Track Tropical Systems On Google Maps, Google Earth
This month we have watched Edouard bump into the Texas coast, Tropical Storm Fay rain on Florida for a week and now we are watching Hurricane Gustav strengthen in Caribbean and head for the Gulf of Mexico.
For each of those storms, the National Hurricane Center has monitored, tracked and forecasted an official storm path that many weather watchers, including meteorologist, use. One of the many tools that goes into the final forecast track is a group of computer models…a group that you can find access to on the internet…but not like this.
There is now a site that will help you automatically plot all the computer models on Google Earth or Google Maps. There are more than twenty different models that you can plot up and view and it can get a little cluttered if you are not careful. But, there is not much that looks bad and is not made easier by Google.
One important thing to remember when looking at computer models is that it’s best not to pick one model out because it’s right or wrong….or because the result is good or bad for you…but it’s good to look at trends. Follow the models over a 24 hour period or a few days and see what the trends are. The great thing about these computer models is that a system doesn’t have to be a depression or named storm to show up on the site. This means if there is a tropical wave out there…most likely you can track where the computer models think it’s going to go before the National Hurricane Center starts issuing offical track guidance.
Check out the site here and follow the official track of tropical systems here.
Enjoy!
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