Met Alert Tool (MAT)

The 4DWX Met Alert Tool (MAT) allows you to be alerted when certain conditions are met. For instance, if you need to know when the temperature drops below freezing, you can use MAT to set up an active alert. Then, if the temperature drops below 0° C, you will be notified of this event. There are many other types of alerts you can set, and several different ways to be notified.

Alert Types
The alert types are logically arranged by categories in the tree in the upper left pane of the MAT window. This makes it easy to find the alert type that you wish to use. In the tree, categories are indicated by a folder icon while alert types are indicated by a red square icon. The categories can be expanded and collapsed by double clicking on the category.

Clicking on an alert type selects that alert type. The alert type name will be highlighted, and the parameters required by the alert type will be displayed in the parameter pane to the right of the alert type tree. Each alert type has its own set of parameters.

MAT

Wind

  • High Wind Speed
  • High Wind Gusts
  • Wind Direction Shift
  • Wind Direction Range

Temperature

  • High Temperature
  • Low Temperature
  • Wind Chill 
  • Wet Bulb Globe Temperature

Lightning

  • Lightning Box
  • Lightning Circle
  • Lightning Distance

  Precipitation

  • 24-hour Precipitation
  • Precipitation Total

Events
Events occur when the conditions specified by an active alert's parameters are met. When an event occurs, the MAT will notify you via the actions set in the user preferences. The default notification actions are to display a dialog with a sound, and to add the event to the event list in the MAT window, but you can also configure the MAT to notify you via e-mail, and also to log the events to a file.

GUI Event Notifications
There are two different types of GUI notifications. Event dialogs pop up a dialog box to alert the user that an event has occurred. These dialogs can play sounds to give an audio notification as well, and they will stay up until a user dismisses them. Events can also be displayed in the event list, which is the bottom panel of the MAT window. The event list lets users see what events have occurred even after the dialogs have been dismissed.