Time to revive ye olde wind map. As you can see, it’s really howling across the Great Plains all the way from Canada to southern Texas. The image is a little blurry because, for those not familiar with the map, it’s live and in motion. Always a fascinating map to visit. By clicking on the live map, you can zoom in to see your little part of the world in greater detail.
I was reminded of this map because it’s just a wee bit breezy here today. To quote The Weather Channel’s warning:
 “WINDS… NORTHWEST WINDS AT 35 TO 50 MPH WITH GUSTS UP TO 75 MPH POSSIBLE.”
Tonight is my trash night but I’m thinking I might not put it out this week. I’d rather not find it a block away tomorrow, and I’m sure the neighbors would rather not find my trash in their yards (although I’ll bet I find some of theirs in mine). It seems the prudent thing to do considering that when I went out a while ago, I discovered a neighbor’s basketball goal had blown over; it had been weighted down with cinder blocks and they were lying broken in the middle of the street. And about a half mile from here, a street resurfacing project was almost hidden in a shroud of blowing dust, as was a vacant lot being graded for a new building.
Ah, Spring!
We have these problems, too, Susan – but as far as I know we don’t have such a BRILLIANT wind-map ! Wish we did, that’s for sure.
Isn’t it wonderful? I’d love to have it live on a giant screen on a wall somewhere, just as a piece of art.
Oh, it is ! I suppose that the USA climate people think it worth the money because of your subjectivity to twisters – would you agree ?
This particular map is a personal art project, not produced by meteorologists. The data that drives it comes from them, but the map is not their creation. (See the info on the map’s home page.) That’s why it’s so beautiful. It’s intended to be art.
CRIKEY !!!!!! I didn’t look about me, just at the map itself. I shall, though !!
Love it. Thanks for reminding me.
Beauty is always worth revisiting.
WOW nice mappy arty thingy. The wind so far has been really wild this spring – makes the dogs nuts. ( and garbage a challenge to keep from blowing down the street
“Mappy arty thingy.” You have such a way with words. 🙂
Have never seen this particular wind map so thanks for that link. As far as your noted wind affiliations with the Great Plains, I was stationed at Clinton-Sherman AFB (since closed) in western Oklahoma for about three years in the early sixties and it was my first exposure to the winds you reference. They were unrelenting and it was remarkable to me that most, if not all, trees grew at about a 30 degree angle in the direction of the yearly prevailing winds. So even when the winds weren’t blowing which was like two days a year, it “looked” like it was blowing. Experienced my first big dust storm there also and boy that was something for this ole Arkansas boy to behold. 🙂
I lived in Okla. City most of my life, so I know exactly what you’re talking about. This map shows I wasn’t exaggerating when I joked about our dust, wind, cold, or whatever coming all the way from Canada. Obviously it does, at least sometimes.
That map truly is hypnotic to watch PT. Wouldn’t mind having it on my wall too! 🙂
You can buy prints of some of the maps on their website. But they wouldn’t be the same as a live one, which is what I’d want. They have saved, somehow, some of their past live maps in a gallery. The ones with hurricanes are truly frightening.
Oh wow PT, they are indeed! O_o
Very nice, and I agree about it being similar to art. Wouldn’t it be neat if its creator(s) would combine it with temperatures and show them in colors?
One more thought: why is it that maps like these show nothing outside our borders? There are other countries, I just know there are.
The artist probably didn’t have easy access to the necessary data from other countries, or it was compiled differently, or perhaps not compiled at all. Doesn’t surprise me at all given that this is a personal project and not a product of a government agency or large corporation.
I don’t know if I’d like color on the map. I wonder if it would distract from simply admiring the beauty of the sweeps and swirls and eddies themselves. And lose some of its hypnotic effect. Still, if the colors were soft enough to not spoil the overall hypnotic, tranquil effect, it could be mesmerizing.
No, I don’t think it’s the artist’s lack of resources because most of the other weather maps, both internet and television, also stop at the U.S. borders. Are we afraid we might give away something for free? My real suspicion is some kind of pact with Canada and Mexico designed to protect the weather operations in those countries from competition. Just a guess on my part.
Wow, you really are a skeptic, aren’t you? 😉
Shouldn’t the Wind Map be adjusted to account for local wind anomalies like Donald Trump, Rush Limbaugh and the US Congress?
LOL. Yep, it probably should be, but that would make such a hash of the Northeast. Although I suppose the Congressional anomaly would actually extend across the entire country …