Meteorologist accounts on WxAlerts can create a personal placefile key. It loads the same spotter placefile in GRLevel3, GR2Analyst or GREarth, and also shows reports that are kept out of the public file.
Getting a meteorologist account
Open the Account view of your account.
- If you confirm a noaa.gov work address, or one on our research list, the account type is granted as soon as you open the link we email you.
- Otherwise, fill in the meteorologist request form there. An admin checks it and decides, and any note they leave shows on the same page.
Creating a key
- Under Placefile keys in your account, give the key a label (such as “Office PC”) and press Create key.
- Copy the placefile URL. The key is shown once; if you lose it, revoke it and create another.
- In GR, open Window, then Placefile Manager, press the plus button and paste the URL.
Marking a report
GR placefiles cannot hold a clickable link, so every hover text ends with the
report’s address, like wxalerts.org/r/bcd2fgh3jk. Open that page while
signed in and you can:
- Mark the report Good, Invalid (it was not valid when filed) or Wording issue, with an optional note that only WxAlerts admins see.
- Withdraw your mark.
- Add a public remark. It shows on the report page and on the spotter’s profile, signed with your display label.
Asking the spotter
On the report page, and on the board, you can ask the spotter one question at a time: a quick prompt (location, photo, time, still visible) or your own wording. They can reply once to each question from their inbox. Conversations are only for checking the report, and WxAlerts staff can read them. A useful reply can be published as a public remark, signed by you.
The vetting board lists recent reports for a CWA or state with quick mark buttons, and refreshes itself every minute. It is built to sit in a browser tab next to GR.