Another view of Irene

One of my colleagues, a physical geographer and GIS faculty member shared this link yesterday as another way to track Hurricane Irene.

It is wonderful to see mainstream press using GIS applications to note physical or human events.

To see the link at the NY Times, click here.

Irene Update

Surfs Up!

While most sane people are moving inland, there are surfing fans enjoying a rare opportunity to "hang ten" on the eastern seaboard. This area is not well know for serious surfing, but when a storm comes in the area, you are not going to waste the opportunity.

See this news site for more info.

The Weather Channel has some info on wave heights.

A final thought...the leading edge for this storm gives us winds from the north-east and east, but once the eye has past, the winds will reverse to come from west and south-west. Remember, a cyclonic disturbance in the northern hemisphere has counter clockwise winds toward the low pressure.

Hurricane IRENE

Well, the campus President has closed school for Monday the 29th in anticipation of Hurricane Irene. I'll be tracking the storm using data from

the National Hurricane Center

Lots of good graphics, maps and data and none of the commercials or advertisements you'll get on other sites.

Plugged in our dehumidifier in the basement to prepare. Oh yeah, maybe I'll stock up on some goodies too!

Cutural Heritage Tourism To States

U.S. Department of Commerce Releases First Cultural Heritage Visitor Profile
International Cultural Heritage Traveler Arrivals Up 14 Percent Over 2009
The U.S. Department of Commerce announces the release of its first Cultural Heritage Visitor (CHV) Profile. The CHV profile showcases select characteristics of overseas visitors who participated in one or more of the following activities: art gallery/museum, concert/play/musical, cultural heritage sites, ethnic heritage sites, American Indian community, historical places, and national parks.
The profile can be accessed directly from the Office of Travel and Tourism Industries' website:
http://www.tinet.ita.doc.gov/outreachpages/download_data_table/2010-cultural-heritage-profile.pdf

da Conch Shack

Hungry for conch? I am partial to cracked conch and this a really good place to get it.

They also participated in our Sustainable Restaurant Study, so take this as a shameless plug for their food.

Travel to the States

INTERNATIONAL VISITATION UP THREE PERCENT IN MAY 2011
The U.S. Department of Commerce today announced that 5.2 million international visitors traveled to the United States in May 2011, a three percent increase over May 2010. For the first five months of 2011, visitation (23.7 million) was up five percent compared to the same period in 2010.

Hurricane Season is here

Tropical Storm Emily is heading across the Caribbean. Better shutter the windows, stock up fresh water, and if you are vacationing in the D.R., Bahamas or Turks and Caicos, you may wish to cash in that travel insurance.

So summer vacations in the tropics are always a gamble. In 2009, I made travel plans about a week out since hurricanes move slowly, say 15-25 mph.

Should Emily pick up, you can download GIS tracking data.

stay safe!