Stefan Geens over at OgleEarth has been playing with weather symbols for Google Earth. First he published his experiments with some basic weather symbols
using the free Google SketchUp 3D modeling tool. Then, yesterday, he published an interesting application of a little-known KML feature which lets you set the “heading” of an icon. He used it to show the heading of a wind direction
for a specific location. No matter which way you rotate your view from above, it shows the correct heading for the wind direction. That’s a pretty cool application of the feature, and I think weather forecasters should take note. Or at least those folks who like to show weather data in a truly unique fashion (Weatherbonk perhaps?). Great work Stefan!
About Frank Taylor
Frank Taylor started the Google Earth Blog in July, 2005 shortly after Google Earth was first released. He has worked with 3D computer graphics and VR for many years and was very impressed with this exciting product. Frank completed a 5.5 year circumnavigation of the earth by sailboat in June 2015 which you can read about at Tahina Expedition, and is a licensed pilot, backpacker, diver, and photographer.