Last Update: 30 April 2020

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*If you plan to use GridRad_Viewer to generate graphics for publication and/or presentation, please cite the GridRad data and reference this website.

Example citation: "The GridRad radar data used in this study were obtained from the NCAR Research Data Archive (https://rda.ucar.edu/datasets/ds841.0/). Plots of the radar data were generated using the Interactive Data Language (IDL) GridRad_Viewer software developed by Dr. Cameron R. Homeyer at The University of Oklahoma."

 

Note: when publishing research using GridRad data, be sure to follow the guidelines on the NCAR RDA website.

STEPS TO INSTALL & RUN

In order to successfully run the GridRad_Viewer application, there are a number of steps that you must complete. If you are a first-time user and do not have a copy of IDL v8.0 or higher installed on your machine, then complete steps 1-5 below. If you are a returning user, simply download the latest release and run it in the IDL Virtual Machine.

 

Step 1. Navigate to https://www.harrisgeospatial.com/MyAccount/Downloads.aspx and create an account. Log in and download the latest version of IDL that is compatible with your operating system (under the Downloads tab on the My Account home page). Note: there is up to a 24-hour waiting period for new accounts to be fully approved.

 

Step 2. Install IDL on the machine you intend to run GridRad_Viewer on. Note: you do not need to buy an IDL license in order to run the software!

 

Step 3. Download GridRad_Viewer and place it in an easily accessible directory.

 

Step 4. Download the sample GridRad data set.

 

Step 5. Open Gridrad_Viewer. Option 1 - Start the IDL Virtual Machine, which is located in the IDL application folder. Press Continue and navigate to the path of gridrad_viewer.sav in the file chooser (double-clicking directories in the left column or typing in the full path at the top are easiest).  Select the application and click OK.  Option 2 - Double-click the gridrad_viewer.sav file. Note: Short videos demonstrating how to use GridRad_Viewer are available on the Usage page.

 

Step 6. Open GridRad data with GridRad_Viewer.

 

Step 7 (optional). Download these two shapefiles from the U.S. Census Bureau to enable county line plotting:  File1  File2   Note: these two files must be placed in the same directory and the .shp file is the one to select within GridRad_Viewer (this is automatically loaded if it is located in the same directory as GridRad_Viewer).