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Download page Task 2a - Import Existing HEC-MetVue Project.
Task 2a - Import Existing HEC-MetVue Project
Import the Existing MetVue Project
To import an existing HEC-MetVue project into a CWMS watershed, right-click on MetVue within the CWMS explorer window and select Import.
Select the EauGalleRiver.metvue project file located within: C:\Workshops\MetVue\HEC-MetVue_CWMS_SetupOrientation\HEC-MetVue_CWMS_SetupOrientation_Start\EauGalleMetVue
Select Open to import the HEC-MetVue project.
A message confirming that the MetVue project was successfully imported should appear.
Explore the Imported MetVue Project
The MetVue icon within the CAVI explorer window should now be populated and have a (+) next to it.
It may take a moment for the MetVue icon to populate within the explorer window. If the (+) does not appear, try opening the Modeling tab, then returning back to the Setup tab which can update the explorer window.
Notice that two MetVue alternatives were imported with the existing project, NoQPF and QPF.
Open the MetVue interface to look more closely at the two alternatives by selecting the MetVue icon (
) towards the top of the CAVI window.
The MetVue window opens and the two alternatives (known in MetVue as sessions) are displayed. Expand each alternative to view which gridded products they contain.
The data included within the NoQPF and QPF alternatives are nearly identical.
Since the Eau Galle River watershed models snowmelt within HEC-HMS, both alternatives include Observed and Forecast Temperature (ObsTemp, FcstTemp) as well as Snow Water Equivalent (SWE) data.
Both alternatives also include Observed Precipitation (ObsPrecip), however only the QPF alternative includes Forecast Precipitation (FcstPrecip) since the NoQPF alternative assumes no future rainfall.
In the project explorer, under the NoQPF alternative, expand the FcstTemp node, then 1 active mapping file to view which maps were imported with the project.
The hmsBasinsEauGalle.shp shapefile was imported as the basin average shapefile with the project which is denoted with the 
symbology.
MetVue automatically computes and displays the average values of each polygon within the basin-average shapefile.
Right-click hmsBasinsEauGalle.shp and select Zoom to This Map.
The corresponding Map Window (NoQPF - FcstTemp) should appear and the extents of the shapefile should be centered on the screen.
Add Reference Data to HEC-MetVue Project
While the project shapefiles within the MetVue maps directory were imported, the sample data within the data directory was not (to avoid slow imports due to potentially large file sizes). Therefore, no data is displayed within the map windows and the sample data must be manually added to the project.
For the sake of simplicity, this workshop includes gridded data samples for the Eau Galle Watershed that have already been downloaded from the Cumulus website and are included in the existing MetVue project that is provided.
Tips for collecting new sample data for an HEC-MetVue CWMS project within a different watershed include:
- Sample Size: Only a small sample (3-4 timesteps) of each dataset is needed. It is good practice to keep sample datasets small to avoid storing unnecessarily large files.
- Pathnames: Sample data pathnames should match what HEC-MetVue is expecting from the CWMS Extract List.
- Extents: The extents of sample gridded data sohuld match what HEC-MetVue will be receiving from the CWMS Extract.
Copy the data directory that contains the sample gridded data (forecast.dss) from the existing project directory at: C:\Workshops\MetVue\HEC-MetVue_CWMS_SetupOrientation\HEC-MetVue_CWMS_SetupOrientation_Start\EauGalleMetVue\data
into the MetVue directory within the CAVI at: C:\Workshops\MetVue\HEC-MetVue_CWMS_SetupOrientation\HEC-MetVue_CWMS_SetupOrientation_Start\EauGalleCAVI\watershed\EauGalleRiver\metvue\data
Once the data directory has been copied into the ...\watershed\EauGalleRiver\metvue\ folder, clicking within the Map Window or on the Map Window names within the Project Explorer will update the links and the sample data should be displayed.
Updating Extents
Selecting the Tile Windows icon (
) will tile all Map Windows within the Session so they are visible at once.
Right-clicking within a map window, selecting Encompass Data → Maps will zoom to the extents of the subbasin shapefile.
Right-clicking within the same map window, selecting Sync Session Maps to This Map Window will update all of the Map Windows within the Session to the same extents.
Select a few of the Map Windows by clicking on them within the Project Explorer window. Notice in the Properties dialog below that the Color Scale has already been set to an appropriate default Color Scale option based on data type.
Specify Temporal Transformation
The forecast precipitation product (WPC-QPF-2.5KM) is only available in 6-hour increments which is often typical of gridded forecast products. Since HMS will need hourly input, the user must specify how it wants MetVue to deal with the forecast precipitation hourly output by specifying a temporal transformation.
To specify the temporal transformation of the 6-hour forecast precipitation grids, highlight the FcstPrecip map window within the Project Explorer and select the Temporal TIN Transformation icon (
) from above.
By default, MetVue will evenly distribute the 6-hour grids into one-hour increments. For example, if a single QPF grid had values of 1.2 inches, MetVue would write out six one-hour grids with values of 0.2 inches each.
For the Eau Galle River forecast precipitation, a conservative approach will be taken and the full volume of each QPF grid will be applied to a single one-hour timestep by creating a new transformation set.
Select New Set, name it Max Intensity and select OK.
Change the Pattern Name to Peaked_Center_1 within the drop-down menu.
Select Apply and Close to save the temporal transformation settings for the FcstPrecip data.
The existing MetVue project has been successfully imported, sample data has been added and a temporal transformation of the QPF has been set. The next step is to set up the HEC-MetVue alternatives within the CAVI in Part B.
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