Google Earth and WDSSII

[Greg Stumpf]

1) Does it have storm relative velocity or similar products? I don't see that listed other than as swirl type products.[/b]

All the WDSSII products being demonstrated are from the CONUS multi-radar/sensor grids. Since these are multi-radar, you won't find radial velocity products (ground- or storm-relative) since those would be single-radar products in the radar coordinate system.

I believe there are single-site radar products available to view in GE - just don't know the links off-hand.

2) I can't find timestamps for the images. How do we know how old the radar is?[/b]

For any product, maximize its selection in the Places menu, and you will see the product time.

3) Additionally - I wonder how old the basemap from Google is? It appears to be 2 or 3 years old based on features I see in my yard and around my neighborhood.[/b]

This is variable at any place on the earth. These are a collection of satellite images from different satellites, places, and times. Not sure how to access that info from Google.


greg

 

[Joel Wright]

Hmm, interesting. Apparently I'm the only one having problems with this, yet normal Google Earth works great.

 

[Greg Stumpf]

Hmm, interesting. Apparently I'm the only one having problems with this, yet normal Google Earth works great.
[/b]

It's working fine attm (Sat 3/25 730am CST)

 

[Bill Tabor]

I tried it yesterday during the tornado outbreak, and many of the products did not work from NWS - such vortex swirl paths. Hail seemed to work, and so did Vil. Only the 3d radar was working. It also seemed a little slow to update. I got an error when I tried to display some products whereas others just wouldn't do anything. I could see how hail damage and tornado damage, along with max accumulated rainfall would be a good thing to monitor from this tool. It is a little slow in response though and I have a fast computer and connection.

 

[Kiel Ortega]

I tried it yesterday during the tornado outbreak, and many of the products did not work from NWS - such vortex swirl paths. Hail seemed to work, and so did Vil. Only the 3d radar was working. It also seemed a little slow to update. I got an error when I tried to display some products whereas others just wouldn't do anything. I could see how hail damage and tornado damage, along with max accumulated rainfall would be a good thing to monitor from this tool. It is a little slow in response though and I have a fast computer and connection.
[/b]

I had the same problem. The WDSSII stuff is highly computer intensive (both CPU and memory). From my experience with it, performance can be slow with lots of convection. Whether the products come out or not depends on how well the machines are doing that day (and with my experience at NSSL with WDSSII and our machines, computers are particular about when they want to do certain things). Remember that the products are EXPERIMENTAL and not necessarily going to be available all the time (though, so far it's done pretty good).