How to add the most recent hurricane data?

This documentation is always evolving.

This article focuses on Mapcreator Next and its features. For details about the previous version of Mapcreator, click here.

With Mapcreator, you can create a map with the latest hurricane data from the National hurricane Center (NHC) and the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA), updated every 60 minutes. 

We have you covered with a layer containing a live feed of data with the current status and predictions. This layer is continuously updated with the latest forecasts from the NHC, both in the tool and in any interactive output you create. Add it on your website, and you will have an automatic widget showing the latest information to your audience.

Where to find it
The hurricane live data layer can be found under the ‘’Data overlay’’ menu. This is located under the fourth icon of the top left menu, where ‘’Live Data’’ will be at the top. 

After selecting the hurricane data, it will automatically appear on the map. In layers you can control the data visibility. Here you can hide or enable parts of the hurricane.

By default, the following information is shown: the forecast track, the cone of probability with icons giving expected arrival time and intensity (H=Hurricane, S=Storm, D=Depression) and the initial wind extent. 

There are three versions of the wind speed probabilities:

• 34 knots (kt) (= 39.1 mph, 17.5 m/s, 57.4 ft/s, 63 km/h)
• 50 knots (kt) (= 57.5 mph, 25.7 m/s, 84.4 ft/s, 92.7 km/h)
• 64 knots (kt) (= 73.6 mph, 32.9 m/s, 108 ft/s, 118.6 km/h)

Which can be overlayed with the likely or earliest arrival times. 

How to get this map updated:
If you’d like to show this project as an interactive map on your website, we recommend you download this map as an iframe. The map will then also automatically update every 60 minutes. Please note that interactive maps are currently not supported in the Next Mapcreator, but these can be created in the old version of Mapcreator. 

And on a static map?
The data in the tool is always providing the most recent updates. Meaning that if you reopen an existing project in the tool, it will automatically also have the most recent data of this hurricane. Download your map again and you’re ready.