New SPC Outlook Underlays

[Jeff Duda]

I also think that the selection of cities/towns to put on the map seems odd and illogical. Most of the biggest cities are there (but some major metro areas like DC and Kansas City are not), but then you have cities like Norfolk, NE, Colby, KS, Las Cruces, NM, Lufkin, TX, and Bowling Green, KY, for example, which aren't exactly major population centers compared to other nearby cities that are NOT included on the map such as North Platte, Paducah, Colorado Springs (but Pueblo is there), and Montgomery. Just seems rather arbitrary to me.

 

[David C Watson]

lol nice face-lift hahaa

 

[Mike Deep]

Changing the thunder line and slight risk colors makes sense, since they were essentially backwards before. It may cause some confusion in the short term, but long term they will begin to make more sense to the public at large. I'm indifferent towards the shading.

The overlays, however, seem to be of limited use. The level of detail involved in many of the layers, especially as you combine them, is more fitting of a fully interactive, zoomable map. That might not be a bad idea somewhere down the line, combined with watch/warning overlays, radar, etc. If that were to happen, a "lite" outlook page would need to be offered for accessibility (Much like how the individual radar displays come in two versions).

 

[Matt Schiess]

It would be a great tool for local media outlets to better pinpoint the best chances for severe weather!

 

[rdale]

Ehh, that's not a good idea. I'd hate to see a TV weather caster saying that one neighborhood has a slight risk and across the street it's a moderate risk.

 

[Ryan Schwartz]

Ehh, that's not a good idea. I'd hate to see a TV weather caster saying that one neighborhood has a slight risk and across the street it's a moderate risk.

Agreed. I always chuckle when I see a slight risk SPC outlook boundary cut through a city using the placefiles for GR. So is one side of town safer than the other? LOL. These outlooks are intended to define general areas and are not specific to neighborhoods. That's why the SPC notes that events may occur 25 miles out from the boundary.

 

[Jeff Duda]

Agreed. I always chuckle when I see a slight risk SPC outlook boundary cut through a city using the placefiles for GR. So is one side of town safer than the other? LOL. These outlooks are intended to define general areas and are not specific to neighborhoods. That's why the SPC notes that events may occur 25 miles out from the boundary.

If they really wanted to give the site a face-lift, they should consider going towards "fuzzy" risk areas with no clear outline instead. It could be a test bed for "warn-on-forecast".

 

[Jeff Duda]

Okay, now I like the new color scheme even less. Since there are 45% probs showing up, I'm seeing the color of the shading not match the color of the outline, and the shading color doesn't match what is in the legend. The color of the shading inside the 45% risk area looks like the color of the 60% risk area.

 

[rdale]

Jeff - are you not noticing the fact that the risk area colors are different for tornado versus wind/hail? I don't see any color conflicts.

 

[Skip Talbot]

Okay, now I like the new color scheme even less. Since there are 45% probs showing up, I'm seeing the color of the shading not match the color of the outline, and the shading color doesn't match what is in the legend. The color of the shading inside the 45% risk area looks like the color of the 60% risk area.

Yeah it looks like the colors are partially transparent so they are adding up resulting in a color different from the legend. The colors they picked are pretty ugly, but the graphics are still quite functional. The pink 45/high color is a little low contrast though. That would be my only real complaint.

We still have COD though:
http://kamala.cod.edu/spc/

And I tinkered with plotting SPC outlooks on Google Maps a few years ago. The update broke my legend graphic though (its neat to see the 30 hatched tornado probs plotted on there today):
http://www.drugrecognition.com/skip/chase/maps/spcday1gmaps.php

 

[Jeff Duda]

Jeff - are you not noticing the fact that the risk area colors are different for tornado versus wind/hail? I don't see any color conflicts.

I guess I saw it on the day 2 outlook only. It looks okay on the day 1.

 

[rdale]

Nice work on the gmap.

 

[Chip Redmond]

I guess I saw it on the day 2 outlook only. It looks okay on the day 1.

You are right, Day 2's color schemes aren't correct. Look at the new outlook for tomorrow.

 

[Brian McKibben]

I don't particularly like the new outlook maps. The overlays are great, but I feel like half the country is under a slight risk now when I glance at it. Do they really need to color in an area for all convection?

 

[Jason Boggs]

Do they really need to color in an area for all convection?

Well, they are the Storm Prediction Center after all.