IMPORTANT: PREPARE YOUR MODELS FOR THE UPDATE! - Please take the opportunity before migrating to CWMS 3.2.1 to update the base MetVue, HMS, RAS, and FIA models in your CWMS watersheds so that you encounter fewer problems and to simplify troubleshooting. 

Updating the model files as part of the CWMS 3.2.1 upgrade will proceed more smoothly if the models work correctly in CWMS 3.1.1 and in the standalone versions of each modeling application provided with CWMS 3.1.1.   Prior to opening your watershed in CWMS 3.2.1, please ensure that your watershed can successfully perform the following operations:

  • Make a copy of your CWMS 3.1.1 watershed in a different watershed location and rename the parent folder of the original watershed location.
  • Launch the CWMS 3.1.1 CAVI, select the Setup tab, open your watershed from its new location, then launch HMS from the "native model" icon.  In HMS,  verify that each forecast alternative (used in a CAVI forecast run) successfully computes.  Along the way, resolve any problems with data dependencies so that the model simulation requires only data located within its own watershed model folder; detailed instructions are available in HEC-HMS Best Practices in CWMS.   
  • Using the other "native model" icons, verify that the ResSim alternatives, RAS plans, and FIA alternatives all compute successfully within their applications.
  • Ensure that "keys" are defined for each model alternative.
  • Load each forecast run in the Model Linking Editor and verify that the linking is up to date.   
  • Create and run some forecasts (for a brief time period with known good data) to verify that the extract lists and models operate as expected - particularly for models or linking revised during the previous checks. 

CWMS 3.2.1 includes a newer version of each the watershed modeling applications (MetVue, HMS, ResSim, RAS, & FIA) than the versions included in CWMS 3.1.1.  If you open an existing CWMS 3.1.1 watershed in the CWMS 3.2.1 CAVI without preparing the models first, each modeling application will will attempt to update its model files to be compatible with the new version. This process may require user input as well as changes to the model itself, so it is recommended that, after you verify that you can successfully perform the operations listed above with your CWMS 3.1.1 watershed, you update each model in your watershed with the standalone applications before opening your existing watersheds in CWMS 3.2.1.  Please see the sections below for each modeling application to learn what steps may be needed to properly update the models in your watershed.

MetVue

With CWMS 3.2.1, Metvue can now be used with or instead of MFP in the model program sequence. The CAVI-MetVue setup guide, available at https://discourse.hecdev.net/uploads/short-url/vEzjxPHCudCqjx1DoS2GbEYFkI1.DOCX, will help you configure a MetVue project for use in the CAVI.

IMPORTANT: For a CAVI MetVue project that is configured with sample input data in the CAVI setup module/tab, newly created forecast simulations will not refresh automatically to read and process extracted gridded data in the forecast.dss file.  Because the auto-refresh is currently not working, the CAVI-MetVue alternative processes the sample data not related to the forecast and would be very misleading for the users and their forecast simulations.  A fix will be available soon, but until then, the workaround is for the user to force a manual TIN refresh on every map panel node that belongs to the CAVI-MetVue model alternative.

MFP

MFP is not a standalone modeling application; it is a part of the CWMS CAVI created to prepare the HMS meteorologic model for use in a forecast by combining observed data with forecast data and associating that data with the met model (Precip Alternative). 

Along with the standalone modeling applications, MFP received some enhancements for CWMS 3.2.1, so like the other models, your existing CWMS 3.1.1 MFP alternatives must be updated for use in CWMS 3.2.1. Unlike the other models, however, you cannot perform this update with a standalone application; the update will occur when you open the watershed for the first time with the CWMS 3.2.1 CAVI. 

Although most of your MFP alternatives from your CWMS 3.1.1 watershed should migrate to CWMS 3.2.1 without a problem, some alternatives may encounter one or more of the following issues. 

  • When you open the MFP editor for an existing alternative, you get a message that reads:  "Invalid temperature values detected in zone: xxxx.  Fill out the manual temperature table, or specify a series of grids for temperature input." even though the MFP alternative does not currently process temperature data.  If you encounter this message, the recommended solution is to recreate the MFP alternative (use the "Save as.." feature that can be accessed by left clicking the MFP alternative in the setup tab) then replace the old MFP alternative with the new alternative in each relevant existing forecast run.
  • If a misalignment occurs with table data in the MFP alternative editor (Figure below), resizing the table columns and/or the MFP Alternative Editor window will re-align the columns.

Misalignment of MFP alternative editor columns

  • If you get the message: "SEVERE: Precipitation transformation set (Insert transformation name here) does not exist", recreating the transformation should resolve this issue.

NOTE: Manual entry of forecast temperature data has some issues which will be addressed in a later version of CWMS and MFP.  HEC recommends that you use gridded temperature records instead of manually-entered data.   Contact HEC for assistance if you must use manual entry of Temperature data but have found that the current issues have proven to be problematic to your workflow. 

is there something to say about MFP alternatives using HMS's specified hyetograph option?

Paul Simon says there are possible issues with transformation set editor. When you change transformation set and come back later, zeros are shown with some strange spacing.

HMS

Due to a change in the HMS development cycle, more than one version of HMS has been made available to users since CWMS 3.1.1 was released. Since the 3.x CAVI was designed to accommodate the replacement of the individual model plugins with newer versions, instructions were provided to enable users to upgrade the version of HMS that they used in CWMS 3.1.1.  Therefore, it is important to know which version of HMS you are currently working with in CWMS 3.1.1 so that you can ignore those instructions that do not pertain to you and your watersheds. To identify the version of HMS you are using, simply launch HMS from the CAVI or from the HEC-HMS folder in the CWMS installation folder, then check the HMS title bar - the version number is displayed right after the program name.

  1. HMS 4.2.1 upgrade to HMS 4.3 or newer: HMS basin models that use Muskingum Cunge or Kinematic Wave routing will need to have either index flow or index celerity added to each reach element. This change in the specification of the index flow may change computed results by small amounts. Instructions for making the needed changes are described in: HMS421_CWMS321_migration
    1. Suggestion: Use index celerity of 5 ft/s
    2. NOTE: if model is already running with HEC-HMS 4.3 or newer, this is not needed
  2. Model improvements - please see HEC-HMS Best Practices in CWMS
  3. Hidden dialog(s) -  please see details in "HEC-HMS Best Practices in CWMS"
    1. On the initial start up of a new CWMS watershed, there may be one or more hidden popup dialogs that are keeping you from proceeding with CWMS (sometimes looks like CWMS is frozen and unresponsive).  Sometimes the application will be flashing on task bar but sometimes nothing may be shown.  When this occurs, you can use the "windows key" + "m" and it should minimize all windows except for the window wanting attention.  Additionally, "alt" +"TAB"  or "windows key" + "TAB" will allow you to see what is open and if there is an HMS tab when HMS was not previously open, it is probably a prompt related to CWMS. 
    2. Most of the time, this prompt will be about pointing to a forecast.dss file.  This needs to be filled in with the forecast.dss file, and usually the prompt window gives the user the rough location of where the forecast.dss file is located.   This is usually due to an absolute path stored within the HMS model that references a location external to the HMS model folder.  To help alleviate this issue in the future,  make sure all HMS data is stored internally to the HMS file directory. 
    3. For models with extensive DSS path issues, and modelers with significant HMS expertise, see "HEC-HMS Advanced - Managing References".
  4. The Fcst Temp and Obs Temp tabs within the MFP Editor are not accessible unless a snowmelt method is included within the associated meteorologic model
  5. When using the Gridded Hamon, Hamon, Gridded Hargreaves, or Hargreaves evapotranspiration methods, a full day of temperature data is required at the start and end
    1. Ensure the Edit | Buffer Temperature Data option is enabled within the MFP Editor:
  6. CWMS 3.2.1 comes with HEC-HMS 4.5 but there are newer and improved HEC-HMS versions that can replace HEC-HMS 4.5 (HEC-HMS 4.6.1 is latest release as of writing this).  The user can update the HMS by replacing the contents of the HEC-HMS folder with the newer version of HMS.  No other modifications are needed at this time to upgrade HEC-HMS versioning.

ResSim

Wildcard Imports

Like CWMS 3.2.1, ResSim 3.5 includes an upgrade to Jython 2.7.2 and has the same issues with wildcard imports.  Please refer to Scripting 3.2.1 tips for instructions for removing the wildcards.

Spaces in Alternative Names

Although ResSim allows the use of spaces in alternative names, they are not recommended, especially if you are going to use those alternatives in CWMS or HEC-WAT.  The ResSim plugin for CWMS and WAT use a special ResSim feature called variants (separate copies of the time series mapping (.fits) file of an alternative) to allow an alternative to be use effectively in multiple contexts (stand-alone, in a CWMS forecast run, or in a WAT simulation).  However, if in CWMS or WAT, you create more than one program order and use a given ResSim alternative with a space in its name in different runs set up with different program orders, that alternative may not use the correct variant (.fits) file at compute time.

Daily Time Step

Alternatives that use a 1Day compute interval are not displaying the results for the last time-step of the time window correctly in the ResSim's default plots in in the tabulated data in the OSI.   Viewing the data through DSSVue or CWMSVue will display the last time-step.  We found the source of the problem after CWMS 3.2.1 was packaged up and released.  Please contact HEC if you need the updated ResSim 3.5 that has a fix for this issue.

 RAS

  1. Steps to make sure RAS is able to display observed data in a forecast:
    1. The user must first place an example forecast.dss file in watershed directory.
    2. Then in the observed time series data editor in RAS, replace all the file names with ..\forecast.dss
    3.   
  2. Using the Action Buttons in a CAVI forecast to access HEC-RAS editors (Plan Data, Geometry Data, etc.) can cause issues when there are multiple HEC-RAS plans in a forecast. When using these Action Buttons to switch back and forth between multiple RAS plans the geometry files are getting overwritten. To avoid this, only access RAS editors by launching the plugin.

FIA

  1. Upon upgrading to CWMS 3.2.1 and FIA 3.2, it is good practice to ensure the model linking for FIA is set in base. 
  2. Additional data checks have been added to FIA 3.2 to make users aware of data gaps. A common data issue among older FIA models is missing damage function data for particular Occupancy Types. To fix the missing damage functions, a user can import and assign the default Occupancy Types to the missing ones. 
  3. Impact Response cannot utilize CCP inundation configurations (at this time). 
  4. Only one FIA alternative can viewed in FIA per forecast run. This is because in an FIA simulation is created for each FIA alternative in the forecast run and given the name of the forecast. When two alternative exist the first simulation is overwritten by the second upon compute because the simulation names are identical. However, results for this first simulation can still be viewed from the CAVI Reports buttons. 
  5. FIA is having trouble displaying some map layers in map panels when viewing in the Web Coordinate System. If map layers do not appear, or are being projected to the wrong location, change the View settings to display in the Watershed Coordinate System. 


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