Sunday, September 07, 2008

Tropical Storm Tracker - StormPulse

2008-09-07_164059

Stormpulse / Hurricane tracking, mapping

I found this new hurricane tracking site last week.

If you like dark-themed, special-op center techno-sites, this is the one for you.

The site has a lot of information and can be customized in extra data inclusions on the chart.

What really makes this one cool is that it has a “Full-Screen” mode that displays as much detail as you want for the storm-track on your monitor.

It provides a standard storm-track model, but you can select to include a bevy of additional forecast models if you want to really psych yourself out.

I’ve got a darker, more ominous feeling about Ike than I did about Gustav for some reason.

We have a “light” hurricane prep supply box, but tonight we are going to swing by the grocery store and stock up a bit more heavily now.  Extra water, 4-5 days of canned goods/MRE’s, at least two bags of charcoal. Stuff like that.

I’ve also added the Chron.com’s SciGuy Blog to my Firefox system as a second homepage bookmark during this tropical season.  Eric has been providing outstanding details, commentary, and analysis of all science and  prognostication tropical.  Highly recommended as a filter of reason and temperance in a media-market filled with over-hype, smashing graphics, and fear-factor extremes.

Gulf Coast Watch List

Here are some selected links I’ve previously posted that I also keep an eye on the Gulf with at home and work, to track the impending winds. Listed in order of my personal preference…

  • IBISEYE.com -- Your Atlantic Hurricane Season Tracking Map Source – An awesome site that mashes up tracking data on hurricanes and points of interest, along with Google Maps.  Heavy on the JavaScript but makes up for it in pure visual delight.  Easy enough even the “old-folks” can understand.  Not only are hurricanes and projected paths displayed, but also counties are added as they fall under various storm watches and warnings.  Zoom in/out for more detail.

  • Tropical Atlantic: NHC Model Data for Tropical Storms – Found this gem the other day.  For folks who need to have more than one storm-track model presented, this is like going from riding a pony to driving cattle from North Dakota to the Fort Worth Stockyards.  Look at the top of the page to select any current storms.  Then when the Google Map mashup launches, you can pick from 32 “Early” models and 38 “Late” model storm track models.  Plot one or plot them all! Awesome! Additional NOAA summary of storm-track models.

  • Hurricane and Storm Tracking - Terrapin's site remains my favorite. It is lean and simple and allows for quick location of information without lots of graphic overkill. The storm-track plots come in two flavors, a simple historical and future projection track that is static as well as a java-based animated one. Loads fast and updated as new forecasts are posted.

  • National Hurricane Center - This website maintained by the National Weather Service is my number two choice. Lots more linkage on the sidebar for hurricane related topics and preparations. The main page has links to a number of graphics and advisories.

  • (NHC's) Atlantic Graphical Tropical Weather Outlook - A "beta" sub-page of the site listed above. This is pretty cool. Any current tropical systems are overlayed on a satellite image with an icon. Hovering over the icon pulls up a quick update view. Clicking on the update popup then takes you to the system's detailed page.

  • Moreweather.com -- Tropical Atlantic Weather Page - T-Storm Terry Faber has created a great hurricane system page here. Not only does it have lots of links to any active systems, but it also contains links to radar and satellite images, many in great details and high resolution. The hurricane tracking maps and projections are there, of course. T-Storm Terry also provides links to other sources of information as well as historical data on previous storm systems.

  • Tropical Weather : Weather Underground - This is a fantastic site that has the widest range of linkages, maps, images, models, and everything. Just about the only thing it doesn't provide is winds blown into your face through the monitor. Which is why I put this at the bottom and not the top: there is just so much information it overwhelms.

Local Winds

For local Houston area facts and updates, most of the local news stations have their web-sites powered up.

--Claus

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