NASA World Wind program - may want to check it out?

[DesertDog]

Disregard this thread. 

I got April Fooled by the program.  I thought it actually updated the surface imagery, as well as the cloud cover, but found it just uses a set of 12 images from 2004!  So, I had viewed the March view, then the April view, saw the differences and thought the surface/snowpack imagery was regularly updated.  However, I saw what was really happening after playing around with the program a bit more!

Oh well!  Wasn't the best resolution at close zoom levels, but it still would have worked good enough for trip planning when using a .kml overlay!

But, here is what I originally posted:





Below is a link to the page for information on and to install the NASA World Wind program (version 1.4.0).

http://worldwind.arc.nasa.gov/download.html

Not sure how many people know about this program, and there is a lot more you can do with it beyond what I will mention, but...

You can use the program to get a general map overview. And, if you have .kml files (or .gpx files that you can convert to .kml) you can use the program to view current cloud cover and, by scrolling/zooming in with the mouse, current snowpack thru a route you may be planning on doing soon. Just go to File/Import KML/KMZ file ..., load your file, then zoom in to view the current conditions.

I know there are many times that people will want to know if a route is going to be doable, and with this program, you can at least see if you have a 'clear' route or will have to be trudging thru snow fields. Now, for river crossings, there is another site to check those potential issues. But, thought this might be a nice additional tool for folks to use.

I figure at least a few people may want to use this to view the current conditons thru the TD or CTR routes?

Myself, I'm using it to monitor the situation/conditons thru late Spring/early Summer for the Sierras, Central Oregon, Idaho and the San Juan region of Colorado. Hoping to do a 6 to 7 week trip from around the end of May to the beginning of July. What I do depends on the conditions. I know the options, and this will help me plan the route.

Check it out.

[ScottM]

It's been a while since I updated my world wind.  I'd be curious to see what imagery source they are using that has current cloud cover and snow pack?  What's the resolution on the imagery?

Guess I'll have to download and check it out.

[6thElement]

Vaguely recall using this years ago long before Google Earth.

[DesertDog]

I got April Fooled by the program.  I thought it actually updated the surface imagery, as well as the cloud cover, but found it just uses a set of 12 images from 2004!  So, I had viewed the March view, then the April view, saw the differences and thought the surface/snowpack imagery was regularly updated.  However, I saw what was really happening after playing around with the program a bit more!

Oh well!  Wasn't the best resolution at close zoom levels, but it still would have worked good enough for trip planning when using a .kml overlay!


I updated the original post to include the above at the beginning.  Hopefully nobody else gets 'fooled' by it!