I forked this and put plate tectonic velocity vectors (in an earth-centered, earth-fixed coordinate system) in place of wind vectors but didn't have the .js knowledge or time to fix all the annotations and menu stuff. I'm hoping to get to that this fall (but I've been saying that for a year or two...):<p><a href="http://earth-analysis.com/vels/public/" rel="nofollow">http://earth-analysis.com/vels/public/</a>
I used this site to check wind conditions during the 2015 Tianjin explosions. I was 90 miles away (Beijing) and was considering leaving the country had wind been blowing in the wrong direction. At the time the risk of the hazardous chemicals released by the explosions was completely unknown, so wind conditions were the only objective piece of information I could base my decision on. Fortunately the wind was blowing north/east.
It's especially interesting to watch Hermine travel up the US east coast right now. NHC forecast track here for the next 5 days: <a href="http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/graphics_at4.shtml?5-daynl#contents" rel="nofollow">http://www.nhc.noaa.gov/graphics_at4.shtml?5-daynl#contents</a><p>Right now is especially fascinating because the Euro and GFS models have recently begun to agree on the storm re-forming into a hurricane in a couple of days off the New Jersey coast. It's a fascinating time to watch wind patterns in the US right now!<p>Edit: Another really interesting tool is the Total Precipitable Water product: <a href="http://tropic.ssec.wisc.edu/real-time/mimic-tpw/natl/main.html" rel="nofollow">http://tropic.ssec.wisc.edu/real-time/mimic-tpw/natl/main.ht...</a>
If you're interested in playing with this visualization technique (particle advection in vector fields) outside the context of geospatial applications - I built this tool called "Vector Toy" which allows you to visualize any given (2D) vector field this way: <a href="http://dandelany.github.io/vector-toy/" rel="nofollow">http://dandelany.github.io/vector-toy/</a> - note that the functions on the right side are editable.
If you use 500mbar visualizations, you can visualize the "reverse" weather pattern from last summer, with the wonky jet stream, high pressure baking the Pacific Northwest, and cool weather in the midwest and on the East Coast: <a href="https://earth.nullschool.net/#2015/07/03/1800Z/wind/isobaric/500hPa/orthographic=-122.01,47.50,651" rel="nofollow">https://earth.nullschool.net/#2015/07/03/1800Z/wind/isobaric...</a><p>Another example from July 2014: <a href="https://earth.nullschool.net/#2014/07/14/1500Z/wind/isobaric/500hPa/orthographic=-122.01,47.50,651" rel="nofollow">https://earth.nullschool.net/#2014/07/14/1500Z/wind/isobaric...</a><p>Conversely, you can see how the "heat dome" of this summer smothered almost the entirety of the contiguous United States, except for the West Coast in general and the Pacific Northwest in particular: <a href="https://earth.nullschool.net/#2016/07/22/1500Z/wind/isobaric/500hPa/orthographic=-132.88,45.66,651" rel="nofollow">https://earth.nullschool.net/#2016/07/22/1500Z/wind/isobaric...</a>
Whoa, check this out, 121 KM/h winds over the Antarctic Peninsula: <a href="https://earth.nullschool.net/#current/wind/surface/level/orthographic=-71.49,-68.20,3000/loc=-61.478,-72.375" rel="nofollow">https://earth.nullschool.net/#current/wind/surface/level/ort...</a><p>It doesn't look like the other storms, in Hawaii and Florida. I wonder if these are normal conditions for that ridge?
This is fantastic!<p>Be sure to click the menu, and browse the chemical pollution or particulate data, and the alternative projections. XKCD fans will be pleased :-D
That's really cool, but does it really have to reload data on every viewport move/change?<p>I use somewhat similar app for android made by Croatian Ministry of Maritime Affairs, Transport and Infrastructure <a href="https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=hr.mppi.nis&ah=69Ap9mDbQ_49TEg0t0Iuisb69UY" rel="nofollow">https://play.google.com/store/apps/details?id=hr.mppi.nis&ah...</a> There's also iOS version <a href="https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/nautical-info-service-croatia/id1134146644?ls=1&mt=8" rel="nofollow">https://itunes.apple.com/us/app/nautical-info-service-croati...</a><p>Really handy when you're out there.
Similar, but Arctic only: <a href="http://www.arctic.io/#simulation" rel="nofollow">http://www.arctic.io/#simulation</a> Changing dates and hours with a slider is quite informative.
Does anybody know what this is? <a href="https://earth.nullschool.net/#current/wind/surface/level/orthographic=-143.19,19.58,3000/loc=-149.272,19.983" rel="nofollow">https://earth.nullschool.net/#current/wind/surface/level/ort...</a><p>It shows over 300F in the middle of it.
this is amazing! so trippy. You can really track the two storms (US East Coast and right of Hawaii). The eye of the storm is relatively calm at 0-6 km/hr.