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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