NCL Install

NCL is a scripting language used to generate visual output files using data generated by WRF.

NOTE: This guide assumes you are using the BASH shell.

STEP ONE - Files

From your home directory create and enter a new directory called ncl.

mkdir ~/ncl
cd ~/ncl

In the ncl folder download the latest version of the NCL binaries. They can be found here.

Make sure to get the correct version of the binaries for the linux version and compiler version being used.

In our example we will be downloading and extracting version 6.4.0 for Redhat and the GNU compiler using the following commands:

wget https://www.earthsystemgrid.org/dataset/ncl.640.nodap/file/ncl_ncarg-6.4.0-RHEL6.4_64bit_nodap_gnu447.tar.gz
tar -xf ncl_ncarg-6.4.0-RHEL6.4_64bit_nodap_gnu447.tar.gz

STEP TWO - Environment Variables

Once you have everything downloaded and extracted you will need to setup the correct environment variables for NCL using the following commands:

export NCARG_ROOT=$HOME/ncl
export PATH=$NCARG_ROOT/bin:$PATH

Once this is complete the NCL scripting language is ready to be used.

Note: The environment variables will be reset each time you log out.

STEP THREE - Example Scripts

NCAR has many example scripts on their website https://www.ncl.ucar.edu/Applications/