Weather Archives

December 30, 2011

The Year 2011 in Google Earth

Google Earth had a tremendous year in 2011. Our most popular story of the year, by far, was from people searching for Osama bin Laden's compound in May. There was also quite a bit of interest in resources for the Japanese earthquake, as Google Earth is an excellent platform to share imagery and information for an event like that.

Here's a quick look back at the biggest stories for each month of 2011.

January
There wasn't any major Google Earth news in January, but we saw cool things like Louis Zamperini's journey mapped in Google Earth and Google hosted the 2011 GSA Penrose Conference.

February
Google brought art galleries into Street View and GeoEye provided some amazing imagery of the protests in Egypt.

March
Google was quick to respond to the Japanese earthquake and tsunami with high-resolution post-earthquake imagery shortly after the disaster and 3DConnexion sold their one millionth 3D mouse.

April
This month Google made some great enhancements to the mountain layer in Google Earth and we got some fresh imagery from the tornadoes that ravaged Alabama.

May
Google added 3D building support for Android tablets and people flocked to Google Earth to try to see Osama bin Laden's compound.

June
More 3D trees started appearing in a few cities and fresh imagery was released from the Nabro Volcano in Africa.

July
July brought the 100th anniversary of the discovery of Machu Picchu, South Sudan became a new country and the final space shuttle launch was tracked in Google Earth.

August
In August we showed you some fresh imagery of the damage from Hurricane Irene and we explored the true size of the Stone Mountain carving.

September
Google Earth 6.1 was released, bringing some nice new KML features with it. We also looked at the past, present and future of the World Trade Center complex in New York on the 10-year anniversary of the 9/11 attacks.

October
Peter Olsen created an excellent 3D model of the MLK National Memorial and Google Earth reached the one billion download milestone.

November
We took an early look at the 2012 London Olympic venues and enjoyed the cool new Fluid Nebula tool for Google Earth.

December
We played with Google Earth on the Samsung Galaxy Nexus and saw a new island being formed in the Red Sea by a volcano.

It's been another amazing year for Google Earth. What was your favorite story of the year?

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Posted by mickmel at 8:48 AM | Comments (1)

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December 14, 2011

Google reorganizes the "Ocean" Layer

As Google continues to add more content to the various Layers in Google Earth, they often take time to reorganize things a little bit. This time it's the "Ocean" layer that's been somewhat shifted around.

In particular:

• Some items have been moved to the Earth Gallery, including the "Marie Tharp Historical Map", "MBA: Seafood Watch", "MCS: Fish to Eat", "Human Impacts", "Arctic Sea Ice", "Sea Surface Temperature" and "Ocean Expeditions".
• The "ARKive: Endangered Ocean Species" layer is now turned on by default, and shown as purple circles on the globe.
• "Ocean Observations" has been moved to the [Weather] folder.

In all, it's a nice group of changes. It seems that Google has tried to simplify the [Ocean] layer quite a bit to make it easier for new users to dig in. I'm not sure how many people use the [Earth Gallery] feature, but perhaps this will encourage more people to check it out.

What do you think about these changes?

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Posted by mickmel at 7:46 AM | Comments (2)

September 5, 2011

Tracking hurricane wind speeds in Google Earth

Back in 2006, we showed you a tool from Jeremy Cothran at the University of South Carolina that provided a ton of near real-time weather data from various sensors around the southeastern United States.

Jeremy has now taken that vast amount of data, and simplified it to highlight significant events among those sensors. In particular, it highlights wind gusts over 30 mph or wave heights over five feet. The result, when combined with other tools such as Google's built-in satellite overlay, can be quite useful.

The more significant events are shown using larger icons, making it easier to see where the heart of the action is. You can view it yourself by loading this KMZ file into Google Earth. You can also view the data using Google Maps, but it loses the label styling and time slider functionality.

In both cases, the data shown is from the past 24 hours, and is updated hourly with new information. Nice work, Jeremy!

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Posted by mickmel at 8:15 AM | Comments (5)

August 31, 2011

The damage from Hurricane Irene

While Hurricane Irene didn't strike the United States with as much force as many had predicted, it was still a substantial storm that claimed 54 lives and did more than $10 billion in damage.

GEB reader Noel has taken some of the imagery from NOAA's Hurricane Irene Project Index Page and assembled them as image overlays in Google Earth. Some of the the imagery is quite striking, such as this image of a section of Highway 12 being washed away on North Carolina's Outer Banks.

Highway 12 is the only road that connects Hatteras Island to the mainland, and this destruction has left 2,500 residents stranded on the island. There is an emergency ferry now in place to shuttle emergency personnel to and from the island, and no injuries have been reported.

To see the file for yourself, simply download this KMZ file and you'll be taken to the areas with this new imagery.

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Posted by mickmel at 7:19 AM | Comments (0)

August 26, 2011

More tools to help track Hurricane Irene

A few days ago we shared some tools to help you track Hurricane Irene in Google Earth. With the storm now bearing down on the east coast of the United States, we thought we've show you a few more ways to track its progress.

GEB Weather Tools
A great place to start is with our collection of Weather tools. While there are a lot of useful tools to be found in there, of particular interest is the hurricane tracking predictions you can find if you follow the following steps inside of the KMZ file:

• Large Collection of Atlantic Weather Overlays
  • Tropical Atlantic Overlays
    • Hurricane Model Data
      • North Atlantic Basin
        • Hurricane Irene

Live Hurricane Hunter Data
A few years ago, we showed you the hurricane hunter recon data which is collected and produced by the folks at Tropical Atlantic. Their KMZ file is updated in near real-time during missions, and you can view historical data as well. Shown below is a run they did yesterday, showing wind speeds from various areas of the hurricane. You can click any of the colored barbs to view detailed statistics for that location at that time. The amount of data available through their system is quite staggering.

Google Earth's Built-in Tools
Finally, as we mentioned earlier this week, you can always use the tools built-in to Google Earth. The data isn't as detailed as some of the other sources, but it's easier to access to get a quick look at things. Under the "weather" layer you'll find satellite and radar imagery, and enabling the "places" layer will reveal an icon on top of the hurricane which can be clicked for more information.

As always, please let us know if you're aware of any other great Google Earth-based tools for tracking Hurricanes, and we'll be sure to pass along the information to our readers.

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Posted by mickmel at 6:58 AM | Comments (2)

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More entries for this category:

6. Hurricane Irene in Google Earth - August 24, 2011
7. Weather features now in Google Maps, but still better in Google Earth - August 19, 2011
8. Tracking hurricanes in Google Earth - July 28, 2011
9. 3D model of Joplin tornado debris - June 3, 2011
10. GeoEye releases some aerial imagery from the Joplin tornado - May 26, 2011
11. A collection of weather and storm tracking tools for Google Earth - May 24, 2011
12. Slick tool to view before/after shots of the Tuscaloosa storm - May 12, 2011
13. High-res imagery of the Mississippi River flooding - May 10, 2011
14. Google releases imagery from the recent tornadoes - April 30, 2011
15. Tracking tornadoes in Google Earth - April 26, 2011
16. Paved highways of clouds - February 15, 2011
17. Imagery from the landslides in Brazil - February 8, 2011
18. Stunning imagery of Tropical Cyclone Yasi - February 3, 2011
19. Predict how much solar power your house could generate - January 20, 2011
20. Simulate forest fires with ForeFire - December 23, 2010
21. View the 2010 Hurricane Season in Google Earth - December 10, 2010
22. NASA captures amazing image of Hurricane Paula - October 15, 2010
23. A ton more data from the Pakistan flooding - September 13, 2010
24. Hurricane Katrina, Five Years Later - August 30, 2010
25. More imagery from Pakistan flooding - August 20, 2010
26. Google still seeking map data for the Pakistan floods - August 10, 2010
27. New weather features in Google Earth 5.2 - July 30, 2010
28. Tracking Hurricanes with Google Earth - July 1, 2010
29. Google releases imagery for Yazoo tornado and more from Haiti - April 30, 2010
30. Imagery of the volcanic ash cloud from Iceland - April 16, 2010
31. Track Hurricane Ida in Google Earth - November 9, 2009
32. Data visualizations in Google Earth - October 5, 2009
33. Find ways to help those affected by Tropical Storm Ketsana - October 3, 2009
34. Station Fire in California in Google Earth - August 31, 2009
35. Links: Alphabet Soup, 3D Models movie, Fire tracking - August 24, 2009
36. Cat 4 Storm Felicia Headed for Hawaii - See in Google Earth - August 7, 2009
37. Hurricane/Cyclone Tracking with Google Earth - June 25, 2009
38. Air France Flight 447 - Google Earth Map - June 9, 2009
39. US Drought Conditions in Google Earth by NOAA - June 5, 2009
40. Wilkins Ice Shelf Collapse in Google Earth - April 17, 2009
41. Links: GE Plugin Update, KML Contest Update, Panoramio Contest, Teaching with GE, Santa Video - December 5, 2008
42. Links: Where 2.0, Weather Buoys, Argentina, Earthscape, MapMyPage, and more - November 19, 2008
43. California Fires - November 2008 - November 16, 2008
44. New Virtual Earth with 3D Clouds - September 25, 2008
45. More Detailed Arctic Ice Melting Animation in Google Earth - September 19, 2008
46. Google/NOAA Release Post-Hurricane Ike Aerial Imagery in Google Earth - September 16, 2008
47. Track Hurricane Ike in Google Earth - September 10, 2008
48. Links: Hurricane Ike, GeoEye Launched, Aviation Maps, McClendon in Kansas - September 8, 2008
49. Google Earth News Roundup - September 5, 2008
50. Track Hurricane Hanna in Google Earth - September 1, 2008
51. Track Hurricane Gustav in Google Earth - August 29, 2008
52. Links: Panoramio Contest, Lunar Challenge, Fire Detection - August 28, 2008
53. Watch Arctic Ice Melting in Google Earth - August 11, 2008
54. Live Hurricane Hunter Missions in Google Earth - July 21, 2008
55. Storm Tracking With Google Earth - July 3, 2008
56. Popular Science Highlights Scientific Applications of Google Earth - June 20, 2008
57. Climate Change Data for Google Earth - May 20, 2008
58. Myanmar Cyclone Data in Google Earth - May 6, 2008
59. NASA Time Animation of Ionosphere For Google Earth - May 5, 2008
60. Wilkins Ice Shelf, Sea Ice Extent Animation - March 28, 2008
61. Global Temperature Trends for Google Earth - March 24, 2008
62. Google Adds More Countries with Weather Radar Layer - March 20, 2008
63. NOAA Weather Data in Google Earth - February 25, 2008
64. Accuweather Photo Calendar Winners in Google Earth - January 24, 2008
65. Top 25 Stories of Google Earth 2007 - December 27, 2007
66. Links: Daily Earth Imagery, Antarctica Photos, Panoramio Searchable, Santa Sleigh - December 18, 2007
67. Tropical Cyclone Sidr in Google Earth - November 16, 2007
68. Big Layer Update - Weather Layers in Google Earth - November 8, 2007
69. Caribbean 1500 Sailing Cup in Google Earth - November 5, 2007
70. Links: Chinese Cop Catches Crook, Malibu Fire, EveryTrail Update, CIA WorldFactbook, Hungary Weather - October 22, 2007
71. Hurricane Followspot Animations in Google Earth - October 4, 2007
72. Back to School - Educational Uses with Google Earth - September 11, 2007
73. News Roundup: Flight Sim Tips, Clouds and Weather, KML 2.2, Google Solar Panels, Pollution - September 10, 2007
74. Video Showing Storm Tracking Tools for Google Earth - August 20, 2007
75. Best Storm Tracking and Weather Tools for Google Earth - August 15, 2007
76. News Roundup - Flickr KML tags, Weather, Arc2Earth V2 - August 13, 2007
77. Quasi-global Near real-time Rainfall in Google Earth - July 3, 2007
78. Google Earth Sky - Part II - June 25, 2007
79. How to Add a Sky to Google Earth - June 24, 2007
80. Global Lightning Animation for Google Earth - June 14, 2007
81. Monthly Cloud Animations for Google Earth - June 7, 2007
82. Weather and Storm Tracking Tools for Google Earth - June 2, 2007
83. Rising Water Effects for NYC in Google Earth - Part III - May 25, 2007
84. Google Earth Umbrella - May 16, 2007
85. News Roundup - Nokia N95, gCensus US, Greensburg Radar Animation - May 14, 2007
86. New Satellite Imagery of Town Destroyed by Tornado - May 9, 2007
87. News Roundup - Taj Majal in 3D, KML as Open Standard, Katrina Imagery, New AIA150 Tour - May 8, 2007
88. EarthNC Releases Browser-based Google Earth Content - April 26, 2007
89. Animation Roundup: Rising Sea Levels, Filling Grand Canyon, Global Clouds - April 6, 2007
90. Historical Maps of Tornado Paths in the US - April 3, 2007
91. Google Shows Pre-Katrina Photos for New Orleans - March 30, 2007
92. New Snow and Ice Data for Google Earth - March 5, 2007
93. Happy International Polar Year! Google Earth Presentation - March 2, 2007
94. Fox Television Offering Google Earth/Maps Weather Data - February 12, 2007
95. Recent Weather Satellite Animations in Google Earth - February 1, 2007
96. News roundup: Google vs. Microsoft, 3D San Jose, Endurance, Weather, Off the Map - January 23, 2007
97. NOAA Voluntary Observing Ship (VOS) Weather Feed for Google Earth - January 13, 2007
98. NASA Goddard Publishes Huge Google Earth Time Animations - December 10, 2006
99. NOAA's Great Lakes Environmental Research Lab Publishes Google Earth Content - December 8, 2006
100. History: The Flood of Florence in 1966 with Google Earth - December 1, 2006
101. Earth on Fire - November 4, 2006
102. National Weather Service Releases Radar Loops for Google Earth - October 26, 2006
103. Katrina Time Animation in Google Earth - September 25, 2006
104. Track Hurricane Helene and Hurricane Lane in Google Earth - September 16, 2006
105. New Storms - Track Hurricane Gordon, Typhoon Shanshan - September 13, 2006
106. Track Tropical Storm Florence in Google Earth - September 6, 2006
107. Global Clouds with Altitude for GE 4 - September 3, 2006
108. Hurricane John Threatens West Mexico Coastline - August 30, 2006
109. Back to School - Educational Uses with Google Earth - August 29, 2006
110. Track Hurricane Ernesto in Google Earth - August 27, 2006
111. Track Tropical Storm Ernesto in Google Earth - August 25, 2006
112. High Resolution Satellite Photo of Typhoon Saomai - August 11, 2006
113. Homemade Network of Real-time Lightning Data - See it in Google Earth - August 9, 2006
114. Tropical Storms in the Pacific - Maria, Typhoon Saomai, and Bopha - August 8, 2006
115. Tropical Storm Chris - August 1, 2006
116. Weather Forecasts for South America in Google Earth/ Pronostico America del Sur - July 13, 2006
117. Weather and Storm Tracking Tools for Google Earth - July 3, 2006
118. NASA Lightning Map in Google Earth - June 20, 2006
119. Near Real-time Severe Weather Data for the US from NOAA - May 31, 2006
120. Real-time Stream Flow Sensor Net in Google Earth - May 14, 2006
121. Gulf Impact - Analysis of Damage to Oil/Gas Industry from Hurricanes - May 9, 2006
122. Near Real-time Ocean/Weather Data - April 28, 2006
123. NOAA's Coral Reef Watch Adds Google Earth Data - April 13, 2006
124. Global Cloud Map is Back - April 3, 2006
125. Follow Volvo Ocean Race Leg 4 in Google Earth - February 19, 2006
126. Pilot World-wide Weather in Google Earth - February 8, 2006
127. News Roundup - February 7, 2006
128. More Satellite Environmental Data in Google Earth - January 31, 2006
129. NASA Annual Day Land Temperatures of the Earth - January 30, 2006
130. Global Fire Data in Google Earth - January 26, 2006
131. Arctic and Antarctic Ice Floes in Google Earth - January 25, 2006
132. Aurora Viewing Map in Google Earth - January 5, 2006
133. Tropical Storm Zeta - January 4, 2006
134. Fantastic Google Earth Documentary on Sir Ernest Shackleton - November 14, 2005
135. Post-Wilma NOAA Aerial Photography Released - October 26, 2005
136. Hurricane Wilma Google Earth Imagery - October 24, 2005
137. Hurricane Wilma Most Intense Atlantic Storm - October 20, 2005
138. Storm Tracking Tools - Hurricane Wilma - October 19, 2005
139. Nice Global Cloud Map - September 26, 2005
140. Hurricane Rita - Using Google Earth to Track - September 23, 2005
141. Storm Tracking Tools - Hurricanes Rita/Phillipe - September 20, 2005
142. Hurricane Katrina - Summary of Google Earth Resources - September 16, 2005
143. Hurricane Ophelia High-Res Satellite - September 15, 2005
144. Much Improved Method for Viewing Katrina Damage Imagery - September 8, 2005
145. Latest FEMA Katrina Damage Assessment Overlay - September 6, 2005
146. News Coverage on Google Earth and Hurricane Help - September 5, 2005
147. [UPDATE] Google Releasing Katrina Imagery - September 2, 2005
148. New Katrina Damage Photos in Google Earth - September 1, 2005
149. Hurricane Katrina Video and Google Earth - August 31, 2005
150. Hurricanes/Tropical Data - August 26, 2005
151. All Atlantic Hurricanes 1851-Present - August 20, 2005
152. Clouds of the Earth - August 8, 2005
153. Hurricane Tracking - August 1, 2005

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