We are starting to evaluate the Wxcoder entries compared to the entries on the paper B-91 form that is sent in

Wxcoder III Close-Out and related QA/QC Information

1. Sign-in on Wxcoder III as your WFO.

2. Go to “Field Office Admin”> under “Sites”> “Month End Status” and print the list.

3. The printed list and closed (closed-out) stations are indicated with a check mark. It can used to avoid going in and out of the page while viewing other pages within Wxcoder , or you can keep returning to the page to view checked stations. The QA/QC can begin prior to the 10^th for the stations closed-out/checked by the observers.

4. Then select “Download Data” under the Sites Menu, and in the block where the station appears, select “All Sites” found at the bottom of the list of stations. This will produce an email addressed to you with all of the monthly forms (i.e. B-91s). The stations can be opened individually also, if Adobe Acrobat Professional is available, the B91's may be combined into a single PDF eliminating the need to open each PDF. It should take less than 30 minutes for this process to complete and generate a list sent to your email account. This is effective for the numerous sites that use the B-91 for their data form. The other sites that report on other forms such as the B-92 are typically fewer in number. They possibly can be viewed or downloaded individually (probably more efficient) .

5. When the email arrives you can open and select the station B-91 pdf file from the list. Check each station for missing data and the other usual checks that you perform at the WFO.

6. Missing days will require a phone call or email to the observer to complete the data in the monthly form, or possibly to correct an entry, or simply to obtain data for the WFO to complete the monthly form. The observer has until the 10^th before they are locked out from making changes.

7. If it is beyond the 10^th day of the month after the preceding monthly form, then the WFO will need to Re-Open the User access for the observer to make changes. It will also be necessary to Re-Open the account for the WFO to be able to make changes as well. Re-Open from the Month End Status page by clicking on the User check mark. Another page will open to allow you to Re-open that station.

8. After all data and dates are filled in or encoded with an “M” for missing data, the WFO can then Close-Out the station by clicking on the (-) sign on the Admin row.

9. When the station preliminary QA/QC is completed, then the WFO can move on to the next station and repeat the procedures for the remaining stations. The WFO has until the 25^th of the month after the data month being checked (i.e. until April 25 for March data). After the 25^th, the station data will not be accessible to make changes.

(Just for further information)

Data not normally found on the B-91 may be found on one of the other forms selectable in Wxcoder III. However, not all of the data can be found on the Wxcoder forms available at this time. Some of the data such as soil temperatures, evaporation readings, wind, and lake levels may only be viewed from the “Daily Form” or Browse menu after selecting the “My Observations” page. You will have to select the desired station under the “Change Site” title from the left menu, and then the “Go” button. Your CWA stations will be included in the list of stations only if your WFO identifier was entered in the “Users” block found on the Site setup page at the bottom. The Site page can be edited one station at time to add the WFO identifier and for it to appear in your Observation selection list.

A universal form or spreadsheet is being developed for use within Wxcoder to show all data entries from each station. It will help by showing all of the monthly data like the B-91 sites and form. It will be available in the future and should help with the monthly WFO QA/QC within Wxcoder.

Just as a recommendation, there have been some inconsistencies in the data found on paper forms compared with the data entered in Wxcoder for the same month. Some examples include blanks where data was entered on the paper form, Trace entered for precipitation on the paper form but 0 entered in Wxcoder, a date missed in Wxcoder which is then filled in with data from another date, or data shifted back one day after the missing day wasn’t entered. These are things that may warrant receiving both the paper form and Wxcoder entries for a period of time to check for consistency and accuracy. You may want to consider this before some stations are instructed to go totally paperless.

(Possible Modification to Wxcoder Needed)

One issue concerning the email we receive to download the B91's. I believe only one email address (usually the DAPM/OPL) is currently allowed, perhaps it would be possible to expand this (i.e.DAPM/OPL not available.)