NWS Location Codes Plugin

A WordPress plugin that creates and manages UGC (Universal Geographic Code) and SAME (Specific Area Message Encoding) codes from National Weather Service data for weather alert integration.

Features

• Two Custom Post Types: UGC Codes and SAME Codes
• Automatic Data Import: Fetches and parses NWS location data
• Code Derivation: Automatically derives UGC and SAME codes from FIPS data
• Meta Fields: Stores comprehensive location information including:
  • State, County, Zone information
  • FIPS codes
  • Geographic coordinates (latitude/longitude)
  • Time zones
  • CWA (County Warning Area) assignments

Installation

1. Upload the Plugin

   • Create a folder called nws-location-codes in your WordPress plugins directory (wp-content/plugins/)
   • Place all plugin files in this folder

2. File Structure

   nws-location-codes/
   ├── nws-location-codes.php (main plugin file)
   ├── js/
   │   └── admin-import.js
   ├── css/
   │   └── admin-import.css
   └── includes/
       └── shapefile.php

3. Activate the Plugin

   • Go to WordPress Admin → Plugins
   • Find "NWS Location Codes" and click "Activate"

Usage

Importing Data

1. Navigate to UGC Codes → Import Data in the WordPress admin menu
2. Click the Import Data button
3. Wait for the import to complete (this may take a few minutes)
4. View the import statistics showing:
   • Number of UGC Codes created
   • Number of SAME Codes created
   • Total records processed

Managing Codes

UGC Codes

• Access via UGC Codes menu in WordPress admin
• Each post represents a unique UGC code
• Title format: County Name (UGC Code)
• Example: Denton (TXC121)

SAME Codes

• Access via SAME Codes menu in WordPress admin
• Each post represents a unique SAME code
• Title format: County Name (SAME Code)
• Example: Denton (048121)

Code Format Reference

UGC Code Format

Format: STATE + TYPE + LAST_3_FIPS

Example: TXC121

• TX = Texas (state)
• C = County (type)
• 121 = Last 3 digits of FIPS code (48121)

Types:

• C = County
• Z = Zone

SAME Code Format

Format: 0 + STATE_FIPS + COUNTY_CODE

Example: 048121

• 0 = Leading zero
• 48 = State FIPS (Texas)
• 121 = County code

Example Data Breakdown

Given this raw data:

TX|103|FWD|Denton|TX103|Denton|48121|C|nc|33.2043|-97.1171

Parsed Values:

• State: TX
• Zone/County ID: 103
• County Name: Denton
• FIPS: 48121
• UGC Type: C (county)

Derived Codes:

• UGC: TXC121 (TX + C + 121)
• SAME: 048121 (0 + 48 + 121)
• FIPS: 48121 (already present)

Meta Fields

UGC Code Post Meta:

• ugc_code - The UGC code
• state - Two-letter state abbreviation
• zone - Three-digit zone number
• cwa - County Warning Area ID
• zone_name - Name of the zone
• county - County name
• fips - 5-digit FIPS code
• ugc_type - Type of UGC (C or Z)
• time_zone - Time zone
• lat - Latitude
• lon - Longitude

SAME Code Post Meta:

• same_code - The SAME code
• state - Two-letter state abbreviation
• county - County name
• fips - 5-digit FIPS code
• state_fips - 2-digit state FIPS
• county_code - 3-digit county code
• time_zone - Time zone
• lat - Latitude
• lon - Longitude

Future Integration

This plugin is designed to integrate with weather alert systems. In future updates, you'll be able to:

• Link weather alerts to UGC and SAME codes
• Allow users to click alerts to view county/state information
• Display all alerts for a specific location
• Create relationships between alerts and location codes

Data Source

Data is sourced from the National Weather Service:

• URL: https://www.weather.gov/gis/ZoneCounty
• Current File: bp05mr24.dbx (March 5, 2024)
• Format: Pipe-delimited text file

API / Developer Usage

Query Posts by Code

Get UGC Code by Code Value:

$args = array(
    'post_type' => 'ugc_code',
    'meta_key' => 'ugc_code',
    'meta_value' => 'TXC121',
    'posts_per_page' => 1
);
$ugc_post = get_posts($args);

Get SAME Code by Code Value:

$args = array(
    'post_type' => 'same_code',
    'meta_key' => 'same_code',
    'meta_value' => '048121',
    'posts_per_page' => 1
);
$same_post = get_posts($args);

Get All Codes for a State:

$args = array(
    'post_type' => 'ugc_code',
    'meta_key' => 'state',
    'meta_value' => 'TX',
    'posts_per_page' => -1
);
$texas_codes = get_posts($args);

Clearing Data

To remove all imported data:

1. Go to UGC Codes → Import Data
2. Click the Clear All Data button
3. Confirm the action

⚠️ Warning: This action cannot be undone!

System Requirements

• WordPress 5.0 or higher
• PHP 7.0 or higher
• cURL or allow_url_fopen enabled for remote data fetching

Support

For issues or questions about this plugin, please refer to:

• National Weather Service GIS Data: https://www.weather.gov/gis/
• WordPress Codex: https://codex.wordpress.org/

License

GPL v2 or later

Changelog

Version 1.0.1

• FIXED: UGC codes now use zone-based format (e.g., FLZ201, FLZ202) instead of county-based
• IMPROVED: Better handling of multiple zones per county (Inland, Coastal, etc.)
• ADDED: Error logging and display in import interface
• ADDED: Custom admin columns showing code details
• ADDED: Error count in import statistics
• IMPROVED: Validation for essential fields during import
• FIXED: Proper handling of duplicate detection

Version 1.0.0

• Initial release
• UGC and SAME custom post types
• NWS data import functionality
• Meta field management
• Admin interface with import/clear options

Understanding the Data Structure

Why Multiple Records for Same County?

You may notice multiple UGC codes for the same county. This is correct and intentional:

FL|201|MOB|Escambia Inland|FL201|Escambia|12033|C|nw|30.8725|-87.4324
FL|202|MOB|Escambia Coastal|FL202|Escambia|12033|C|nw|30.5100|-87.3166

Results in:

• UGC Code: FLZ201 (Escambia Inland)
• UGC Code: FLZ202 (Escambia Coastal)
• SAME Code: 012033 (Escambia County - only one)

Why?

• Weather alerts use zone-based UGC codes (FLZ201, FLZ202)
• Different zones have different forecast characteristics (inland vs coastal)
• SAME codes remain county-based (one per county)
• This allows precise targeting of weather warnings

Import Statistics

After import, you'll see:

• UGC Codes Created: Total number of zone-based codes (larger number)
• SAME Codes Created: Total number of county-based codes (smaller number)
• Total Records Processed: All lines processed from NWS file
• Errors/Skipped: Any validation failures or problematic records

If errors appear, review the error log to see which records had issues.