User's Guide

Managing Storm Tracks
FasTrac Millennium User’s Guide – May 2003
4.1 Setting Defaults for Storm Tracks
The Setup > Storm > Storm Track command, which
opens the Storm Track Setup menu, lets you establish
default settings for storm tracking. In essence, you
determine the original settings (defaults) for each storm
track and then individually adjust parameters to meet your
needs.
 INITIAL TRACK DURATION specifies the length,
in minutes, of the tracking period. When you create
your storm track, this number specifies the amount of
time in which the storm will travel the distance of the
red line you create. For example, if you create a 15-mile
storm track with Initial Track Duration of 15 minutes,
the computer will calculate a speed of 60 miles per
hour. If you change your Initial Track Duration to 60
minutes, the speed then will be 15 miles per hour.
 DEFAULT FAN WIDTH refers to the width of the
base of a fan-projection of a storm track. You can either
set the default fan width value on the Storm Track
Setup menu or enter a specific Width value on the
Storm Track panel. Typically, the Default Fan Width value is between 2 and 5 miles.
 MINIMUM SHOW SIZE specifies, in pixels, the minimum size of the storm track. Use
this variable to prevent storm tracks from appearing in long-range maps (e.g., a 150-mile
map). Minimum Show Size specifies how large the track graphic should be before the storm
track can be seen. This prevents storm tracks intended for close ranges from cluttering up
long-range map displays. Thus, you can use long-range maps to show your audience where
the storm is located. You can then zoom in to show a small storm track at close range.
 MINIMUM AMOUNT ON SCREEN specifies the smallest amount of the storm projection
that appears on the map display. This lets you prevent a small portion of a large storm track
from appearing on your map display. When only part of the storm-track area (the area
defined by the yellow storm track box) is on screen, it can be confusing. Just as Minimum
Show Size prevents small storm tracks from cluttering long-range maps, Minimum Amount
on Screen prevents pieces of long-range storm tracks from appearing on close-range maps.
The usual setting for Minimum Amount on Screen is 65. When Minimum Amount on
Screen is set to 65, you must display 65% of the storm track area for the storm track to
appear. Displaying anything less makes the storm track disappear until you select an
appropriate range and center for your map display.
 ETA BOX LEFT OFFSET defines the number of pixels from the left of the screen at which
the Storm Track ETA Box will appear. You may then drag-and-drop the Storm Track ETA
box anywhere on the screen.
 ETA BOX TOP OFFSET defines the number of pixels from the top of the screen at which
the Storm Track ETA Box will appear.
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