Scootercam-verbose

This plugin parses text files from weather services and creates shortcodes for the chunks.

Version: 1.0.0
WordPress Plugin

Description

Automated NOAA weather forecast parser with smart caching, alert detection, and flexible display options. Parses standard (miz071.txt) and marine (lmz845.txt) forecasts with emoji-enhanced alerts.

Features

• ✅ Automated NOAA FTP downloads (hourly)
• ✅ Standard and marine forecast parsing
• ✅ Alert detection with emoji indicators
• ✅ Multiple display formats (list, table, simple)
• ✅ Individual period or complete forecast display
• ✅ Last-updated timestamps
• ✅ Smart caching system
• ✅ Manual refresh option

Data Sources

Standard Forecast: miz071.txt (Michigan Zone 071)
Marine Forecast: lmz845.txt (Lake Michigan Zone 845)

Downloaded from: ftp://tgftp.nws.noaa.gov/

Installation

1. Upload the scootercam-verbose folder to /wp-content/plugins/
2. Activate the plugin through the WordPress ‘Plugins’ menu
3. Data will automatically download within 1 hour
4. Or manually update via Weather Verbose → Download & Parse Forecasts Now

Shortcodes

Individual Forecast Periods

Standard Forecast:

TONIGHT
Rain showers and scattered thunderstorms. Lows in the mid 40s. West winds 10 to 20 mph with gusts to around 35 mph. Chance of rain 100 percent
WEDNESDAY
Rain showers. Highs around 50. West winds 10 to 20 mph with gusts to around 35 mph. Chance of rain 100 percent

[weather_verbose index="0"]  → Period name (e.g., "TODAY")
[weather_verbose index="1"]  → Period forecast text
[weather_verbose index="2"]  → Next period name (e.g., "TONIGHT")
[weather_verbose index="3"]  → Next period forecast text

Marine Forecast:

TONIGHT
West gales to 35 knots. Rain showers and scattered thunderstorms in the evening, then rain showers and isolated thunderstorms after midnight. A slight chance of waterspouts through the night. Waves 8 to 12 feet

[weather_marine index="0"]   → Period name
[weather_marine index="1"]   → Period forecast text

Complete Forecasts

All Standard Forecasts:

TONIGHT	Rain showers and scattered thunderstorms. Lows in the mid 40s. West winds 10 to 20 mph with gusts to around 35 mph. Chance of rain 100 percent
WEDNESDAY	Rain showers. Highs around 50. West winds 10 to 20 mph with gusts to around 35 mph. Chance of rain 100 percent
WEDNESDAY NIGHT	Rain showers in the evening, then rain showers and a slight chance of thunderstorms after midnight. Lows in the lower 40s. West winds 5 to 15 mph. Gusts up to 35 mph decreasing to 25 mph after midnight. Chance of rain 90 percent
THURSDAY	Rain showers and a slight chance of thunderstorms in the morning, then rain showers likely in the afternoon. Highs around 50. Northwest winds 5 to 15 mph with gusts to around 25 mph. Chance of rain 80 percent
THURSDAY NIGHT	Partly cloudy with a 50 percent chance of rain showers. Lows in the upper 30s. Northwest winds around 10 mph. Gusts up to 20 mph in the evening
FRIDAY	Partly sunny in the morning then becoming mostly sunny. Highs in the lower 50s
FRIDAY NIGHT	Partly cloudy. Lows in the lower 30s
SATURDAY	Partly sunny with a 20 percent chance of rain showers. Highs in the upper 50s
SATURDAY NIGHT	Partly cloudy with a 20 percent chance of rain showers. Lows in the upper 30s
SUNDAY	Partly sunny with a 20 percent chance of rain showers. Highs in the upper 50s
SUNDAY NIGHT	Partly cloudy with a 20 percent chance of rain showers. Lows in the lower 40s
MONDAY	Partly sunny with a 20 percent chance of rain showers. Highs in the lower 60s
MONDAY NIGHT	Partly cloudy with a 50 percent chance of rain showers. Lows in the mid 40s
TUESDAY	Partly sunny with a 50 percent chance of rain showers. Highs in the upper 50s. $$

[weather_verbose_all]                    → List format (default)
[weather_verbose_all format="table"]     → Table format
[weather_verbose_all format="simple"]    → Simple paragraph format

All Marine Forecasts:

TONIGHT	West gales to 35 knots. Rain showers and scattered thunderstorms in the evening, then rain showers and isolated thunderstorms after midnight. A slight chance of waterspouts through the night. Waves 8 to 12 feet
WEDNESDAY	Northwest gales to 45 knots. Rain showers. A slight chance of waterspouts. Waves 10 to 14 feet
WEDNESDAY NIGHT	Northwest gales to 45 knots. Rain showers and a slight chance of thunderstorms. Waves 9 to 13 feet
THURSDAY	Northwest gales to 35 knots decreasing to 30 knots in the late morning and afternoon. Rain showers. Waves 7 to 10 feet
THURSDAY NIGHT	Northwest winds to 30 knots decreasing to 15 to 20 knots after midnight. Partly cloudy with a chance of rain showers. Waves 5 to 7 feet
FRIDAY	Northwest winds 10 to 15 knots. Partly sunny. Waves 3 to 5 feet
SATURDAY	Southeast winds around 10 knots. Mostly sunny. Waves 1 foot or less
SUNDAY	Southeast winds 10 to 20 knots. Partly sunny. Waves around 1 foot. $$

[weather_marine_all]                     → List format (default)
[weather_marine_all format="table"]      → Table format
[weather_marine_all format="simple"]     → Simple paragraph format

Weather Alerts

Display Alerts (Only When Active):

[weather_alerts]               → Standard weather alerts
[marine_alerts]                → Marine weather alerts

Show “None” When No Alerts:

[weather_alerts show_none="true"]
[marine_alerts show_none="true"]

Last Updated

Relative Time:

3 hours ago
3 hours ago

[weather_verbose_updated]      → "2 hours ago"
[weather_marine_updated]       → "45 minutes ago"

Absolute Time:

October 21, 2025 9:33 pm
October 21, 2025 9:33 pm

[weather_verbose_updated format="absolute"]   → "October 17, 2025 3:30 pm"
[weather_marine_updated format="absolute"]    → "October 17, 2025 3:30 pm"

Alert Emojis

Standard Weather Alerts

• 🌪️ Tornado
• 🌨️ Blizzard
• ❄️ Winter Storm / Ice Storm
• 🧊 Freeze / Frost
• 🌊 Flood
• 🌫️ Dense Fog
• 🌡️ Heat / Excessive Heat
• 🔥 Fire Weather
• ⛈️ Severe Thunderstorm
• 🌀 Hurricane / Tropical
• 💨 Wind
• ⚠️ General Warning

Marine Alerts

• 🚩 Small Craft Advisory
• 🚩🚩 Gale Warning
• ⛔🚩 Storm Warning
• 🌀🚩🚩 Hurricane Warning
• 🌫️ Dense Fog
• 🌊⚠️ Tsunami
• ⚡🚩 Special Marine Warning
• ⛈️🚩 Severe Thunderstorm
• 🌊🚩 High Seas
• 🧊🚩 Freezing Spray
• 🏖️⚠️ Beach Hazards / Rip Currents
• ⚠️⛵ General Marine Warning

Display Formats

List Format (Default)

• Styled boxes with colored left border
• Period name as heading
• Forecast text in paragraph
• Good for detailed display

Table Format

• Two columns: Period | Forecast
• Compact presentation
• Good for mobile devices

Simple Format

• Plain paragraph text
• Period name in bold
• Minimal styling
• Good for inline display

Example Usage

<h2>🚨 Weather Alerts</h2>

<h2>📅 Today’s Forecast</h2> <p><strong>TONIGHT:</strong> Rain showers and scattered thunderstorms. Lows in the mid 40s. West winds 10 to 20 mph with gusts to around 35 mph. Chance of rain 100 percent</p> <p><small>Updated: 3 hours ago</small></p> <h2>📋 Complete 7-Day Forecast</h2>

<h2>🌊 Marine Forecast</h2>

TONIGHT	West gales to 35 knots. Rain showers and scattered thunderstorms in the evening, then rain showers and isolated thunderstorms after midnight. A slight chance of waterspouts through the night. Waves 8 to 12 feet
WEDNESDAY	Northwest gales to 45 knots. Rain showers. A slight chance of waterspouts. Waves 10 to 14 feet
WEDNESDAY NIGHT	Northwest gales to 45 knots. Rain showers and a slight chance of thunderstorms. Waves 9 to 13 feet
THURSDAY	Northwest gales to 35 knots decreasing to 30 knots in the late morning and afternoon. Rain showers. Waves 7 to 10 feet
THURSDAY NIGHT	Northwest winds to 30 knots decreasing to 15 to 20 knots after midnight. Partly cloudy with a chance of rain showers. Waves 5 to 7 feet
FRIDAY	Northwest winds 10 to 15 knots. Partly sunny. Waves 3 to 5 feet
SATURDAY	Southeast winds around 10 knots. Mostly sunny. Waves 1 foot or less
SUNDAY	Southeast winds 10 to 20 knots. Partly sunny. Waves around 1 foot. $$

<p><small>Updated: 3 hours ago</small></p>

Admin Interface

Navigate to: WordPress Admin → Weather Verbose

Features:

• View current forecast data status
• See last update time
• Check number of available forecast periods
• Manual download/parse button
• Complete shortcode reference

Automated Updates

Forecasts automatically download and parse every hour via WordPress cron.

Manual Update:
Admin → Weather Verbose → “Download & Parse Forecasts Now”

Data Storage

Downloaded Files:

• /wp-content/wx/miz071.txt
• /wp-content/wx/lmz845.txt

Parsed Data:

• /wp-content/wx/extracted_verbose.php
• /wp-content/wx/extracted_marine.php

Array Structure

Forecasts are stored as indexed arrays:

[0] = "TODAY"
[1] = "Partly cloudy. High 72F..."
[2] = "TONIGHT"
[3] = "Clear skies. Low 54F..."
[4] = "MONDAY"
[5] = "Sunny. High 75F..."

If alerts exist:

[0] = "ALERTS"
[1] = "DENSE FOG ADVISORY | SMALL CRAFT ADVISORY"
[2] = "TODAY"
[3] = "Partly cloudy. High 72F..."

Requirements

• WordPress 5.0+
• PHP 7.4+
• FTP functions enabled
• Write permissions for /wp-content/wx/ directory

Troubleshooting

No forecast data showing:

1. Check /wp-content/wx/ directory exists and is writable
2. Manually trigger download in admin
3. Verify FTP access to tgftp.nws.noaa.gov

Alerts not displaying:

• Alerts only show when NOAA includes them in forecast headers
• Use show_none="true" to always display alert section

Technical Details

• Parses NOAA text forecasts (skips first 14 header lines)
• Regex pattern matching for forecast periods
• Transient caching system
• Automatic cleanup of old data
• WordPress cron integration

License

GPL v2 or later

Author

Rick Xaver
Scootercam
https://scootercam.net

Changelog

1.0.0

• Initial release
• NOAA forecast parser (miz071.txt and lmz845.txt)
• Alert detection with emoji indicators
• Multiple display formats
• Last-updated shortcodes
• Hourly auto-updates