c_max temp_c_min temp_c_gr barhpa rain_mm weather seastate
## 1         34         25        NA   1009      NA                 
## 2         35         22        NA   1010      NA                 
## 3         33         26        NA   1010      NA                 
## 4         32         23        NA   1010      NA                 
## 5         37         20        NA   1010      NA                 
## 6         36         23        NA   1010      NA

Using `sweep_for_stations`

sweep_for_stations() only takes one argument, latlon, a length-2 numeric vector. By default, Canberra (approximately).

Results

This function will search for weather stations and return a data frame of all weather stations (in this package) sorted by distance from latlon, ascending. The fields in the data frame are:

name - station name

lat - latitude (decimal degrees)

lon - longitude (decimal degrees)

distance - distance from provided latlon value (kilometres).

Example

Following is an example sweeping for stations starting with Canberra.

# Show only the first ten stations in the list
head(sweep_for_stations(latlon = c(-35.3, 149.2)), 10)

##      site dist                              name start  end      lat
## 1  070351   70                  CANBERRA AIRPORT  2008 2017 -35.3088
## 2  070339   70 TUGGERANONG (ISABELLA PLAINS) AWS  1996 2017 -35.4184
## 3  070349   70                  MOUNT GININI AWS  2004 2017 -35.5293
## 4  070341   70 CAPTAINS FLAT (COWANGERONG RADAR)  2002 2017 -35.6614
## 5  069132   69          BRAIDWOOD RACECOURSE AWS  1985 2017 -35.4253
## 6  070358   70         YASS (RURAL FIRE SERVICE)  2011 2017 -34.8225
## 7  073007   73                    BURRINJUCK DAM  1908 2017 -34.9997
## 8  070330   70              GOULBURN AIRPORT AWS  1988 2017 -34.8085
## 9  070263   70                     GOULBURN TAFE  1971 2017 -34.7495
## 10 069128   69                       NERRIGA AWS  2013 2017 -35.1103
##         lon source state   elev bar_ht   wmo state_code
## 1  149.2004    GPS   NSW  577.1  577.6 94926          N
## 2  149.0937    GPS   NSW  586.7  587.5 94925          N
## 3  148.7721    GPS   NSW 1760.0     NA 95925          N
## 4  149.5122    GPS   NSW 1358.0     NA 99089          N
## 5  149.7835    GPS   NSW  665.2  666.0 94927          N
## 6  148.9080    GPS   NSW  498.0     NA 95723          N
## 7  148.5984    GPS   NSW  390.0     NA 94909          N
## 8  149.7311    GPS   NSW  640.0  640.8 95716          N
## 9  149.7034    GPS   NSW  670.0     NA 94716          N
## 10 150.0826    GPS   NSW  622.0  625.6 94943          N
##                                                       url   distance
## 1  http://www.bom.gov.au/fwo/IDN60801/IDN60801.94926.json  0.9791884
## 2  http://www.bom.gov.au/fwo/IDN60801/IDN60801.94925.json 16.3172787
## 3  http://www.bom.gov.au/fwo/IDN60801/IDN60801.95925.json 46.4084466
## 4  http://www.bom.gov.au/fwo/IDN60801/IDN60801.99089.json 49.1327086
## 5  http://www.bom.gov.au/fwo/IDN60801/IDN60801.94927.json 54.7153470
## 6  http://www.bom.gov.au/fwo/IDN60801/IDN60801.95723.json 59.3756657
## 7  http://www.bom.gov.au/fwo/IDN60801/IDN60801.94909.json 64.0835316
## 8  http://www.bom.gov.au/fwo/IDN60801/IDN60801.95716.json 72.9652110
## 9  http://www.bom.gov.au/fwo/IDN60801/IDN60801.94716.json 76.4731323
## 10 http://www.bom.gov.au/fwo/IDN60801/IDN60801.94943.json 82.9176026

Using the update functions

bomrang uses internal databases of station location data from BoM to provide location and other metadata, e.g. elevation, station names, WMO codes, etc. to make the process of querying for weather data faster. These databases are created and packaged with bomrang for distribution and are updated with new releases. Users have the option of updating these databases after installing bomrang. While this option gives the users the ability to keep the databases up-to-date and gives bomrang’s authors flexibility in maintaining it, this also means that reproducibility may be affected since the same version of bomrang may have different databases on different machines. If reproducibility is necessary, care should be taken to ensure that the version of the databases is the same across different machines.

The databases consist of three files, used by bomrang, AAC_codes.rda, JSONurl_latlon_by_station_name.rda and stations_site_list.rda. These files can be located on your local system by using the following command,

paste0(.libPaths(), "/bomrang/extdata")[1]

unless you have specified another location for library installations and installed bomrang there, in which case it would still be in bomrang/extdata.

Using `update_forecast_towns`

update_forecast_towns() downloads the latest précis forecast locations from the BoM server and updates bomrang’s internal database of towns used for forecast locations. This database is distributed with the package to make the process faster when fetching the forecast.

Example

Following is an example updating the précis forecast locations internal database.

update_forecast_towns()

Using `update_station_locations`

update_station_locations() downloads the latest station locations and metadata and updates bomrang’s internal databases that support the use of get_current_weather() and get_ag_bulletin(). There is no need to use this unless you know that a station exists in BoM’s database that is not available in the databases distributed with bomrang

Example

Following is an example updating the précis forecast locations internal database.

update_station_locations()

Using bomrang to retrieve satellite imagery

bomrang provides functionality to retrieve high-definition GeoTIFF satellite imagery provided by BoM through public FTP with the following types of imagery being available: i.) Infrared images, ii.) Visible images and iii.) Clouds/surface composite.

Valid BoM satellite Product IDs for GeoTIFF files include:

Product ID	Description	Type	Delete time
IDE00420	AHI cloud cover only 2km FD GEOS	Satellite	24
IDE00421	AHI IR (Ch13) greyscale 2km FD GEOS	Satellite	24
IDE00422	AHI VIS (Ch3) greyscale 2km FD GEOS	Satellite	24
IDE00423	AHI IR (Ch13) Zehr 2km FD GEOS	Satellite	24
IDE00425	AHI VIS (true colour) / IR (Ch13 greyscale) composite 1km FD GEOS	Satellite	24
IDE00426	AHI VIS (true colour) / IR (Ch13 greyscale) composite 2km FD GEOS	Satellite	24
IDE00427	AHI WV (Ch8) 2km FD GEOS	Satellite	24
IDE00430	AHI cloud cover only 2km AUS equirect.	Satellite	24
IDE00431	AHI IR (Ch13) greyscale 2km AUS equirect.	Satellite	24
IDE00432	AHI VIS (Ch3) greyscale 2km AUS equirect.	Satellite	24
IDE00433	AHI IR (Ch13) Zehr 2km AUS equirect.	Satellite	24
IDE00435	AHI VIS (true colour) / IR (Ch13 greyscale) composite 1km AUS equirect.	Satellite	24
IDE00436	AHI VIS (true colour) / IR (Ch13 greyscale) composite 2km AUS equirect.	Satellite	24
IDE00437	AHI WV (Ch8) 2km AUS equirect.	Satellite	24
IDE00439	AHI VIS (Ch3) greyscale 0.5km AUS equirect.	Satellite	24
Information gathered from Australian Bureau of Meteorology (BoM)

Using `get_available_imagery`

get_available_imagery() only takes one argument, product_id, a BoM identifier for the imagery that you wish to check for available imagery. Using this function will fetch a listing of BoM GeoTIFF satellite imagery from ftp://ftp.bom.gov.au/anon/gen/gms/ to display which files are currently available for download. These files are available at ten minute update frequency with a 24 hour delete time. This function can be used see the most recent files available and then specify in the get_satellite_imagery() function. If no valid Product ID is supplied, defaults to all GeoTIFF images currently available.

avail <- get_available_imagery(product_id = "IDE00425")

Using `get_satellite_imagery`

get_satellite_imagery() fetches BoM satellite GeoTIFF imagery, returning a raster stack object and takes three arguments. Files are available at ten minute update frequency with a 24 hour delete time. It is suggested to check file availability first by using get_available_imagery(). The arguments are:

product_id, a character value of the BoM product ID to download. Alternatively, a vector of values from get_available_imagery() may be used here. This argument is mandatory.
scans a numeric value for the number of scans to download, starting with the most recent and progressing backwards, e.g., 1 - the most recent single scan available , 6 - the most recent hour available, 12 - the most recent 2 hours available, etc. Negating will return the oldest files first. Defaults to 1. This argument is optional.
cache a logical value that indicates whether or not to store image files locally for later use? If FALSE, the downloaded files are removed when R session is closed. To take advantage of cached files in future sessions, set TRUE. Defaults to FALSE. This argument is optional. Cached files may be managed with the manage_cache() function.

# Specify product ID and scans
i <- get_satellite_imagery(product_id = "IDE00425", scans = 1)

# Same, but use "avail" from prior to specify images for download
i <- get_satellite_imagery(product_id = avail, scans = 1)

# Cache image for later use
i <- get_satellite_imagery(product_id = avail, scans = 1, cache = TRUE)

# load the raster library to work with the GeoTIFF files
library(raster)
plot(i)

get_satellite_imagery-1.png

Using caching for satellite imagery

If you elect to use cache = TRUE when downloading imagery, note that the GTiff files can be quite large and will fill disk space. By using the default cache = FALSE the files will be deleted when the current R session is closed.

Should you chose to use caching, bomrang provided functions to interact with the cached files:

List files in the cache, manage_cache$list()
- List info for single files,
  - manage_cache$list()[1])
  - manage_cache$list()[2])
List info for all files, manage_cache$details()
Delete files by name in cache, manage_cache$delete()
Delete all files in cache, manage_cache$delete_all()

To access the files directly, outside of R, the following command will give you the location of the directory:

manage_cache$cache_path_get()

References

Australian Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) Weather Data Services

Australian Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) FTP Public Products

Australian Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) Weather Data Services Agriculture Bulletins

Australian Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) Weather Data Services Observation of Rainfall

Australian Bureau of Meteorology (BoM) High-definition satellite images

Appendix 1 - Output from `get_current_weather`

The function get_current_weather() will return a data frame that will contain some or all of the following fields.

Fields and descriptions

Field Name	Description
wmo_id	wmo station index number, uniquely identifies station
Name[31]	Observing station name
Abbr[6]	An abbreviated name (normally 4 characters) used for the station
Date	Date, Year (4 digits), month (2 digits), day (2 digits)
Time	Time, Hours (2 digits), minutes (2 digits), UTC
Lat	Latitude, decimal degrees, S -ve, N +ve
Lon	Longitude, decimal degrees, E +ve, W -ve
Stn_typ	Station type
Stn_ht_m	Station height (in metres)
Total_cld	Total cloud cover in oktas, 9=Sky Obscured by smoke, fog, …
Wdir	Wind direction, degrees true
Wspd_mps	Wind speed, metres per second
Vis_m	Visibility, metres
Wx[9]	Present weather, abbreviated
Pw1	Past weather (last 3-6 hours), see below
Pw2	Past weather (Used so more than one variation can be reported)
Msl_P	Mean Sea Level Pressure, hPa
Stn_P	Station level pressure, hPa
P_tend_typ	Type of the pressure tendency, numerical code, see below
P_tend_val	Pressure tendency (change) in last 3 hours, hPa
Cor_P_tend	Pressure tendency in last 3 hours corrected for diurnal variation
T_DB	Temperature (dry bulb), degrees C
DP	Dew point, degrees C
Low_cld_amt	Amount of low cloud, oktas, 9=Sky obscured by fog, smoke, …
Low_cld_typ[4]	Type of low cloud, abbreviation
Cld_base_m	Base of lowest cloud, m
Cld_dir[4]	Direction of motion of low cloud, compass point
Mid_cld_typ[4]	Type of middle level cloud, abbreviation
Hi_cld_typ[4]	Type of high cloud, abbreviation
Rf_int_h6	Interval for which rain is reported in next field, hours
Rainfall6	Rainfall, mm, usually at 9 or 3 AM/PM
Rf_int_h4	Interval for which rain is reported in next field, hours
Rainfall4	Rainfall, mm, usually since last observation
Sea_state[5]	Sea state, abbreviation
Swl_state[9]	Swell state, abbreviation
Swl_dir[4]	Swell direction, abbreviation
Max_T	Maximum temperature, 24h to 9AM or 6h to 3PM local time, degree C
Min_T	Minimum temperature, 24h to 9AM local time, degree C
Min_grnd_T	Minimum ground temperature, 24 h to (AM local time, degree C
Snow_depth_m	Depth of snow on ground, metres
Low_cld_code	Code for low level cloud type, see below
Mid_cld_code	Code for middle level cloud type, see below
Hi_cld_code	Code for high level cloud type, see below
Max_T(Int)	Maximum temperature for international exchange
Min_T(Int)	Minimum temperature for international exchange
Plain_lang[51]	Plain language comments

Codes:

P_tend_typ:

0 Increasing, then decreasing, current pressure same or higher
1 Increasing, then steady or increasing more slowly
2 Increasing
3 Decreasing or steady, then increasing, or
- Increasing, then increasing more rapidly, current pressure higher
4 Steady
5 Decreasing, then increasing, current pressure lower
6 Decreasing, then steady or decreasing more slowly
7 Decreasing
-8 Steady or increasing, then then decreasing, current pressure lower, or
- Decreasing, then decreasing more rapidly

Wx[9] - Present weather

This consists of a two or 3 digit code figure plus (when relevant) a short, text abbreviation of the weather The abbreviations used (frequently together, e.g., XXRA for heavy rain, FZDZ for freezing drizzle) include

BL Blowing (usually of sand or snow)
DR Drifting (usually of sand or snow)
DZ Drizzle
FC Funnel cloud (tornado, water spout)
FG Fog
FU Smoke (from the French for smoke)
FZ Freezing (usually of rain or fog)
GR Hail (from the French for hail)
HZ Haze
MI Shallow (can be applied to Fog etc)
RE Ice pellets
PO Dust devils
RA Rain
RE Recent (in the last hour, but not at the observation time)
SA Sand
SG Snow grains
SH Showers
SN Snow
SQ Squall
TS Thunderstorm
XX Heavy or intense (usually of rain or snow)

Also, some other abbreviations used include

lightn Lightning
virga Virga
RIA<5k Precipitation in the area, less then 5km distant

Code figures

(This is a subset of a larger table, not all values of which are used) wmo international BUFR code table 0 20 003, CREX code table B 20 003

 00 Clouds not observed
 01 Cloud decreasing
 02 State of sky generally unchanging
 03 Cloud increasing
 04 Smoke or volcanic ash
 05 Haze
 06 Widespread dust suspended in the air, not raised locally at the
    time of observation
 07 Dust or sand raised locally by the wind at the time of observation,
    but no well developed dust devils, sandstorm, or duststorm
 08 Well developed dust devils, but no sandstorm or duststorm
 09 Duststorm or sandstorm
 10 Mist
 11 Patches of shallow fog
 12 More or less continuous shallow fog
 13 Lightning visible, but no thunder heard
 14 Precipitation in sight, but not reaching the ground or sea (virga)
 15 Precipitation in sight, reaching the ground, but more than 5km away
 16 Precipitation in sight, reaching the ground, near but not at the
    observing station
 17 Thunderstorm without precipitation
 18 Squalls
 19 Funnel clouds (tornado, water spout)
 20 Recent (within the last hour) drizzle
 21 Recent (within the last hour) rain, but not freezing rain
 22 Recent (within the last hour) snow
 23 Recent (within the last hour) mixed rain and snow or ice pellets
 24 Recent (within the last hour) freezing drizzle or freezing rain
 25 Recent (within the last hour) showers of rain
 26 Recent (within the last hour) showers of snow or mixed rain and snow
 27 Recent (within the last hour) showers of hail or mixed rain and hail
 28 Recent (within the last hour) Fog or ice fog
 29 Recent (within the last hour) thunderstorm
 30 Slight or moderate duststorm or sandstorm, has decreased in the
    last hour
 31 Slight or moderate duststorm or sandstorm, with no appreciable
    change in the last hour
 32 Slight or moderate duststorm or sandstorm, has begun or
    increased in the last hour
 33 Severe duststorm or sandstorm, has decreased in the last hour
 34 Severe duststorm or sandstorm, with no appreciable change in the
    last hour
 35 Severe duststorm or sandstorm, has begun or increased in the
    last hour
 36 Slight or moderate drifting snow, generally below eye level
 37 Heavy drifting snow,  generally below eye level
 38 Slight or moderate blowing snow, generally above eye level
 39 Heavy blowing snow, generally above eye level
 40 Fog or ice fog at a distance but not at the station
 41 Patches of fog or ice fog
 42 Fog or ice fog, sky visible, has become thinner in the last hour
 43 Fog or ice fog, sky invisible, has become thinner in the last hour
 44 Fog or ice fog, sky visible, no appreciable change in the last hour
 45 Fog or ice fog, sky invisible, no appreciable change in the last
    hour
 46 Fog or ice fog, sky visible, has become thicker in the last hour
 47 Fog or ice fog, sky invisible, has become thicker in the last hour
 48 Fog, depositing rime (freezing fog), sky visible
 49 Fog, depositing rime (freezing fog), sky invisible
 50 Slight intermittent drizzle, not freezing
 51 Continuous slight drizzle, not freezing
 52 Moderate intermittent drizzle, not freezing
 53 Continuous moderate drizzle, not freezing
 54 Heavy intermittent drizzle, not freezing
 55 Continuous heavy drizzle, not freezing
 56 Slight freezing drizzle
 57 Moderate or heavy freezing drizzle
 58 Slight drizzle and rain (mixed)
 59 Moderate or heavy drizzle and rain (mixed)
 60 Slight intermittent rain, not freezing
 61 Continuous slight rain, not freezing
 62 Moderate intermittent rain, not freezing
 63 Continuous moderate rain, not freezing
 64 Heavy intermittent rain, not freezing
 65 Continuous heavy rain, not freezing
 66 Slight freezing rain
 67 Moderate or heavy freezing rain
 68 Slight rain and snow or drizzle and snow (mixed)
 69 Moderate or heavy rain and snow or drizzle and snow (mixed)
 70 Slight intermittent snow
 71 Continuous slight snow
 72 Moderate intermittent snow
 73 Continuous moderate snow
 74 Heavy intermittent snow
 75 Continuous heavy snow
 76 Diamond dust, with or without fog
 77 Snow grains, with or without fog
 78 Isolated star like ice crystals, with or without fog
 79 Ice pellets
 80 Slight rain showers or shower
 81 Moderate or heavy rain shower or showers
 82 Violent rain shower or showers
 83 Slight shower or showers of mixed rain and snow
 84 Moderate or heavy shower or showers of mixed rain and snow
 85 Slight shower or showers of snow
 86 Moderate or heavy shower or showers of snow
 87 Slight shower or showers of snow pellets or small hail, with
    or without rain or mixed rain and snow
 88 Moderate or heavy shower or showers of snow pellets or small
    hail, with or without rain or mixed rain and snow
 89 Slight shower or showers of hail, with or without rain or 
    mixed rain and snow, but no thunder
 90 Moderate or heavy shower or showers of hail, with or without
    rain or mixed rain and snow, but no thunder
 91 Slight rain now, with thunder during the last hour
 92 Moderate or heavy rain now, with thunder during the last hour
 93 Slight snow, mixed rain and snow, or hail now, with thunder
    during the last hour
 94 Moderate or heavy snow, mixed rain and snow, or hail now, with
    thunder during the last hour
 95 Slight or moderate thunderstorm with rain or snow but no hail
 96 Slight or moderate thunderstorm with hail
 97 Heavy thunderstorm with rain or snow but no hail
 98 Thunderstorm combined with a sandstorm or duststorm
 99 Heavy thunderstorm with hail
100 No significant weather
101 Cloud decreasing 
102 State of sky generally unchanging
103 Cloud increasing
104 Haze or smoke or suspended dust, visibility >= 1km
105 Haze or smoke or suspended dust, visibility < 1km
110 Mist
111 Diamond dust
112 Distant lightning
118 Squalls
120 Recent (during the last hour) fog
121 Recent (during the last hour) precipitation
122 Recent (during the last hour) drizzle, not freezing, or snow grains
123 Recent (during the last hour) rain, not freezing
124 Recent (during the last hour) snow
125 Recent (during the last hour) freezing drizzle or freezing rain
126 Recent (during the last hour) thunderstorm
127 Blowing or drifting snow or sand
128 Blowing or drifting snow or sand, visibility >= 1km
129 Blowing or drifting snow or sand, visibility < 1km
130 Fog
131 Patches of fog or ice fog 
132 Fog or ice fog, has become thinner in the last hour
133 Fog or ice fog, no appreciable change in the last hour
134 Fog or ice fog, has become thicker in the last hour
135 Fog, depositing rime (freezing fog)
140 Precipitation
141 Slight or moderate precipitation
142 Heavy precipitation
143 Slight or moderate liquid precipitation
144 Heavy liquid precipitation
145 Slight or moderate solid precipitation
146 Heavy solid precipitation
147 Slight or moderate freezing precipitation
148 Heavy freezing precipitation
150 Drizzle
151 Slight drizzle, not freezing
152 Moderate drizzle, not freezing
153 Heavy drizzle, not freezing
154 Slight freezing drizzle
155 Moderate freezing drizzle
156 Heavy freezing drizzle
157 Slight drizzle and rain
158 Moderate or heavy drizzle and rain
160 Rain
161 Slight rain, not freezing
162 Moderate rain, not freezing
163 Heavy rain, not freezing
164 Slight freezing rain
165 Moderate freezing rain
166 Heavy freezing rain
167 Slight rain and snow or drizzle and snow
168 Moderate or heavy rain and snow or drizzle and snow
170 Snow
171 Slight snow
172 Moderate snow
173 Heavy snow
174 Slight ice pellets
175 Moderate ice pellets
176 Heavy ice pellets
180 Shower or showers or intermittent precipitation
181 Slight rain shower or showers or slight intermittent rain
182 Moderate rain shower or showers or moderate intermittent rain
183 Heavy rain shower or showers or heavy intermittent rain
184 Violent rain shower or showers or violent intermittent rain
185 Slight snow shower or showers or slight intermittent snow
186 Moderate snow shower or showers or moderate intermittent snow
187 Heavy snow shower or showers or heavy intermittent snow
190 Thunderstorm
191 Slight or moderate thunderstorm without precipitation
192 Slight or moderate thunderstorm with rain showers and/or snow
    showers
193 Slight or moderate thunderstorm with hail
194 Heavy thunderstorm without precipitation
195 Heavy thunderstorm with rain showers and/or snow showers
196 Heavy thunderstorm with hail
199 Tornado
508 No significant weather
509 Data not available
510 Data should have been reported but wasn't

Pw1 and Pw2 - Past weather

    wmo international BUFR code table 0 20 004, CREX code table B 20 004

If only one type of weather has occurred in the last 3-6 hours,

only Pw1 and Pw2 will be the same. If there has been more than one, Pw1 and Pw2 should be different, with Pw1 reflecting the “more important” past weather. Code figures 0-9 normally apply to manned stations, 10-19 to automated weather stations.

 0 Cloud covering less than 1/2 the sky
 1 Cloud covering more than 1/2 the sky part of the time
   and less than 1/2 the sky part of the time
 2 Cloud covering more than 1/2 the sky
 3 Sandstorm, dustorm or blowing snow
 4 Fog, ice fog, or thick haze
 5 Drizzle
 6 Rain
 7 Snow, or mixed rain and snow
 8 Showers
 9 Thunderstorm
10 Nothing significant detected
11 Reduced visibility
12 Blowing phenomena (sand, dust, snow, ...) reducing visibility
13 Fog
14 Precipitation (rain, snow, hail, ...)
15 Drizzle
16 Rain
17 Snow or ice pellets
18 Showers or intermittent precipitation
19 Thunderstorm

Low_cld_code:

(This is a subset of a larger table, not all values of which are used)
wmo international BUFR code table 0 20 012, CREX code table B 20 012

30 No low level cloud
31 Cumulus humilis, or Cumulus fractus (not of bad weather), or both
32 Cumulus mediocris or congestus, with or without Cumulus humilis
   or fractus or Stratocumulus, all bases at the same level
33 Cumulonimbus calvus, with or without Cumulus, Stratocumulus
   or Stratus
34 Stratocumulus cumulogenitus
35 Stratocumulus other than stratocumulus cumulogenitus
36 Stratus nebulosis or Stratus fractus (not of bad weather), or both
37 Stratus fractus or Cumulus fractus of bad weather or both (pannus)
38 Cumulus and Stratocumulus other than stratocumulus cumulogenitus,
   with bases at different levels
39 Cumulonimbus capillatus with or without Cumulonimbus calvus
   Cumulus, Stratocumulus, Stratus or pannus

Mid_cld_code:

(This is a subset of a larger table, not all values of which are used)
wmo international BUFR code table 0 20 012, CREX code table B 20 012

20 No middle level cloud
21 Altostratus translucidus
22 Altostratus opacus or Nimbostratus
23 Altocumulus translucidus at a single level
24 Patches (often lenticular) of Altocumulus translucidus, continually
   changing and at one or more levels
25 Altocumulus translucidus in bands, or one or more layers of
   Altocumulus translucidus or opacus, progressively invading the
   sky
26 Altocumulus cumulogenitus or cumulonimbogenitus
27 Altocumulus translucidus or opacus in two or more layers, or
   Altocumulus opacus in a single layer, not progressively invading
   the sky, or Altocumulus with Altostratus or Nimbostratus
28 Altocumulus castellanus or floccus
29 Altocumulus of a chaotic sky, usually at several levels

Hi_cld_code:

(This is a subset of a larger table, not all values of which are used)
wmo international BUFR code table 0 20 012, CREX code table B 20 012

10 No high level cloud
11 Cirrus fibratus, sometimes unicus, not progressively invading
   the sky
12 Cirrus spissatus in patches or entangled sheaves, which usually
   do not increase
13 Cirrus spissatus cumulonimbogenitus
14 Cirrus unicus or fibratus or both, progressively invading the sky
15 Cirrus (often in bands) and Cirrostratus or Cirrostratus alone,
   progressively invading the sky, but continuous cloud less than
   45 degrees above the horizon.
16 Cirrus (often in bands) and Cirrostratus or Cirrostratus alone,
   progressively invading the sky, but continuous cloud more than
   45 degrees above the horizon without covering the entire sky
17 Cirrostratus covering the entire sky
18 Cirrostratus not covering the entire sky and not progressively
   invading it
19 Cirrocumulus alone or Cirrocumulus predominant

Appendix 2 - Output from `get_précis_forecast`

The function, get_precis_forecast(), will return a tidy data frame of the agriculture bulletin with the following fields:

Field Name	Description
index	Forecast index number, 0 = current day … 7 day
product_id	BoM Product ID from which the data are derived
state	State name (postal code abbreviation)
town	Town name for forecast location
aac	AMOC Area Code, e.g., WA_MW008, a unique identifier for each location
lat	Latitude of named location (decimal degrees)
lon	Longitude of named location (decimal degrees)
elev	Elevation of named location (metres)
start_time_local	Start of forecast date and time in local TZ
end_time_local	End of forecast date and time in local TZ
UTC_offset	Hours offset from difference in hours and minutes from Coordinated Universal Time (UTC) for `start_time_local` and `end_time_local`
start_time_utc	Start of forecast date and time in UTC
end_time_utc	End of forecast date and time in UTC
maximum_temperature	Maximum forecast temperature (degrees Celsius)
minimum_temperature	Minimum forecast temperature (degrees Celsius)
lower_precipitation_limit	Lower forecast precipitation limit (millimetres)
upper_precipitation_limit	Upper forecast precipitation limit (millimetres)
precis	Précis forecast (a short summary, less than 30 characters)
probability_of_precipitation	Probability of precipitation (percent)

Appendix 3 - Output from `get_ag_bulletin`

The function, get_ag_bulletin(), will return a tidy data frame of the agriculture bulletin with the following fields:

Field Name	Description
product_id	BoM Product ID from which the data are derived
state	State name (postal code abbreviation)
dist	BoM rainfall district
wmo	World Meteorological Organization number (unique ID used worldwide)
site	Unique BoM identifier for each station
station	Station name
full_name	Full station name (some stations have been retired so “name” will be same, this is the full designation
obs-time-local	Observation time
obs-time-utc	Observation time (time in UTC)
time-zone	Time zone for observation
lat	Latitude (decimal degrees)
lon	Longitude (decimal degrees)
elev_m	Station elevation (metres)
bar_ht	Bar height (metres)
station	BoM station name
start	Year data collection starts
end	Year data collection ends (will always be current)
r	Rain to 9am (millimetres). Trace will be reported as 0.01
tn	Minimum temperature (degrees Celsius)
tx	Maximum temperature (degrees Celsius)
twd	Wet bulb depression (degrees Celsius)
ev	Evaporation (millimetres)
tg	Terrestrial minimum temperature (degrees Celsius)
sn	Sunshine (hours)
t5	5cm soil temperature (degrees Celsius)
t10	10cm soil temperature (degrees Celsius)
t20	20cm soil temperature (degrees Celsius)
t50	50cm soil temperature (degrees Celsius)
t1m	1m soil temperature (degrees Celsius)
wr	Wind run (kilometres)

Appendix 4 - Output from `get_weather_bulletin`

The function get_weather_bulletin() returns a tidy data frame of weather observations for 0900 or 1500 for a nominated state. Observations differ between states, but contain some or all of the following fields. All units are metric (temperatures in Celsius; wind speeds in kilometres per hour; rainfall amounts in millimetres; pressure in hectoPascals). “AWS” in a station name denotes observations from an Automatic Weather Station.

<td

Field Name	Description
stations	Name of observing station
cld8ths	Octas (eights) of cloud (0-8); `NA` indicates sky obscured
wind_dir	Direction from which wind blows (16 compass directions, measured at height of 10m)
wind_speed_kmh
temp / temp_c_dry/_terr	Ambient dry air temperature measured at height of 1.2 metres
temp_c_dew	Dew-point temperature measured at height of 1.2 metres
temp_c_max	Maximum temperature for last 24 hours (0900 bulletin) or 6 hours (1500 bulletin).
temp_c_min	Minimum temperature for last 24 hours (0900 bulletin only)
temp_c_gr	Wet bulb temperature measured at height of 1.2 metres
rhpercent	Relative humidity
barhpa / mslpresshpa	Barometric pressure
rain_mm	Total rainfall since previous bulletin (`NA` denotes amount less than 1mm)
days	If present, denotes number of days since previous bulletin
weather	Description of current weather
seastate (QLD only)	See below for description

Seastate is described by a text string formed from the three components of (sea state, swell, direction). Sea state is denoted “C” (Calm), “SM” (Smooth), “SL” (Slight), “M” (Moderate), “R” (Rough), “VR” (Very Rough), “H” (High), “VH” (Very High), or “PH” (Phenomenal). Swell is denoted “LS” (Low Short), “LA” (Low Average), “LL” (Low Long), “MS” (Moderate Short), “MA” (Mod Average), “ML” (Mod Long), “HS” (Heavy Short), “HA” (heavy Average), “HL” (Heavy Long), or “C” (Confused). Direction denotes direction from which the swell is coming.

Names of rainfall and temperature variables for some states include prefixes or suffixes defining the time period over which observations apply (for example, “temp_c_6hmax” for maximum temperature between 0980 and 1500, or “temp_c_9ammin” for minimum temperature observed at 9am yet included in 1500 bulletin).

Appendix 5 - Map of station locations

if (requireNamespace("ggplot2", quietly = TRUE) &&
    requireNamespace("ggthemes", quietly = TRUE) &&
    requireNamespace("maps", quietly = TRUE) &&
    requireNamespace("mapproj", quietly = TRUE) &&
    requireNamespace("gridExtra", quietly = TRUE) &&
    requireNamespace("grid", quietly = TRUE)) {
  library(ggplot2)
  library(mapproj)
  library(ggthemes)
  library(maps)
  library(data.table)
  library(grid)
  library(gridExtra)
  load(system.file("extdata", "stations_site_list.rda", package = "bomrang"))
  setDT(stations_site_list)
  
  Aust_stations <- 
    stations_site_list[(!(state %in% c("ANT", "null"))) & !grepl("VANUATU|HONIARA", name)]
  
  Aust_map <- map_data("world", region = "Australia")
  
  BoM_stations <- ggplot(Aust_stations, aes(x = lon, y = lat)) + 
    geom_polygon(data = Aust_map, aes(x = long, y = lat, group = group), 
                 color = grey(0.7),
                 fill = NA) +
    geom_point(color = "red",
               size = 0.05) +
    coord_map(ylim = c(-45, -5),
              xlim = c(96, 167)) +
    theme_map() + 
    labs(title = "BoM Station Locations",
         subtitle = "Australia, outlying islands and buoys (excl. Antarctic stations)",
         caption = "Data: Australia Bureau of Meteorology (BoM)\n
         and NaturalEarthdata, http://naturalearthdata.com")
  
  # Using the gridExtra and grid packages add a neatline to the map
  grid.arrange(BoM_stations, ncol = 1)
  grid.rect(width = 0.98, 
            height = 0.98, 
            gp = grid::gpar(lwd = 0.25, 
                            col = "black",
                            fill = NA))
}

bomrang

Adam H Sparks, Mark Padgham and Hugh Parsonage

Introduction

Using bomrang

Using get_current_weather

Results

Example

Using get_precis_forecast

Results

Example

Using get_ag_bulletin

Results

Example

Using get_weather_bulletin

Results

Example

Using sweep_for_stations

Results

Example

Using the update functions

Using update_forecast_towns

Example

Using update_station_locations

Example

Using bomrang to retrieve satellite imagery

Using get_available_imagery

Using get_satellite_imagery

Using caching for satellite imagery

References

Appendix 1 - Output from get_current_weather

Fields and descriptions

Codes:

Wx[9] - Present weather

Code figures

Pw1 and Pw2 - Past weather

Low_cld_code:

Mid_cld_code:

Hi_cld_code:

Appendix 2 - Output from get_précis_forecast

Appendix 3 - Output from get_ag_bulletin

Appendix 4 - Output from get_weather_bulletin

Appendix 5 - Map of station locations

Using `get_current_weather`

Using `get_precis_forecast`

Using `get_ag_bulletin`

Using `get_weather_bulletin`

Using `sweep_for_stations`

Using `update_forecast_towns`

Using `update_station_locations`

Using `get_available_imagery`

Using `get_satellite_imagery`

Appendix 1 - Output from `get_current_weather`

Appendix 2 - Output from `get_précis_forecast`

Appendix 3 - Output from `get_ag_bulletin`

Appendix 4 - Output from `get_weather_bulletin`