Load weather data from MAGNET4WATER data server

What is it?

SwaNET provides users to select NOAA/PRISM weather data for the US and CFSR data for the entire world. NOAA weather data includes temperature and precipitation data from 1900 through November 2013. PRISM data includes temperature and precipitation data from 1981 through about six months prior to current date. CSFR weather data covers the period of 1979 to 2014 and includes temperature, precipitation, relative humidity, solar radiation, and wind speed. PRISM data are stored as raster images, so it takes longer time to extract compared to other observed data sources.
Weather data download interface allows users to select and download desired weather data from the MAGNET4WATER server.

How to use it:

Download CFSR/NOAA weather data

Download weather stations
To download CFSR/NOAA weather data, select "CFSR" or "NOAA" from the dropdown list under Source. Users can either use the bounding box or bounding box with buffer to find the weather station. Under download extent, check 'Bounding box' or 'Buffer'. Buffer value is the amount in degrees that is added to the model bounding box for searching available weather stations. Buffer can be positive or negative.
Click 'Load Stations'. Available weather stations based on search criteria are displayed. If needed, repeat the process until the desired number of weather stations are displayed on the map.

Download weather data
Once the weather stations are loaded, select data types to download. 'All available' option will download all available datasets, while selecting specific data type only allows downloading selected data. Please note, CFSR data contains all weather data needed for SWAT, i.e. temperature, precipitation, relative humidity, solar radiation, and wind speed, while NOAA data contains only temperature and precipitation data. Click 'Download data'. Selected data from from the loaded stations are downloaded and saved in user folder.

View weather data
To view downloaded weather data, click any weather station number on the map. A pop up interface shows its ID, location, elevation and other information. Select a data type to plot, and click 'Show'. A 2D plot displays the downloaded weather data.

Apply weather data
To apply the weather data to SWAT model, first select the time period to apply.
Next, select the weather data type to apply. 'All downloaded' will apply all the downloaded data to the model, otherwise only the selected data type will be applied.
Select weather stations. Users can apply the weather data from all stations, or from only the selected stations. To apply selected stations, check 'Selected' under "Stations" and click 'Add all stations'. Select unwanted stations and click 'Delete'.
Once the done with selection, click 'Apply to SWAT'.
Weather data files required by SWAT are generated, and the main 'Edit Weather Data' interface is populated with necessary weather data information.
Don't forget to click 'Save Edits' to apply the weather data.

Download PRISM weather data

PRISM data are stored as continuous data in raster format, and while downloading users have to select whether to download on each subbasin centroids or selected subbasin centroids. Moreover, downloading time period need to be specified first.

Download weather stations
To download PRISM data, select download data type and time period. Click 'Download data'. You are prompted to enter subbasin numbers to download data to. Since PRISM data extraction takes long time, it is not advised to download data to all subbasins, especially when the number of subbasin is large.

View weather data
To view downloaded weather data, click any weather station number on the map. A pop up interface shows its ID, location, elevation and other information. Select a data type to plot, and click 'Show'. A 2D plot displays the downloaded weather data.

Apply weather data
To apply the weather data to SWAT model, first select the time period to apply.
Next, select the weather data type to apply. 'All downloaded' will apply all the downloaded data to the model, otherwise only the selected data type will be applied.
Select weather stations. Users can apply the weather data from all stations, or from only the selected stations. To apply selected stations, check 'Selected' under "Stations" and click 'Add all stations'. Select unwanted stations and click 'Delete'.
Once the done with selection, click 'Apply to SWAT'.
Weather data files required by SWAT are generated, and the main 'Edit Weather Data' interface is populated with necessary weather data information.
Don't forget to click 'Save Edits' to apply the weather data.