Best Track is a newly developed open-source Python package and algorithm designed to identify and optimize geotemporal paths from user-provided coordinate objects (cells) or collections of coordinate objects (tracks). Based on the Warning Decision Support System - Integrated Information’s (WDSS-II) w2besttrack algorithm, Best Track uses a three-step process to determine the most realistic storm tracks from the provided data. First, the algorithm breaks cells into estimated track groups. Second, it joins nearby tracks that meet certain spatial and temporal criteria. Third, it removes any temporally conflicting storm cells from each track. Although the algorithm is initially intended to be used with data produced by WDSS-II’s w2segmotionll function, the expandable design has made it possible to run the package on a variety of datasets and formats that provide geotemporal coordinates, including objects generated by the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) / Cooperative Institute for Meteorological Satellite Studies (CIMSS) probSevere model. Best Track was released on GitHub and the Python Packaging Index (as besttrack) at the 97th Annual Meeting of the American Meteorological Society.
Best Track was built and tested with Python 2.7.11 and maintains backward compatibility up to Python 2.6. The following 3rd party libraries are used in Best Track and must be installed prior to use:
- Matplotlib
- Numpy
- SciPy
- BeautifulSoup (bs4)
- Shapely
- Basemap
If you receive errors when running Best Track, ensure these libraries are installed and available for use by your distribution.
The easiest way to install Best Track is from the Python Package Index via pip:
pip install besttrack
Alternatively, you can download the source code from GitHub. Navigate via terminal to the top level of the BestTrack directory and run the command:
python setup.py install
Ensure you have all required third-party libraries installed prior to first use.
###Usage Best Track can be run as a stand-alone script or imported into an existing Python project. Detailed information on the stand-alone script can be found in the wiki section Running Best Track. Information about using Best Track in your Python project is presented in the wiki section Best Track API.
###License Copyright (c) 2016, David Harrison. All rights reserved.
Permission is hereby granted, free of charge, to any person obtaining a copy of this software and associated documentation files (the "Software"), to deal in the Software without restriction, including without limitation the rights to use, copy, modify, merge, publish, distribute, sublicense, and/or sell copies of the Software, and to permit persons to whom the Software is furnished to do so, subject to the following conditions:
The above copyright notice and this permission notice shall be included in all copies or substantial portions of the Software.
THE SOFTWARE IS PROVIDED "AS IS", WITHOUT WARRANTY OF ANY KIND, EXPRESS OR IMPLIED, INCLUDING BUT NOT LIMITED TO THE WARRANTIES OF MERCHANTABILITY, FITNESS FOR A PARTICULAR PURPOSE AND NONINFRINGEMENT. IN NO EVENT SHALL THE AUTHORS OR COPYRIGHT HOLDERS BE LIABLE FOR ANY CLAIM, DAMAGES OR OTHER LIABILITY, WHETHER IN AN ACTION OF CONTRACT, TORT OR OTHERWISE, ARISING FROM, OUT OF OR IN CONNECTION WITH THE SOFTWARE OR THE USE OR OTHER DEALINGS IN THE SOFTWARE.
Shapefiles distributed as part of the software are provided by NOAA/National Weather Service and are available for free online at http://www.nws.noaa.gov/geodata/.