StormReportMap.com -- An Interactive Look at Today's Weather

Very awesome indeed, amazing what people are doing with Google Maps. :) One question: Is there anyway to get data before May 5, 2004 in there? Thanks!

Stan
 
I like it... I took a look at it today with that crazy squall line in MN and it seems to be doing a fairly good job... I like the amount of details you get with the zoom function...
 
I love this page.....

Great Idea.....

However.... I would be VERY careful about that Paypal thingy in the corner.....

The site is in clear violation of Google Maps Terms of use.... Specifically that the site is to be used for personal use only.

Here is an interesting article on the subject
http://www.cnn.com/2005/TECH/internet/06/0...e.map.hacks.ap/

But then again on the beta google maps groups site..... they don't necessarily take a hard line approach.

Hard to tell what google is up to here. Whether they will pull the plug on the hacks or start charging.... or just steal the ideas of the hackers.

In the mean time....... This is a great way for me to let my reporters know where the wind damage is so they can go get some video.

Thanks
 
I am relatively new to the forum here and came across this threat just last evening. I love the interactive aspect to this and find it very appealing, compared to the SPC maps.

Keep up the great work...!

Regards -
 
Nice pice of codeing :D

just a question ~ when the NWS gives a location for a tornado, what do they use for that location?

Is it were the tornado first formed (this seems to be the case) ~ the center of the track path or the point where the tornado was the most intence.

I was looking at the unrated tornados from May 29th 2004 around Harper and the NWS seems to use the start point of the tornado.
 
Nice pice of codeing :D

just a question ~ when the NWS gives a location for a tornado, what do they use for that location?

Is it were the tornado first formed (this seems to be the case) ~ the center of the track path or the point where the tornado was the most intence.

I was looking at the unrated tornados from May 29th 2004 around Harper and the NWS seems to use the start point of the tornado.
Click to expand...

From my experience, many longer-track tornadoes will receive many individual tornado reports. Most of the time, from experience, the NWS will issue LSRs for tornadoes that impact structures/communities... So, if a long-track tornado tracks through several communities or homesteads, it'll probably get several LSRs as the LSRs highlight damage along the track... It isn't uncommon for some single tornadoes to draw 3-6 LSRs, and thus have 3-6 reports in the SPC Preliminary Storm Reports.
 
Where NWS locates tornadoes

This question has multiple answers. I'll try to cover as many as I can think of.

1. Initially, at the location reported by the spotter. Given multiple spotter perspectives on the same tornado (both at different times in its lifespan and even at the same time from different angles), this accounts for the multiple reports of one tornado that appear in LSRs (and by extension, the SPC log). Individual WFOs may or may not have time to do much real-time filtering before they dump reports into LSRs, depending on staffing, other duties, and the ongoing weather. Local policies can differ too regarding LSRs. So it really can be a hodgepodge on many days. This is why the rough log has big fat "PRELIMINARY" tags plastered on it.

2. Sometimes, at the location of the spotter instead of the location of the tornado. This happens by mistake, but it does occur sometimes. The solution is for the person taking the report to inquire about *both* the spotter's position and the direction and distance of the tornado he/she is observing.

3. For tornadoes with tracks (as opposed to "brief touchdowns"), they are also often referenced at the point of greatest damage or noteworthiness (i.e., Hallam). This usually is done, still in preliminary mode, after multiple spotter reports have been reconciled at the WFO. Again, this process can occur anywhere from real-time to many days later.

4. For Storm Data, paths are specified in county segments. This is because counties are how warnings are verified and (with just a few exceptions) WFO jurisdictional borders delineated.

5. For the "final" SPC database, the SPC Warning Coordination Meteorologist combines county segments into whole tornado paths. This is why NCDC data (which is county segmented) will give you greater tornado counts for big outbreaks or multiple state/county border-crossers than the SPC data (available in SVRPLOT). It's also a labor intensive process at times, especially when one discovers a border-crossing path that "zigs" at that border, and needs some detective work and phone calls to be reconciled between two offices' tracks.

Given all that, and ~1000 tornadoes to account for per annum, it's not hard to understand why the SPC tornado database for any given year isn't finalized until a few months into the next year.

For more on segmented tornado data, see
http://www.spc.noaa.gov/faq/tornado/#segments

To map the SPC data, download SVRPLOT for Windows at
http://www.spc.noaa.gov/software/svrplot2/
 
BTW...

I forgot to compliment the designer of that site on his ingenuity. Great work! As long as Google approves, blending their proprietary mapping with the public domain reports log is a classic example of how private-sector "value added" information can work to benefit everybody, without turning it into some sort of territorial, provincialistic competition (as is the m.o. of a couple of big companies). If it only worked this way more often...
 
Thanks again for all the great comments!

So far the site has found itself on quite a few websites such as theiowachannel.com, theomahachannel.com, keloland.com, even MSNBC's blog site.

I am working on the next version of the map that will include comments from some of the feedback that I have received. I have included a tabbed view on the right hand side of the map that will now list all of the reports that are received. You can then click on the report and it will pop up the baloon on the map. Check it out for yourself... Click on the Report Listing tab to view them.

http://stormreportmap.com/V2/index2.php?date=050412

http://stormreportmap.com/V2/index2.php?date=050421

This is just preliminary for right now.. Kepp them to yourselves :)
 
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