STORM
Ver 5.0
(c) 1987,88 by UTopia Software
Programmed by: Thomas Pesek


Hi! Here it is the all new Version 5.0 of Storm. This disk
contains the brand new version of STORM - STORM.EXE and 5 Storm
Tracks.

The file STORM.HLP contains the help files. It is called by
the help feature of the program or can be listed or copied to your
printer. Please read it, it contains useful information.


PROGRAM DESCRIPTION


The purpose of this program is to track hurricanes. Storm
tracks can be stored in disk files for future use. You can enter
storm data and print reports on the storm's location by date and
time. In addition, you can generate tracking maps showing the
storm's position and track. STORM generates plots using an Epson
or IBM printer or an HP Plotter. You can track to one of 17 target
cities or enter the coordinates of your own city.

This program is being provided as Shareware. It may be copied
and distributed, but only in it's complete, original, and unaltered
form.

Every effort has been made to assure that this product is free
of defects, however it is provided as is and no warranty, either
expressed or implied is given.

If you like this product, please send me $25 to become a
registered user (Texas residents add $1.25 State sales tax). You
will receive a disk with the latest version of STORM with the Storm
GENIE feature and over 80 additional storm tracks. The Storm tracks
are for some of the great storms of the past 25 years. Please send
your check to:

UTopia Software
14023 Utopia Dr.
Sugar Land, Texas 77478

Registering your program will entitle you to obtain notice of
updates and enhancements and other products from UTopia Software.

It has taken hundreds of hours of research, design, and
programming to produce STORM. I Hope that you enjoy it and that you
will drop me a letter of encouragement (hopefully with a check
enclosed). At any rate, I hope that you enjoy this program as much
as I do.

TOM PESEK


ACKNOWLEDGEMENTS


I would like to thank all of my users who have called or
written to me. Your error reports and recommendations for
enhancements have helped me to improve STORM. I would also like to
thank all of you who have registered STORM. Your response has
encouraged me to go on.

I would especially like to thank my wife, Audrey, for her
understanding and encouragement and my advisors and beta testers:
Bruce Wehrle, Meredith Langwell-Wehrle, Otto Lewandowski, Mark
Ulrich, and J.J. Hitt.


INSTALLING & RUNNING STORM


Due to the number of storms and the size of the files, the
complete STORM 5.0 program is provided on two disks. If you have
a hard disk, copy all of the files from both disks into a sub-
directory on your hard disk called STORM. You may now run STORM
from this directory.

If you are using floppy disks, insert the Storm Program disk
in drive A: and your Storms data disk in drive B: Set your default
drive to A: and type STORM . When the main menu appears
on the screen, select option 0 and set your storm files path to b:\
If you are using a hard disk and your storm files are in the same
directory as STORM.EXE, leave the storm files path blank. If your
storm files are in another directory, enter the full path in the
storm files path field: eg: C:\STORM\DATA\

The first time that you use STORM, run option 0 (Configure
your System) to set STORM up for your system. This will write the
STORM5.DFT file to your disk storing your defaults. After you
configure your system, it will then boot-up correctly thereafter.

The following is a list of recent enhancements:


NEW FOR VERSION 4


CONFIGURATION MENU

Version 4 of STORM completes the rewrite begun in version 3.
A new configuration option, Option 0, has been added. This allows
you to choose your Monitor, Plotter, COM Port, and Default Map. Set
it once and it is remembered until you change it.

EGA MAP WITH PAN/ZOOM

STORM now supports the EGA Monitor when it plots the map. If
you have an EGA with 128 K or more memory, you can get 16 colors
and a 640 x 350 pixel display. In addition, there is now a MONO
mode for use with a CGA or EGA graphics adapter and Monochrome
monitor. This eliminates the problems seeing the screen with some
graphics adapters. If you have a monochrome monitor, start STORM
with the command STORM /M to get Monochrome mode.

STORM now has an enhanced map display. The map now extends
farther North, East, South, and West than it did before. In
addition, the map now has a Pan/Zoom feature. Let the map plot, and
when it is finished, Press . This activates the pan Zoom
Feature. zooms in. zooms out. The arrow keys pan up-
down left-right. resets the default map. shows the
entire map. When you have panned and zoomed to get what you want,
press to redraw the map. Then press again the plot
on an HP plotter or return to menu.

EDIT FEATURE

Option 2 now has an EDIT feature. You can now edit, update or
list storm data. You can still use your word processor or editor
to edit storm files if you choose.


NEW FOR VERSION 4.01


MORE AND BETTER STORM TRACKS

There are now over 90 storm tracks available for STORM, thanks
to my library. I found a book entitled "Tropical Cyclones of the
North Atlantic Ocean, 1871-1980", by Charles J. Neumann, et al, of
the NWS, National Hurricane Center. It contains over 880 tracks of
Tropical Storms and Hurricanes in the Atlantic and the Gulf of
Mexico. I entered the data for all of the Hurricanes to hit the
U.S. since 1953, when the NWS began naming storms, plus a few other
notable or interesting storms.

Also version 4.01 fixes a bug in the tracking option. The Auto
Advance Time Delay now works as described. I recommend time delays
of 0.01 to 0.1 sec. This delay is sec per hour, so delays longer
than this are not advised.


NEW FOR VERSION 4.02


Version 4.02 of STORM fixes the bug in the CGA plot option
which caused the screen to go all-red occasionally. The bug which
caused an error in option 2 when the print to printer was selected
with only one data point present has been fixed.

EXPANDED DEFAULTS FILE

New features for Version 4.02 include an expanded defaults
file -STORMX.DFT. This file now saves the settings on the plot
options input panel as well as the window limits on the plot
window. If you zoom in now the next time you plot your zoom setting
will be remembered. Use the or the features
to reset to the default or full map settings as desired. The names
of up to 4 storms selected are also now remembered.

STORM TRACK ANNOTATION

When is selected in the Annotate the Storm Track option,
on the plot menu, the various storm locations along the storm track
are marked with a small + and a number. These numbers correspond
to the data point numbers on the storm report printed by option 2.
When is selected in the Annotate the storm track option,
the first point each day is marked with a small o and the date.

DISABLE TRACK-TO CITY FEATURE

If you do not want a track-to city to appear on your map, you
now can disable it. Select the "Your City's Data" choice from the
Change Track-To city option. Type the word "NONE" in the city name.
This will disable the track-to city.

EXPANDED PLOTTER DESTINATIONS

Finally, the plotter destinations have been expanded to include
LPT ports. This allows you to use a plotter spooler connected to
a LPT port to spool plotter output and redirect it out of its COM
port.


NEW FOR VERSION 4.5


Version 4.5 incorporates the Hurricane track matching GENIE.
This feature allows you to select storms which match selection
criteria from the storms on the disk. You can select by year of
occurrence, location, season, and track-to city location. Matching
storms are displayed and accessed by the STORM program, if desired.

The Year of Occurrence option finds storms which occurred
between the starting and ending year.

The Location option finds storms which passed within the
tracking radius of the specified location. This location defaults
to the current location of the current storm.

The Season option selects storms that occurred between a
starting and ending date. The default dates are set according to
the season in which the current storm occurred, as set by the
Nation Weather Service. These are: Early - May 1 thru July 15; Mid
- July 16 thru Sept. 20; and Late - Sept. 20 thru Nov. 30. Any set
of dates may be entered. The season indication will not change and
should be ignored in this case.

The Track-to option selects storms that passed within the
tracking radius of the track-to location. This location defaults
to the location of the current track-to city.

You may select one or more of these options at once to limit
the number of storms selected. If you are unhappy with the storms
found, select the re-try option, change them and try again. When
you are pleased with your selections, exit and the matching storms
will be written in the file MATCH.DAT to your disk.

NOTE: Actual data points are matched, not storm tracks. In
high Latitudes where storms move at high speed you may need to
adjust the tracking radius to 3-4 degrees to find all the matching
storms.

Due to many requests, the storm heading notation has been
changed. Headings are now listed in a dual format. This consists
of a degree notation and the familiar notation of 16 compass
directions. Degrees range from 0 to 359, with 0 being North and
degrees increasing in a clockwise direction. The corresponding
compass heading (ie, NNW) is listed in parentheses. I hope that
most users find this to be a more acceptable display.


NEW FOR VERSION 5.0


STORM 5.0 supports 386 based computers and VGA monitors. STORM
now has a (640 x 480) 16 color VGA Mode. The monitor type has been
separated from the adapter type so you can now get a monochrome
display for any type of adapter.

A Plot to File feature has also been added, so you can plot
your plotter output to a file. You may enter the path/name of this
file on the configure menu. This file can be plotted later using
the DOS copy command or it can be translated into bit mapped
graphics by some translator programs. Some simple translator
programs don't work with STORM files at this time since STORM uses
the HP-GL circle and arc commands. If your package doesn't work,
try the screen capture utilities that come with many of these
translators to capture the screen image. Try using the monochrome
mode when capturing, if you don't get good results in the color
mode.

The STORM GENIE is now an integral part of STORM you can now find
matching storms and then go straight to the plot feature of option 3.
If you choose to use the GENIE, you can either select a previous set
of matching data or you can choose to run a new match. If GENIE is
used, only storms matching your selection critera will be displayed in
your selection list.

STORM 5.0 has a new intro screen which uses the VGA or EGA
adapter, if you have one.

The limits on latitude and longitude values entered into STORM
have been removed. You can now enter any value. If it is out of
range of the tracking map, you will receive a warning. If you enter
the point anyway, STORM accept it and use it to calculate data. The
data will be displayed on the report issued by option 2. The point
will not be plotted on the map, however.