Fun fact: I actually use this website in technical interviews and ask the candidate, how they would go at implementing it. (I work at a meteorological company.)
I would've gone with MADIS data, although interpolating that data over the area without sensors could be tricky, or perhaps could be worked in. Additionally it would be better if it had a more traditional slippy maps interface, was less "artsy," and like another poster on here had some labels. It would be great to also explore if highlighting gusts or or other straight-line wind type events could be shown as propagating and dispersing in areas where higher resolution sensors are located. Anyway, now that I've typed this, I guess you didn't really ask :P
This would make a beautiful visualization of the hairy ball problem:
"The hairy ball theorem of algebraic topology states that there is no nonvanishing continuous tangent vector field on even dimensional n-spheres. For the ordinary sphere, or 2‑sphere, if f is a continuous function that assigns a vector in R3 to every point p on a sphere such that f(p) is always tangent to the sphere at p, then there is at least one p such that f(p) = 0. In other words, whenever one attempts to comb a hairy ball flat, there will always be at least one tuft of hair at one point on the ball. The theorem was first stated by Henri Poincaré in the late 19th century."
This uses computer model predictions, not observations. While the forecast may be more accurate towards the center of the hurricane, I can say that it isn't very accurate in many other places. Particle simulations are great though! And the general aesthetic is very pleasing, but I fear that such things trumping good data understanding are going to be the norm going forward.
Data presentations should always be both aesthetically considered and correct, the right aesthetic can aid massively to help interpret the data. See Envisioning information by Edward Tufte http://www.edwardtufte.com/
I don't understand why news organizations haven't adopted this kind of visualization yet for hurricanes. This has been around for awhile, and I always pull it up when a hurricane hits the US. Its a far better way to display wind than the standard precipitation-oriented maps.
This is pretty cool. You can actually see the impact of Sandy on the East Coast live as the winds speed up... hopefully that one turns out to be less bad than the forecasts are saying.
It's hard to judge speeds from this, and they're often more important than direction. It's beautiful, but it doesn't tell me if the next high tide will have an even higher surge.
> ... it would be useful to mark a few more major cities on the map.
It would. And some of the ones that are marked are kinda pointless. Anyone with any knowledge of U.S. geography can find New York, San Jose, and Seattle by the shape of the coastline. But what about Salt Lake City, Kansas City, Memphis, Omaha, Louisville, Indianapolis, St. Louis, etc.
[+] [-] cstuder|13 years ago|reply
Fun fact: I actually use this website in technical interviews and ask the candidate, how they would go at implementing it. (I work at a meteorological company.)
[+] [-] th0ma5|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] dfc|13 years ago|reply
"The hairy ball theorem of algebraic topology states that there is no nonvanishing continuous tangent vector field on even dimensional n-spheres. For the ordinary sphere, or 2‑sphere, if f is a continuous function that assigns a vector in R3 to every point p on a sphere such that f(p) is always tangent to the sphere at p, then there is at least one p such that f(p) = 0. In other words, whenever one attempts to comb a hairy ball flat, there will always be at least one tuft of hair at one point on the ball. The theorem was first stated by Henri Poincaré in the late 19th century."
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hairy_ball_theorem
[+] [-] brownbat|13 years ago|reply
If you don't have a PhD in mathematics, they're unreadable. And if you do, they're unnecessary.
[+] [-] nealabq|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] the_cat_kittles|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] th0ma5|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] willyt|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] arscan|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] arbuge|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] dspeyer|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] MartinCron|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] ggchappell|13 years ago|reply
It would. And some of the ones that are marked are kinda pointless. Anyone with any knowledge of U.S. geography can find New York, San Jose, and Seattle by the shape of the coastline. But what about Salt Lake City, Kansas City, Memphis, Omaha, Louisville, Indianapolis, St. Louis, etc.
Regardless, very nice visualization.
[+] [-] icesoldier|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] michaelwww|13 years ago|reply
[+] [-] freehunter|13 years ago|reply
Unless you're seeing something I'm not...
[+] [-] josscrowcroft|13 years ago|reply