The new time feature in the latest Google Earth 4 Beta (4.0.2080 or greater – download here) enables you to simply put a time stamp on your data and Google Earth will then allow you to animate through the data using a time slider gadget. A number of interesting applications of the time feature were implemented within days after the new beta was released. Brian Flood, the creator of Arc2Earth (a software application used to take data from ESRI ArcGIS software), has developed a very slick animation showing satellite photos of Hurricane Katrina, overlayed over sea surface temperature, and also includes vector track data and storm strength indicators. Download Brian’s Katrina file 
, and you should see the time gadget appear. Shrink the time slider width to a small size, then select the time “play” button (shaped like a right arrow play button on TV remotes).
I would like to see meteorolgists do this with current weather data. Weather sites should take note. Google Earth is a great visualization tool for weather. Check out some cool storm tracking tools and other weather resources collected by Google Earth Blog.
[UPDATE 1240 ET: That was fast! Right after I wrote this story the Norwegian Meteorological Institute releases a very well done set of time-based weather data . OgleEarth has the details.]
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.
You’re just in time 🙂
I just sent Ogle Earth a link to a weather forecast KML-file we’ve just set up at the Norwegian Meteorological Institute.
http://www.ogleearth.com/2006/09/timeenabled_nor.html
I would really like such a set of weather data in Google Earth for the Netherlands.
So, I just mailed a question to the KNMI webmaster about this, giving links to the Norwegian data and the Katrina timed data. The reply was rather standard however: no such Google Earth timed datasets are currently planned. 🙁
They do know about Google Earth, as they have a link to a tiny KML file that points you to the location of the KNMI buildings: http://www.knmi.nl/contact/knmi.kml. Hopefully they will (re)consider.
Or other providers of (for me) local weather data will go the Google Earth way of presenting their data.
I also asked the following questions to the guys behind http://www.meteox.com/:
“Would you consider not only supplying the weather radar data you now show as (animated) images, but perhaps also in the form of a timed KML network link viewable in Google Earth? An example of the kind of file I’m talking about can be found at http://www.gearthblog.com/blog/archives/2006/09/katrina_time_animati.html.”
Their answer (translated from Dutch to English by me) was:
“We are working on getting the radar data into google earth but the KNMI uses a different map than Google (=Mercator). We need to convert that.”
So no timeframe on when (or even if) it will exactly happen, but it looks like reasonably large area’s in Europe could indeed have animated/time stamped weather rader images in the form of a Google Earth network link soon.
@ Jarno:
Try this one: http://www.googleearthhacks.com/dlcat47/Weather:-Forecasts.htm
That should help you along the way, for now.
Enjoy.
I never actually followed up on this, but Meteox has had Google Map and Google Earth radar images for a while now. It’s really cool: http://www.meteox.com/gmap.aspx