I was in northern Virginia for a storm this past weekend described by local and national weather-casters as "epic," "Snow-pocalypse," or "Snowmageddon." As a native Minnesotan, I knew the steps necessary to prepare myself. As a geographer, I was delighted to see the degree to which maps were a part of the public awareness campaign. Everyone, from the educators I was working with to politicians to "regular citizens," was paying heed to the maps, in anticipation of snowfall amounts exceeding 24 inches in the Washington DC area. Everyone referenced the maps in discussing the preparation necessary.

Weather events can be dangerous, especially when people try to lead normal lives under abnormal circumstances. The proliferation of computer applications, up-to-the-minute web maps, animated displays, and broadcast streams focused on weather all help demonstrate the power of maps for understanding everyday phenomena and variations from one's vision of "normal." The lives lost and hardships experienced during these events make me want to re-double the attention to geography education. Congress concluded their events early this week, in order to let members get away before the storm; clearly, they understand that it can be perilous to ignore geographic information.

The NOAA storm summary for this past event includes a list of snow totals from across the region. Scanning down, those with good mental maps of the area can interpret the data and build a picture. Those without a good mental map must look for a familiar name, and get a much less powerful view of the data. Seeing even just the raw numbers on a map makes a huge difference. Having the data interpolated to form a general pattern would be even more powerful.


NOAA/NWS page showing snowfall data

Stay safe this winter. Long-term climate change, shorter term El Nino events, and random combinations mean conditions will shift, relative to what people "know" about the weather. And keep pointing out to educators, administrators, and policy makers the staggering degree to which geography matters.

- Charlie Fitzpatrick, Co-Manager, ESRI Schools Program