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Tag: wind map

  • Dynamic Wind Map Shows Wind Forces in Real Time

    Traditional weather maps will show you where storms are headed, what areas have low or high pressure, or what the temperature is in various parts of the country. Some will even show you a snapshot of wind forces as it pertains to certain geographic areas.

    (image)
    Traditional Wind Map

    But never before have we seen a map that shows you wind patterns as they are occurring in real time, until now.

    The map at the very top, from Fernanda Viegas and Martin Wattenberg of Google’s “Big Picture” research group does just that. The image is a screen shot from a moving visualization of winds as data is provided across the country. In comparison, the image below it shows us the same wind pattern on a traditional wind map. Useful, but certainly not as detailed and definitely not as esthetically pleasing.

    For the full effect, and to see the current weather map, go to their site – here. Check out this video to see a quick example of what the site displays.

    They collect data from the National Digital Forecast Database and use it to create “near-term forecasts”, updating once per hour. In other words, what you are seeing is what is happening right now, not a daily estimation of wind speed that most forecasts maps project.

    The two claim that the map is a personal art project and not affiliated with any company, but both work for Google. They even recommend viewing the map in Google Chrome. hmm.

    Remember, although this is a cool art project, it is not scientific. The creators cannot guarantee that the information they get is 100% accurate, or that their newly developed software is doing its job perfectly. In other words, don’t use it to fly a plane or fight wildfires.

    What you can use it for, is to get a sense of the awesome and ever changing forces that are surrounding us at all times. And it’s a pretty cool show.

    [h/t: Wired]

  • Wind Map Beautifully Depicts Wind Patterns Across the U.S.

    While it looks like the zephyric lovechild of Vincent Van Gogh and Edward Gorey, Wind Map is actually a real-time map of the wind patterns across the United States. Rather than using different colors to indicate the strength of gales, the map uses a grayscale of different intensities and speeds to depict the motion and power behind the wind, creating a haunting daguerreotype of weather systems.

    Created by Hint.fm, a duo of wizards excelling in the field of visualization-based artwork, the map pulls its data from the National Digital Forecast Database and bases the animation on 1-hour forecasts, which is about as close as you could get to a live visualization of what the wind looks like at any given moment. Users can move the mouse cursor over the map to zoom in and see the current wind conditions of any place in the States (well, the continental States – sorry, Hawaii and Alaska).

    Zoomed in, the lines of the wind patterns start to straighten out, creating a hypnotic stream of monochromatic motion.

    Zoomed out, today’s map looks like the country is being creased in the center by the wind patterns of the midwest.

    The site also has a gallery of active maps taken from particular days this month. As you know, tornadoes have been pummeling different areas of the country. Tornadoes attacked parts of Texas a couple of weeks ago and, judging from the March 20, 2012, map of the region, you can see the heavy winds literally funneling like a whirlpool above the state.

    It’s an odd thing, visualizing that which cannot be seen. Some of these Wind Maps look like tracers from long-exposure photos of stars. These stills don’t really do the map the poetic and artistic respect that it deserves, so I do recommend visiting the site to get the full experience.

    [Via Alltop.]