Google Earth Content Layers
Here’s a collection of KML and KMZ files you might find useful. Download them to your computer and you can open them up within Google Earth. I’ve given brief descriptions and, when available, links to pages with full information.
Use the quick links in the tables below to find what you want farther down the page.
| Static Data | ||
|---|---|---|
| Miscellaneous | ||
| NCAA Football Stadiums | ||
Real-Time Data
- Current Conditions. Simple, but has useful data easily at hand. This file loads a single layer displaying current temperatures at way more locations than the built-in Conditions and Forecasts layer within Google Earth. In fact, this layer covers the whole planet! Clicking on any displayed temperature brings up a box with the reporting station name, time (expressed as UTC) of data collection, temperature, dew point, wind, pressure, and one or two word summary of conditions. The layer has a 10 minute auto-refresh. Right now it’s raining and 82 F in Pago Pago. Downloadable directly as the file current.kml.
- Level II Radar. Coverage of the continental U.S. Once loaded, provides a choice between the latest radar image (auto-refreshed every 60 seconds) or an animated layer. Unless you really prefer operating in Google Earth, I’m not sure this provides any advantages over live radar coverage on lots of web pages, and it seems more cumbersome than just adding a link to a webpage already focused on your particular area of interest. Downloadable directly as the file radarLoader.kml.
- Watches and Warnings. Only one layer, but it’s all you need. All NWS watches and alerts for the U.S. are plotted with icons and, if applicable, boundaries around affected zones. Clicking on an icon brings up the telegram-style alert the NWS released for that particular warning. If you only care about one site, an e-mail alert would probably work better, but for multiple sites or an overall picture, this KML looks pretty good. It has a 60-second auto-refresh. Downloadable directly as the file wwLoader.kml.
- Heavy Snow and Ice Outlook. This KML is a bit crude, but it provides a quick visual reference of areas within the continental US that may expect snow or ice over the next couple days. There are three layers, for Today, Tomorrow, and Day After Tomorrow, and each provides a solid colored zone for any areas that might expect snow or ice, with snow areas shaded blue and ice areas shaded magenta. The problem is the level, or lack, of quantification. Supposedly, the intensity of the color increases with the likelihood of precipitation, but the regions I saw were all one dense color rather than zoning toward denser colors in the center as I would have expected for a probability map. Also, the title on the download page for this file is “Heavy” snow and ice outlook, but there’s no mention anywhere of the minimum projected amounts of either snow or ice that will trigger inclusion on the map. The KML file has a 30 minute auto-refresh. Downloadable directly as the file hpcLoader.kml.
- Buoy & Ship Observations. This one is neat. Data are available from around the world, including the Great Lakes. Recently reported data from ships, plotted as points wherever they happened to be, can include air and sea surface temperature, dewpoint, pressure, wind speed and direction, wave height, and cloud/weather conditions. Reporting ships are identified by call sign, which, if you’re interested, is easily looked up at places like boatnerd.com to determine ship name, company, type, etc. Data from buoys is often restricted to just temperatures, particularly in remote regions, but many coastal buoys have additional categories. Downloadable directly as the file shipAndBuoy.kml.
- Storm Reports. This provides three layers for displaying storm reports in Google Earth: Last three hours, Today, and Yesterday. There are sub-layers within each for Wind and Hail. When I checked this KML file there was hardly any storm activity in the U.S., but I did see one wind symbol, which when clicked on gave details of wind damage at the location. The KML file indicates it has a 5-minute auto-refresh. Downloadable directly as the file reportsLoader.kml.
- Global Tropical Storms. Nice presentation of current tropical weather systems in both the Atlantic and Pacific, with each storm as a separate layer. Storm tracks are color coded for strength with data points for every 3 or 6 hours. Hovering over a data point provides date and time, and clicking gives coordinates, wind speed, and pressure. Several forecast points past the latest position are provided, as well as a forecast confidence zone. Downloadable directly as the file tropicalLoader.kml.
- Reconnaissance Flight Data. Seems self explanatory, but I couldn’t check this out because there aren’t any active systems being watched as I add this link. Loading the KML file opens a layer in Google Earth titled Flights in Last 24 Hours, and I assume there would be individual entries for each flight if more than one flight had taken place. The layer says it has a 30 minute auto-refresh. Downloadable directly as the file reconLoader.kml.
- Current Hurricane Positions and Tracks. Storm tracks for active systems in both the Atlantic and Pacific. Positions are given at 3 or 6 hour intervals, with eye coordinates, direction of track, and wind data. File refreshes every 10 minutes, although data do not update that frequently. Each storm is a separate layer and each data point can be enabled/disabled. Webcams from nearby sites are included with individual storms. There are also spectral, infrared, and cloud overlay layers, although it wasn’t clear to me that they were directly related to the storms. The previous hurricane file (Global Tropical Storms) looks more useful, but the webcam links in this one might be handy. Downloadable directly as the file 110283-Hurri.kmz.
- U.S.G.S. Latest Earthquakes. The U.S.G.S. calls it M 1+ Earthquakes, Past 7 Days (colored by age). This is a great real-time Google Earth layer provided by the U.S. Geological Survey, the world’s undisputed authority when it comes to earthquakes, no matter where they occur. For a good example of what can be seen with this layer, take a look at two of my previous posts: Fun with Google Earth — Earthquakes, and Vanuatu Earthquake Swarm Update. All earthquakes of greater energy than magnitude 1 around the globe are plotted for the past seven days. The magnitude range is depicted by the size of the circle, and hovering over or clicking an individual circle provides more details on that earthquake, including shake maps. On the specific file linked at the end of this paragraph, the earthquakes circles are colored according to three age ranges. There is another KMZ file on the U.S.G.S. webpage linked above which colors the circles by hypocenter depth. These layers refresh automatically every five minutes, and earthquakes seem to be plotted within 20 or 30 minutes of their occurrence. The page linked at the beginning of this paragraph is worth a look, as it has other files and links too. Downloadable directly as the file eqs7day-age.kmz.
- Current Night and Day on Earth. Shows the regions of Earth that are currently dark as dark areas, but still light enough to see a fair amount of detail. Easily turned off and on. This KML file has a 10 minute auto-refresh. Downloadable directly as the file nightday.kmz.
- FAA Airport Delays. The primary layer has symbols for 41 major airports within the continental U.S., individually color-coded with respect to their current flight delay status: green for no delay, yellow for reported delays of less than 1 hour, and red for reported delays of greater than 1 hour. Hovering the cursor over an airport icon brings up text with the name of the airport, and clicking on an icon displays current details on overall flight delay status for that airport. Each airport is it’s own sub-layer, and can be displayed or removed from the display. This KML file has a 5 minute auto-refresh. Downloadable directly as the file faaDelaysLoader.kml.
- Wildfires: MODIS Active Fire Mapping Program. From the USDA Forest Service. Provides multiple web maps and kml/kmz files for current and historical fires. Current fire data files are updated hourly. Regions covered include CONUS, Alaska, Hawaii, and Canada. Good details on the web page.
Static Data
Miscellaneous:
- NCAA Football Stadiums. A collection of placemarks for football stadiums at 245 colleges in the U.S. Clicking on a placemark brings up an information box with a quick summary of the school, as well as the name, seating capacity, and type of playing surface for the stadium. Most of the stadiums are rendered for the 3D Buildings layer in Google Earth, so be sure to have that layer turned on to see details around the sides of the structures. A lot of campuses also have other major buildings rendered in 3D, and that’s a good way to reorient yourself if things in normal Google Earth view don’t look quite like you remember from your college days. Downloadable directly as the file ncaa_stadiums.kml.
