Immersive visualization technology is rapidly changing the way three-dimensional data is displayed and interpreted. Rendering meteorological data in four dimensions (space and time) exploits the full data volume and provides weather forecasters with a complete representation of the time-evolving atmosphere. With the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration, we created an interactive immersive “fly-through” of real weather data. Users are visually guided through satellite observations of an event that caused heavy precipitation, flooding, and landslides in the western United States. This narrative and display highlights how VR tools can supplement traditional forecasting and enhance meteorologists’ ability to predict weather events.

The Virtual Reality (VR) project within the AERT group at ESSIC has developed a new data visualization technique for exploring weather data. In collaboration with computer scientists from the University of Maryland Institute for Advanced Computer Studies (UMIACS), VR software has been developed which gives users a unique, three-dimensional perspective of both archive and real-time weather data. While wearing the VR equipment, users can investigate model data, satellite products, radar imagery, and more with a variable user-controlled view which allows for quick, custom cross-sections and adjustable animation settings. Timelines can also be created from saved perspectives which will automatically generate smooth animations transitioning between different products and different three-dimensional viewpoints. An example of archive data from Hurricane Dorian in 2019 has been developed showcasing the capabilities of the VR project.