Each storm has one descriptive record which is a brief summary of the storm history including storm name, track type, maximum development level, etc. The information is stored in the file storms.txt for all active storms, and storms.archive for all storms for a selected year. The data format is as follows:
STORM NAME,RE,X,R2,R3,R4,R5,CY,YYYY,TY,I,YYY1MMDDHH,
YYY2MMDDHH,SIZE,GENESIS_NUM,PAR1,PAR2,PRIORITY,STORM_STATE,WT_NUMBER,STORMID
where
STORM NAME = Literal storm name, "INVEST", or "GENESISxxx" where xxx is a number/P>
RE = Region (basin) code: WP, IO, SH, CP, EP, AL, LS.
X = Subregion code: W, A, B, S, P, C, E, L, Q.
R2 = Region 2 code: WP, IO, SH, CP, or EP. This and R3-R5 are codes for basins entered subsequent to the original basin where the storm was generated.
R3 = Region 3 code: WP, IO, SH, CP, or EP.
R4 = Region 4 code: WP, IO, SH, CP, or EP.
R5 = Region 5 code: WP, IO, SH, CP, or EP.
CY = Annual cyclone number: 01 through 99.
YYYY = Cyclone Year: 0000 through 9999.
TY = Highest level of tc development: TD, TS, TY, ST, TC, HU, SH, XX (unknown).
I = S, R, O; straight mover, recurver, odd mover.
YYY1MMDDHH = Starting DTG: 0000010100 through 9999123123.
YYY2MMDDHH = Ending DTG: 0000010100 through 9999123123.
SIZE = Storm Size (MIDG (midget) , GIAN (giant), etc.).
GENESIS_NUM = Annual genesis number: 001 through 999.
PAR1 = UNUSED.
PAR2 = UNUSED.
PRIORITY = Priority for model runs (e.g., GFDN, GFDL, COAMPS-TC, H-WRF): 1-9.
STORM_STATE = Storm state: METWATCH,TCFA,WARNING or ARCHIVE
WT_NUMBER = Minute of warning or TCFA (00-59)
STORMID = Storm ID composed of basin designator and annual cyclone number (e.g. wp081993)