Rather than type in each and every rainfall value, Studio Express offers a way to import this data directly into your Precipitation table.
How to Import from NOAA
Provided your state is one which is listed on this atlas, you can quickly import this data by first exporting it from NOAA’s Precipitation Frequency Data Server. To start, click the [NOAA] button on the Ribbon Toolbar to open the web server.
Then select your state and follow the instructions.
Be sure to set the Data type to “Precipitation Depth, Partial Duration” as shown below.
At the bottom of the PF Tabular table you’ll see an option to export as a .csv file.
Click [Submit].
Then choose Save as from the dialog box and save this file as a .csv or .txt file, preferably in your Studio Express/Rainfall folder.
Do not open in a spreadsheet and resave as this may modify the file format.
Next, [Clear] the table. Then click the [Import] button on the Precipitation Manager screen.
Select the file you just saved from NOAA and click [Open].
The import will add the precipitation values to the table.
Now click [Apply].
Save your new data by clicking the [Save] button and specifying a name for your file. A “.pcp” extension will applied. This file will automatically open each time you launch Studio Express. You can, of course, change this file any time afterwards.
Click the [Open] or [Save] buttons to open or save an existing .pcp file.
Inside of NOAA’s File
The file will open in your web browser, or other text viewer, and will look similar to the following:
Point precipitation frequency estimates (inches)
NOAA Atlas 14, Volume 1, Version 5
Data type: Precipitation depth
Time series type: Partial duration
Project area: Southwest
Latitude (decimal degrees): 34.4000
Longitude (decimal degrees): -111.7000
PRECIPITATION FREQUENCY ESTIMATES
by duration for ARI:, 1,2,5,10,25,50,100,200,500,1000 years
5-min:, 0.24,0.31,0.42,0.51,0.64,0.74,0.85,0.97,1.15,1.29
10-min:, 0.37,0.48,0.65,0.78,0.97,1.13,1.30,1.48,1.75,1.97
15-min:, 0.46,0.59,0.80,0.97,1.21,1.40,1.61,1.84,2.17,2.44
30-min:, 0.62,0.80,1.08,1.30,1.62,1.89,2.17,2.48,2.92,3.28
60-min:, 0.76,0.98,1.33,1.61,2.01,2.34,2.69,3.07,3.61,4.06
2-hr:, 0.89,1.14,1.50,1.80,2.24,2.60,2.99,3.41,4.03,4.54
3-hr:, 0.98,1.24,1.59,1.90,2.33,2.68,3.07,3.50,4.12,4.63
6-hr:, 1.20,1.50,1.86,2.18,2.64,3.01,3.41,3.84,4.44,4.95
12-hr:, 1.49,1.85,2.27,2.62,3.09,3.46,3.85,4.23,4.79,5.26
24-hr:, 1.82,2.28,2.85,3.31,3.94,4.43,4.94,5.47,6.18,6.74
2-day:, 2.17,2.71,3.39,3.95,4.71,5.32,5.95,6.60,7.49,8.18
3-day:, 2.33,2.91,3.65,4.25,5.09,5.75,6.43,7.15,8.12,8.90
4-day:, 2.49,3.12,3.91,4.56,5.46,6.17,6.92,7.70,8.76,9.61
7-day:, 2.90,3.62,4.52,5.25,6.26,7.05,7.88,8.72,9.89,10.80
10-day:, 3.23,4.03,5.00,5.76,6.79,7.58,8.38,9.19,10.30,11.16
20-day:, 4.15,5.17,6.32,7.18,8.28,9.08,9.87,10.62,11.57,12.26
30-day:, 4.96,6.18,7.55,8.58,9.88,10.83,11.76,12.65,13.77,14.58
45-day:, 5.96,7.44,9.11,10.38,12.02,13.23,14.42,15.58,17.06,18.14
60-day:, 6.81,8.50,10.35,11.72,13.45,14.70,15.91,17.06,18.49,19.52
Date/time (GMT): Thu May 3 18:02:02 2012
pyRunTime: 0.0390179157257