Mapping the Heatwave

While America braces itself for record low temperatures Australians are basking in a heatwave. ABC has created a Live Heatwave Tracker to map temperatures that have hit as high as 50 degrees centigrade.

The tracker is an animated map of temperatures recorded throughout Australia. You can use the slider beneath the map to view temperatures at specific times and dates and zoom in on the map to

It's Snow Fun with the Open Sledding Map

If you live in the northeast of the USA then why not celebrate the recent snowfall by using and contributing to WYNC's Sledding Spots map?

You can use the map to add the location of your favorite sledding spots. You can add a review of the chosen slope and even add a photo of the hill in question to give other users a better idea of the thrills it promises. Of course you can also use the map

The New York and Boston Snow Map

The Boston Globe has created an interactive map to show the levels of snow fall in Massachusetts and New York. The Snow Totals map uses data from the National Weather Service to show the depth of snow fall in the Northeast.



If you want to know what to expect with the weather in the next week then check out Forecast. Search for a location on Forecast and you can view a detailed weather

The Outlook is Cloudy on Google Maps

The new weather layer in the Google Maps API is starting to be implemented up by a few Google Maps based websites.


Plane Finder, the real-time plane tracking website, has added options to view both the cloud layer and the weather layer on its Google Map.

To view the new weather layers on Plan Finder select 'Map Options', 'Map' and then select the 'cloud' and / or 'weather' check buttons.


Martin Kleppe of Ubilabs has created a rather beautiful example of the cloud layer in action on a styled Google Map. This example map uses dark map tiles which contrast nicely with the new fluffy white clouds.


My very own creation 8-bit Clouds overlays the new cloud layer on top of Google's April Fool 8-bit map tiles.

A Weather Layer for the Google Maps API

Google Maps developers can now add a weather layer to their maps directly from the Google Maps API. Here is an example map displaying the new CloudLayer with the 8-bit map tiles from Google April Fool's release, 8-bit Clouds.

The new weather layer includes two main classes, the WeatherLayer and CloudLayer classes. The WeatherLayer class adds weather symbols to your map (sun, clouds, rain etc) showing the current weather using data from weather.com. Enabling the cloud layer will add cloud coverage imagery to your map, visible at zoom levels 0 through 6.

You can now also add upcoming events to your map with new support for events in the Google Places API. The API describes the events service as "intended to provide notice and information about events that are happening currently, so that users can find and check-in to them. Events are included in Place Search results as soon as they are added, and expire after their set duration has elapsed. Results will include events added by your application".

Google Ice Maps

Iskart is a map guide to the ice thickness and condition on Norway's lakes and waterways.

Using map tiles from the Norwegian Mapping Authority (Statens Kartverk) with the Google Maps API Iskart provides a guide to ice thickness and snow conditions. The map enables users to find the latest ice thickness measurements, view webcam images and view data from real-time monitoring stations.

The History of Weather on Google Maps

Weather Underground's WunderMap now allows the user to view historical weather records on a Google Map.

A calendar control above the map allows the user to select a date and view the historical weather records for that day. The records include radar, storm reports and even weather related photographs and webcam images taken on that day.


WeatherSpark also lets you view historical weather on a Google Map, giving you access to the historical records of over 4,000 weather stations.

If you want to know what the weather was like in Honolulu on the day of Barack Obama's birth in August 1961 all you have to do is use the time-line to bring up the correct date, and centre the map on Honolulu. You can then view the recorded weather for that day (a balmy 30 degrees centigrade).

As well as the map view WeatherSpark has an impressive time-line interface that allows the user to visualise changing temperatures, precipitation and cloud cover through time.

Australian Rain Radars on Google Maps

BOMMap is an Australian weather map that allows users to view animations of the latest radar images from Australia's Bureau of Meteorology.

The initial view of BOMMap shows where it is currently raining in Australia and therefore where radar animations are also currently available to view on the map. Users just need to select one of the displayed map markers to view the latest radar animation from that location.

The creator of BOMMap has also set up a subReddit where users can submit suggestions and possible improvements to the map.

The Weather Twitter Map

Wettervolke is a nice Google Maps based application to view the current weather and local Twitter messages about the weather.

The current weather conditions are displayed on a Google Map using the standard weather map symbols. The current temperature is also displayed directly on the map. As well as the current weather conditions it is possible to view a forecast for the rest of the day and for tomorrow's weather.

Overlaid on the map is a Twitter weather window which displays the latest Tweets about the weather from your location. The weather symbols on the map update automatically when you pan and zoom the map. However to view the local weather Tweets users need to use the search box to position the map at the correct location.

Via: ProgrammableWeb

European Snow on Google Maps

So far it has been a bad winter for European ski resorts. Mild and dry weather mean resorts have very little skiing available. The good news is that snow has begun to fall in some of the most northern parts of Europe.

In Denmark television station TV2 are celebrating the first snow of the winter with a Google Map of readers' snow photos. The station plans to collect readers' photos and add them to the map throughout the winter.



Snow in Europe also means that Ben Marsh's #UKSnow Map has sprung back into life. #UKSnow maps Twitter mentions of snow in the UK.

Over the last couple of days the map has been showing snow around Edinburgh and Glasgow in Scotland. Today there only seems to be a little snow falling in the far north of the country.

Hat-tip: microformats.dk

Weather for the Game on Google Maps

BleacherWeather.com allows you to find upcoming sporting events on a Google Map and get a weather forecast for the game.

It is possible to filter the upcoming games shown on the map by sport (MLB, NASCAR NCAA and NFL). It is also possible to filter the results by date to find a game on a particular day.

If you click on a game's map marker you can then view the weather forecast for that location. The forecast includes the current conditions, a three day forecast and an animated radar map of the location from the National Weather Service.

Snowtober on Google Maps

A rare October snow storm has hit the north eastern United States. You can view the extent of the snow fall on the National Weather Service's Eastern Region Hydrometeorological Event Display.

This Google Map uses a combination of numbered map markers and a choropleth layer to show the number of inches of snow that has fallen across the region.

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The Thailand Floods on Google Maps

The floods in Thailand now look set to affect the capital, Bangkok. The government has decided to open flood gates to try and control the flow of the flood waters through the city's canals.

The likely affect will be flooding around the canals and officials have urged residents in seven Bangkok districts to move their possessions to higher ground.

The Thailand Flood Monitoring System is using Google Maps to show the areas currently affected by the flooding.

Google Crisis Response has also created a Google Map for the 2011 Thailand Floods.

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Thailand Floods - Google Crisis Response

In Thailand flood waters have swamped more than two-thirds of the country. Google Crisis Response has created a Google Map for the 2011 Thailand Floods.

As well as providing emergency contact information for people in the country the map contains a number of selectable layers. The map's initial view shows the flood affected areas across Thailand. It is also possible to view:

• Flooding extents
• Recent satellite imagery
• Bangkok risk areas and water barriers
• Shelters
• Parking areas
• Flooded highways

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Lightning Strikes Google Maps

Over the years we have seen live hurricane, typhoon and even live tornado maps. Now we also have a live lightning Google Map.

Blitzortung.org works with a community of users, who have built their own lightning receivers, to automatically display live lightning data on a Google Map.

Blitzortung.org includes instructions on how you can build your own lightning receiver and also includes instructions on how you can build your own Google Map based on the data received from a lightning receiver.

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Typhoon Tracking with Google Maps

Agora's Digital Typhoon - Track Forecast Map tracks tropical cyclones in and around Japan. The map shows the historical tracks of current typhoons and also shows their predicted path.

The map is currently showing the paths of typhoon Roke and Sonca. When the map first loads an animation of the typhoons' path is displayed on the map. Different coloured markers indicate the typhoon's wind speed at different points along its path.

The numbered red map markers show the predicted path of a typhoon. Each marker includes a radial polyline showing the probability circle of the typhoon's location. You can also click on the markers to view the predicted wind speed.

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Vermont Flooding on Google Maps

Google Crisis Response has released a Vermont Flooding 2011 Google Map.



The map shows road and bridge closures in the state. It is also possible to overlay other layers on the map showing:

• cloud imagery
• USGS Real-time Streamflow
• significant river flood outlook
• Red Cross shelters
• Vermont county borders

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Google Maps New York Evacuation Zones

Yesterday Google released their Crisis Response 2011 Hurricane Season Google Map. Today they have created a map just for New York City: 2011 Hurricane Irene New York City.



The New York City map shows the forecasted track of Hurricane Irene as well as the evacuation zones and evacuation centers. It is also possible to view additional layers on the map showing:

• Storm Surge Probabilities
• The Red Cross National Shelter System
• Cloud Imagery
• Evacuation Routes

Via: Google LatLong



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New York Evacuation Zones

The New York Times' New York City Hurricane Evacuation Zones Google Map shows the three evacuation zones in New York.



The zones are based on the strength of the hurricane making landfall. New York is preparing for the threat of storm surges with the closure of the entire public transportation system.





Climate Central has created a Google Map showing the areas in lower Manhattan, New Jersey and Brooklyn that are most at risk of storm surges from Hurricane Irene.



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Google Crisis Response - Hurricane Irene

Google Crisis Response has put together a Google Map for the 2011 Hurricane Season. The map currently shows the projected route of Hurricane Irene with the option of viewing a number of other layers on the map.



As well as viewing the forecast track of Hurricane Irene the map includes:

• a cloud imagery layer from the Navy Research Lab
• a layer showing coastal areas placed under tropical cyclone watches or warnings
• evacuation routes from FEMA
• a surge storm probability layer
• real-time Stream Gage Data from USGS

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