Weather Archives

November 9, 2009

Track Hurricane Ida in Google Earth

Hurricane Ida is on a path for the central Gulf Coast, expected to make landfall tonight somewhere between New Orleans and Pensacola. While the storm is expected to weaken before it hits land, it will still arrive as a strong tropical storm and could cause quite a lot of damage.

As you know, Google Earth has some excellent tools for tracking storms like this. You can overlay weather satellite photos, radar, storm tracks, real-time lightning strikes, pressure maps, wind maps, sea surface temperatures, and more. We've written about many of the tools available in the past. Here is a set of weather tools in a single network link that lets you get access to great weather data in one convenient package. Check out the many datasets starting with two different storm tracking tools. You can also read more details about the collection.

To help you understand what's possible with these weather tools, here is a video demonstration that Frank created a few years ago:

There's also an excellent new tool available for Google Earth which lets you follow the hurricane hunters as they fly into the storms and collect data. Check out the story about live hurricane hunter mission data.

Posted by mickmel at 9:55 AM | Comments (0)

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October 5, 2009

Data visualizations in Google Earth

One of the great things about Google Earth is how extensible it is using KML. You can use it to show off placemarks, build 3D structures, track wildfires, show educational resources, and much more.

Today's example, from Thijs, shows how well Google Earth can be used as a scientific visualization platform. Some of the highlights of his work include:

Dutch bathymetry: The bathymetry of the entire Dutch coast, varying in time from 1928 to present, with yearly updates in later decennia. It's a total of 4gb of data on the server, so loading a full animation does take a while.

Hurricane Katrina: Animation of the measured winds during Katrina, and the associated water level set up.

Tidal water movement: Animation of water movement during a tidal cycle in an estuary.

For more, you can visit his website and see some screenshots or simply browse the raw files.

Posted by mickmel at 2:11 PM | Comments (0)

October 3, 2009

Find ways to help those affected by Tropical Storm Ketsana

As they often do after a natural disaster, Google is doing what it can to help those affected. In this case, they've set up various pages to give you quick access to information to help those affected by Tropical Storm Ketsana (named "Ondoy" locally) last weekend, which killed nearly 300 people, left dozens missing, and thousands without shelter.

To see a visualization of the flooding and aftermath, you can check out this kmz file in Google Earth, as shown in the image below:

For more information, Google has set up a special Help page that provides details about road conditions, donation centers, missing persons and other information. The page also lists many places where you can donate funds to assist those in need.

Posted by mickmel at 5:58 AM | Comments (0)

August 31, 2009

Station Fire in California in Google Earth

The LA Times put together a Google Maps map of the Station Fire (or La Canada fire) in the Los Angeles area which you can view in Google Earth in 3D right here . Google Earth is a great tool for getting the full perspective on where a fire is at and what the terrain looks like around the fire. Not only that, but you can load recent satellite imagery overlayed in GE to see where the fire and smoke are going. That's what GEC member 'Hill' posted in this overlay . NASA's MODIS satellites group are have a shot from 30-August - see here - they are now supporting KML overlays on the page.

Fire Tracking - Discovered this collection of Google Earth files showing up-to-date fire information on a global basis based on data from NASA's Modis satellite system. The work is done by the University of Maryland's FIRMS (Fire Information for Resource Management). The link shows a page where you can select different regions around the Earth. You can choose 24 hour, 48 hour, and a time series for 48 hours (a time animation). They also have a network link for the whole world. Very handy way to find out where the fires are. Watch out for the Africa fire folder though...there are LOTS of fires there!

US Forest Service Active Fires Map - The USFS has a web site dedicated to tracking active fires. They use a combination of satellites from space which detect the fires, and combine that with ground-based information to produce the maps. All data points are placemarks with further information. Check out the fire map for the continental US which includes the California fires.

Posted by FrankTaylor at 1:29 PM | Comments (1)

August 24, 2009

Links: Alphabet Soup, 3D Models movie, Fire tracking

• Alphabet Soup - GEC member 'thomasdebruin' did some painstaking work identifying an entire alphabet (plus punctuation) in the aerial/satellite photos in the Netherlands. You can download the placemarks in GE here . This is just one of several similar efforts out there. My favorite trick with satellite "alphabets" is GeoGreeting.com which lets you send a message with an aerial/satellite imagery alphabet using Google Maps. Maybe they could do a localized version for the Netherlands now.

• 3D Models Movie - The Google SketchUp team has put together a nice movie touring many of the better Google Earth 3D models out there. Watch it here (I recommend hitting the "HD" button and going to "fullscreen":

• Fire Tracking - Discovered this collection of Google Earth files showing up-to-date fire information on a global basis based on data from NASA's Modis satellite system. The work is done by the University of Maryland's FIRMS (Fire Information for Resource Management). The link shows a page where you can select different regions around the Earth. You can choose 24 hour, 48 hour, and a time series for 48 hours (a time animation). They also have a network link for the whole world. Very handy way to find out where the fires are. Watch out for the Africa fire files though...there are LOTS of fires there!
  

Posted by FrankTaylor at 7:52 AM | Comments (0)

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More entries for this category:

6. Cat 4 Storm Felicia Headed for Hawaii - See in Google Earth - August 7, 2009
7. Hurricane/Cyclone Tracking with Google Earth - June 25, 2009
8. Air France Flight 447 - Google Earth Map - June 9, 2009
9. US Drought Conditions in Google Earth by NOAA - June 5, 2009
10. Wilkins Ice Shelf Collapse in Google Earth - April 17, 2009
11. Links: GE Plugin Update, KML Contest Update, Panoramio Contest, Teaching with GE, Santa Video - December 5, 2008
12. Links: Where 2.0, Weather Buoys, Argentina, Earthscape, MapMyPage, and more - November 19, 2008
13. California Fires - November 2008 - November 16, 2008
14. New Virtual Earth with 3D Clouds - September 25, 2008
15. More Detailed Arctic Ice Melting Animation in Google Earth - September 19, 2008
16. Google/NOAA Release Post-Hurricane Ike Aerial Imagery in Google Earth - September 16, 2008
17. Track Hurricane Ike in Google Earth - September 10, 2008
18. Links: Hurricane Ike, GeoEye Launched, Aviation Maps, McClendon in Kansas - September 8, 2008
19. Google Earth News Roundup - September 5, 2008
20. Track Hurricane Hanna in Google Earth - September 1, 2008
21. Track Hurricane Gustav in Google Earth - August 29, 2008
22. Links: Panoramio Contest, Lunar Challenge, Fire Detection - August 28, 2008
23. Watch Arctic Ice Melting in Google Earth - August 11, 2008
24. Live Hurricane Hunter Missions in Google Earth - July 21, 2008
25. Storm Tracking With Google Earth - July 3, 2008
26. Popular Science Highlights Scientific Applications of Google Earth - June 20, 2008
27. Climate Change Data for Google Earth - May 20, 2008
28. Myanmar Cyclone Data in Google Earth - May 6, 2008
29. NASA Time Animation of Ionosphere For Google Earth - May 5, 2008
30. Wilkins Ice Shelf, Sea Ice Extent Animation - March 28, 2008
31. Global Temperature Trends for Google Earth - March 24, 2008
32. Google Adds More Countries with Weather Radar Layer - March 20, 2008
33. NOAA Weather Data in Google Earth - February 25, 2008
34. Accuweather Photo Calendar Winners in Google Earth - January 24, 2008
35. Top 25 Stories of Google Earth 2007 - December 27, 2007
36. Links: Daily Earth Imagery, Antarctica Photos, Panoramio Searchable, Santa Sleigh - December 18, 2007
37. Tropical Cyclone Sidr in Google Earth - November 16, 2007
38. Big Layer Update - Weather Layers in Google Earth - November 8, 2007
39. Caribbean 1500 Sailing Cup in Google Earth - November 5, 2007
40. Links: Chinese Cop Catches Crook, Malibu Fire, EveryTrail Update, CIA WorldFactbook, Hungary Weather - October 22, 2007
41. Hurricane Followspot Animations in Google Earth - October 4, 2007
42. Back to School - Educational Uses with Google Earth - September 11, 2007
43. News Roundup: Flight Sim Tips, Clouds and Weather, KML 2.2, Google Solar Panels, Pollution - September 10, 2007
44. Video Showing Storm Tracking Tools for Google Earth - August 20, 2007
45. Best Storm Tracking and Weather Tools for Google Earth - August 15, 2007
46. News Roundup - Flickr KML tags, Weather, Arc2Earth V2 - August 13, 2007
47. Quasi-global Near real-time Rainfall in Google Earth - July 3, 2007
48. Google Earth Sky - Part II - June 25, 2007
49. How to Add a Sky to Google Earth - June 24, 2007
50. Global Lightning Animation for Google Earth - June 14, 2007
51. Monthly Cloud Animations for Google Earth - June 7, 2007
52. Weather and Storm Tracking Tools for Google Earth - June 2, 2007
53. Rising Water Effects for NYC in Google Earth - Part III - May 25, 2007
54. Google Earth Umbrella - May 16, 2007
55. News Roundup - Nokia N95, gCensus US, Greensburg Radar Animation - May 14, 2007
56. New Satellite Imagery of Town Destroyed by Tornado - May 9, 2007
57. News Roundup - Taj Majal in 3D, KML as Open Standard, Katrina Imagery, New AIA150 Tour - May 8, 2007
58. EarthNC Releases Browser-based Google Earth Content - April 26, 2007
59. Animation Roundup: Rising Sea Levels, Filling Grand Canyon, Global Clouds - April 6, 2007
60. Historical Maps of Tornado Paths in the US - April 3, 2007
61. Google Shows Pre-Katrina Photos for New Orleans - March 30, 2007
62. New Snow and Ice Data for Google Earth - March 5, 2007
63. Happy International Polar Year! Google Earth Presentation - March 2, 2007
64. Fox Television Offering Google Earth/Maps Weather Data - February 12, 2007
65. Recent Weather Satellite Animations in Google Earth - February 1, 2007
66. News roundup: Google vs. Microsoft, 3D San Jose, Endurance, Weather, Off the Map - January 23, 2007
67. NOAA Voluntary Observing Ship (VOS) Weather Feed for Google Earth - January 13, 2007
68. NASA Goddard Publishes Huge Google Earth Time Animations - December 10, 2006
69. NOAA's Great Lakes Environmental Research Lab Publishes Google Earth Content - December 8, 2006
70. History: The Flood of Florence in 1966 with Google Earth - December 1, 2006
71. Earth on Fire - November 4, 2006
72. National Weather Service Releases Radar Loops for Google Earth - October 26, 2006
73. Katrina Time Animation in Google Earth - September 25, 2006
74. Track Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Lane in Google Earth - September 16, 2006
75. New Storms - Track Hurricane Gordon, Typhoon Shanshan - September 13, 2006
76. Track Tropical Storm Florence in Google Earth - September 6, 2006
77. Global Clouds with Altitude for GE 4 - September 3, 2006
78. Hurricane John Threatens West Mexico Coastline - August 30, 2006
79. Back to School - Educational Uses with Google Earth - August 29, 2006
80. Track Hurricane Ernesto in Google Earth - August 27, 2006
81. Track Tropical Storm Ernesto in Google Earth - August 25, 2006
82. High Resolution Satellite Photo of Typhoon Saomai - August 11, 2006
83. Homemade Network of Real-time Lightning Data - See it in Google Earth - August 9, 2006
84. Tropical Storms in the Pacific - Maria, Typhoon Saomai, and Bopha - August 8, 2006
85. Tropical Storm Chris - August 1, 2006
86. Weather Forecasts for South America in Google Earth/ Pronostico America del Sur - July 13, 2006
87. Weather and Storm Tracking Tools for Google Earth - July 3, 2006
88. NASA Lightning Map in Google Earth - June 20, 2006
89. Near Real-time Severe Weather Data for the US from NOAA - May 31, 2006
90. Real-time Stream Flow Sensor Net in Google Earth - May 14, 2006
91. Gulf Impact - Analysis of Damage to Oil/Gas Industry from Hurricanes - May 9, 2006
92. Near Real-time Ocean/Weather Data - April 28, 2006
93. NOAA's Coral Reef Watch Adds Google Earth Data - April 13, 2006
94. Global Cloud Map is Back - April 3, 2006
95. Follow Volvo Ocean Race Leg 4 in Google Earth - February 19, 2006
96. Pilot World-wide Weather in Google Earth - February 8, 2006
97. News Roundup - February 7, 2006
98. More Satellite Environmental Data in Google Earth - January 31, 2006
99. NASA Annual Day Land Temperatures of the Earth - January 30, 2006
100. Global Fire Data in Google Earth - January 26, 2006
101. Arctic and Antarctic Ice Floes in Google Earth - January 25, 2006
102. Aurora Viewing Map in Google Earth - January 5, 2006
103. Tropical Storm Zeta - January 4, 2006
104. Fantastic Google Earth Documentary on Sir Ernest Shackleton - November 14, 2005
105. Post-Wilma NOAA Aerial Photography Released - October 26, 2005
106. Hurricane Wilma Google Earth Imagery - October 24, 2005
107. Hurricane Wilma Most Intense Atlantic Storm - October 20, 2005
108. Storm Tracking Tools - Hurricane Wilma - October 19, 2005
109. Nice Global Cloud Map - September 26, 2005
110. Hurricane Rita - Using Google Earth to Track - September 23, 2005
111. Storm Tracking Tools - Hurricanes Rita/Phillipe - September 20, 2005
112. Hurricane Katrina - Summary of Google Earth Resources - September 16, 2005
113. Hurricane Ophelia High-Res Satellite - September 15, 2005
114. Much Improved Method for Viewing Katrina Damage Imagery - September 8, 2005
115. Latest FEMA Katrina Damage Assessment Overlay - September 6, 2005
116. News Coverage on Google Earth and Hurricane Help - September 5, 2005
117. [UPDATE] Google Releasing Katrina Imagery - September 2, 2005
118. New Katrina Damage Photos in Google Earth - September 1, 2005
119. Hurricane Katrina Video and Google Earth - August 31, 2005
120. Hurricanes/Tropical Data - August 26, 2005
121. All Atlantic Hurricanes 1851-Present - August 20, 2005
122. Clouds of the Earth - August 8, 2005
123. Hurricane Tracking - August 1, 2005

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