MDF/MTS Files

Mesonet MDF and MTS files are space delimited files used to display data in WeatherScope.  MDF files display data for all stations for a given time, while MTS files display data for 1 station for a given UTC day.  This is the standard file format used for Mesonet data.

 

File Header

The MDF/MTS header consists of 3 lines.  The first line of the file contains copyright information.  The second line lists the number of variables in the file (i.e., number of columns not including STID, STNM, and TIME), year, month, day, hour, minute, and second.  The date is listed in UTC and serves as the base time for the data file.  The third line lists the variable ID for each data column.

 

Special Notes

-The 0000 UTC observation stores the previous day's accumulated rainfall.

-Frozen precipitation is measured at the time of thaw.  Some snowmelt may never be observed due to factors including sublimation and blowing snow.

-Data quality is frequently re-assessed.  On rare occasions, some quality assurance flags may change in the months following your data request.

-For use of soil moisture measurements, see the Soil Moisture document.

 

Variables

Name ID Unit Description
Station ID STID   Station ID
Station Number STNM   Station Number
Time TIME minutes after base time Minutes after base time (typically 0000 UTC)
Relative Humidity RELH percent 5-minute averaged relative humidity at 1.5m.
Air Temperature TAIR degrees Celsius 5-minute averaged air temperature at 1.5m.
Wind Speed WSPD meters per second 5-minute averaged wind speed at 10m.
Wind Vector WVEC meters per second 5-minute averaged wind velocity (speed and direction accounted for) at 10m.
Wind Direction WDIR degrees 5-minute averaged wind direction at 10m.
Wind Direction Standard Deviation WDSD degrees Standard deviation of wind direction during the 5-minute interval.
Wind Speed Standard Deviation WSSD meters per second Standard deviation of wind speed during the 5-minute interval.
Maximum Wind Speed WMAX meters per second Highest 3-second wind speed at 10m sample.
Precipitation RAIN millimeters Liquid precipitation accumulation since 0000 UTC. Frozen precipitation cannot be recorded until it melts; therefore, precipitation from snow may not be recorded until several days after the snow event.
Station Atmospheric Pressure PRES millibars 5-minute averaged atmospheric pressure.
Solar Radiation SRAD watts per square meter 5-minute averaged downwelling global solar radiation.
Air Temperature at 9m TA9M degrees Celsius 5-minute averaged air temperature at 9m
2m Wind Speed WS2M meters per second 5-minute averaged wind speed at 2m
Temperature Under Native Vegetation at 10cm TS10 degrees Celsius 15-minute averaged temperature under native vegetation at 10cm.
Temperature Under Bare Soil at 10cm TB10 degrees Celsius 15-minute averaged temperature under bare soil at 10cm.
Temperature Under Native Vegetation at 5cm TS05 degrees Celsius 15-minute averaged temperature under native vegetation at 5cm.
Temperature Under Bare Soil at 5cm TB05 degrees Celsius 15-minute averaged temperature under bare soil at 5cm. This variable is only available prior to December 1, 2013.
Temperature Under Native Vegetation at 25cm TS25 degrees Celsius 15-minute averaged temperature under native vegetation at 25cm. This variable is only available after and including December 1, 2013.
Temperature Under Native Vegetation at 30cm TS30 degrees Celsius 15-minute averaged temperature under native vegetation at 30cm. This variable is only available prior to December 1, 2013.
Temperature Under Native Vegetation at 60cm TS60 degrees Celsius 15-minute averaged temperature under native vegetation at 60cm. This variable is only available after and including December 1, 2013.
Soil Moisture Calibrated Delta-T at 5cm TR05 degrees Celsius Calibrated change in temperature of soil over time after a heat pulse is introduced. Used to calculate soil water potential, fractional water index, or volumetric water.
Soil Moisture Calibrated Delta-T at 25cm TR25 degrees Celsius Calibrated change in temperature of soil over time after a heat pulse is introduced. Used to calculate soil water potential, fractional water index, or volumetric water.
Soil Moisture Calibrated Delta-T at 60cm TR60 degrees Celsius Calibrated change in temperature of soil over time after a heat pulse is introduced. Used to calculate soil water potential, fractional water index, or volumetric water.

 

 

Missing Data Values

Value Description
-999 Data flagged as bad by quality assurance routines.
-998 Sensor not installed.
-997 Cannot compute value due to missing calibration coefficient(s).
-996 Station did not report (missing).
-995 Data not reported on this time interval (e.g., soil temperature only reports every 15 minutes and is not available at 25 minutes after the hour).
-994 Value too wide to fit in column.

Convert UTC to Central Time

Converting UTC time to Local Time
UTC / Z CST CDT
0000 UTC 1800 (6 p.m.) CST 1900 (7 p.m.) CDT
0100 UTC 1900 (7 p.m.) CST 2000 (8 p.m.) CDT
0200 UTC 2000 (8 p.m.) CST 2100 (9 p.m.) CDT
0300 UTC 2100 (9 p.m.) CST 2200 (10 p.m.) CDT
0400 UTC 2200 (10 p.m.) CST 2300 (11 p.m.) CDT
0500 UTC 2300 (11 p.m.) CST 0000 (midnight) CDT
0600 UTC 0000 (midnight) CST 0100 (1 a.m.) CDT
0700 UTC 0100 (1 a.m.) CST 0200 (2 a.m.) CDT
0800 UTC 0200 (2 a.m.) CST 0300 (3 a.m.) CDT
0900 UTC 0300 (3 a.m.) CST 0400 (4 a.m.) CDT
1000 UTC 0400 (4 a.m.) CST 0500 (5 a.m.) CDT
1100 UTC 0500 (5 a.m.) CST 0600 (6 a.m.) CDT
1200 UTC 0600 (6 a.m.) CST 0700 (7 a.m.) CDT
1300 UTC 0700 (7 a.m.) CST 0800 (8 a.m.) CDT
1400 UTC 0800 (8 a.m.) CST 0900 (9 a.m.) CDT
1500 UTC 0900 (9 a.m.) CST 1000 (10 a.m.) CDT
1600 UTC 1000 (10 a.m.) CST 1100 (11 a.m.) CDT
1700 UTC 1100 (11 a.m.) CST 1200 (noon) CDT
1800 UTC 1200 (noon) CST 1300 (1 p.m.) CDT
1900 UTC 1300 (1 p.m.) CST 1400 (2 p.m.) CDT
2000 UTC 1400 (2 p.m.) CST 1500 (3 p.m.) CDT
2100 UTC 1500 (3 p.m.) CST 1600 (4 p.m.) CDT
2200 UTC 1600 (4 p.m.) CST 1700 (5 p.m.) CDT
2300 UTC 1700 (5 p.m.) CST 1800 (6 p.m.) CDT