Weather Maps Exhibit in Ball State University Libraries

Tornado Week:  Ball State University Cartography Students Create Weather Maps

This week is “Tornado Week” on cable television’s The Weather Channel.  The week features informative segments on tornadoes and special tornado-themed episodes of shows such as “Deadliest Space Weather” and “Storm Riders.”  The Ball State University Libraries’ GIS Research and Map Collection (GRMC) on the second floor of Bracken Library is exhibiting tornado-related maps to mark the tornado season.

Students in Geography 340 cartography classes create custom maps for a final project, and many of the students design maps related to weather events.  Dr. Elizabeth Vaughan, Assistant Professor in the Department of Geography, donates some of the student maps from the class to the GRMC each year.  Some of these maps are featured in the tornado map exhibit.

Daniel Mills created a map showing the locations of F5 tornadoes in the United States from 1950-2007.  The map (above, click to enlarge) shows the number of tornadoes, injuries, and fatalities during that time period. 

Chris Stumpf created the map Lightning Hazards in the United States.  This map includes the number of average strikes of lightning around the U.S. shown in varying shades of pink and the number of deaths from lightning.

For more information about these maps, please contact the GRMC at 765-285-1097.