Map Scripting

I’m working on some mashups for a chapter in the book, including a weather map. So, I was checking out Yahoo’s weather API and came across its codes for specific conditions.

Curious, I started cross-referencing the codes to their icons. Most are able to get across the condition visually. A few, such as dust and fog, require text to make sense of what would just be a picture of haze. Actually, haze is its own condition.

Another that also gets textual treatment is hurricane. But instead of tossing the H-word into a graphic of sideways rain, Yahoo’s icon simply says “WINDY.”

Seems like an understatement to me.

The data comes from the Weather Channel, but its icon of the same code has no text. And it looks scarier, much more appropriate for a hurricane.