Cyclone Track Editor/Visualizer

A simple application for visualizing and editing tropical cyclone tracks with meteorological parameters.

License

This project is licensed under the MIT License - see the LICENSE.md file for details.

Installation

Prerequisites

• Node.js (v14 or newer)
• npm (v6 or newer)

Setup

1. Clone this repository:

   git clone https://github.com/your-username/cyclone_viewer.git
   cd cyclone_viewer
   

2. Install dependencies:

   npm install
   

   This only installs the dependencies, it does not build the application.

Usage

Running the application

Using Electron (recommended)

Run the application using Electron:

npm start

This launches the application in its own window with full functionality.

Using a web browser

You can also open the application directly in a web browser:

1. Navigate to the project directory
2. Open the index.html file in Chrome or another modern browser:
3. Alternatively, you can simply drag the index.html file into an open Chrome window.

Note: When running in a browser, some features like file system access might have limitations due to browser security restrictions.

Loading cyclone tracks

1. Click the "CSV" button to load cyclone track data
2. Upload a CSV file with the following columns:

• latitude, longitude (required)
• wind_speed (m/s)
• mslp (hPa, minimum central pressure)
• rmw (m, radius of maximum winds)
• r34_ne, r34_se, r34_sw, r34_nw (m, 34-knot wind radii in four quadrants)
• roci (m, radius of outermost closed isobar)

Hotkeys

The Cyclone Viewer supports several keyboard shortcuts to enhance your workflow:

Key	Action
Escape / c	Clear all selections and visualizations
+ / =	Navigate to next forecast initialization
-	Navigate to previous forecast init
s / S	Toggle storm structures visibility
Escape×2	Quick reset application (double-press)

These shortcuts work when the map is in focus. Using hotkeys can significantly speed up your analysis workflow, especially when working with multiple track files or complex forecasts.

Example Track Visualization

Editing cyclone parameters

1. Click on a storm position to view its details
2. Toggle "Edit Mode" to modify cyclone parameters
3. Drag markers to adjust cyclone position
4. Use the floating dialog to adjust wind speed, pressure, and radii

Controls

• Toggle Units: Switch between metric and imperial units
• Scale: Choose between Saffir-Simpson and Australian BoM scales
• Export: Export edited track data to CSV

Building for Distribution

To package the application for distribution:

npm run package

This will create executables for macOS and Linux in the release-builds directory.

Custom Build Options

You can modify the packaging options in package.json to build for additional platforms or customize the output:

"package": "electron-packager . CycloneTracker --platform=darwin,linux,win32 --arch=x64 --out=release-builds --overwrite"