Weather Data Identifies Locations in the United States with Extreme Amounts of Unusual Weather
US Weather Events Analyses Reveal Areas with Great Quantities of Uncommon Weather Occurrences
Weather affects the lives of everyone all the time. Weather can determine whether a person goes to work, participates in a fun activity, or leaves a home environment in general. Weather can influence how a person dresses for a day and it affects their mood. Weather is an aspect of life on Earth that is a core component for the prosperity of human beings. Because weather has such a massive impact on human existence, analyses on weather events that are uncommon are especially important to observe for the quality of life for humans to reach their greatest potential. Recognizing areas with extreme amounts of unusual weather can provide knowledge on locations to avoid or instill protective measures when traveling to or existing at these locations so human life flourishes effectively.
In this blog, I created a Tableau dashboard with weather data from a Kaggle website (https://www.kaggle.com/sobhanmoosavi/us-weather-events) to analyze density plots of three unusual types of weather events (snow, fog, and rain) that can occur in the United States. The purpose of scrutinizing this data is to educate people on places exhibiting extreme amounts of abnormal weather and mitigate probable issues from these weather phenomena at specified locations. I used a condensed dataset of a selection of data points of non-null data of snow, fog, and rain events in the contiguous United States between January 2016 to December 2020 from the 6.3 million total weather event data points represented in the original Kaggle weather dataset. To view my dashboard (and hover over values) go to https://public.tableau.com/app/profile/james.stipanowich/viz/UniqueWeatherEventsFromJanuary2016toDecember2020/UniqueWeatherEventsFromJanuary2016toDecember2020. My data expression and analyses are shown below utilizing my Tableau dashboard. Locations with extreme amounts of unusual weather are identified and explained below.
Note: My data is communicated in terms of counts of snow, fog, and rain events at specified airport weather stations across the United States.
Where Did Snow Events Occur in the Greatest Magnitudes in the Contiguous United States Between 2016–2020?
By viewing the “Count of Snow Events Per Airport Weather Station” sheet on my dashboard, most snow events can be easily visualized as occurring in the northern portions of the United States. Snow mainly falls in the northern U.S. By dragging the left handle on the “Select a Count of Events:” filter on the dashboard to the right, the top two airport weather stations with the highest counts of snow occurrences are uncovered in relation to KMYL and KLXV airports with 2,857 and 2,746 total snow instances respectively between 2016 and 2020. The KMYL airport weather station is in McCall, Idaho, and the KLXV airport weather station is in Leadville, Colorado. Both McCall, Idaho, and Leadville, Colorado, are places in the United States with great potential for snowfall and precautions should be taken in these places to handle extreme amounts of snow.
Fun Fact: KLXV airport is actually the highest altitude public use airport in North America, which explains the extreme amount of snow incidences happening at that location.
Which Locations Had the Greatest Quantities of Fog Events in the Contiguous United States Between 2016–2020?
Fog events appear to occur the most on the west coast of the United States and in the eastern half of the United States. By dragging the left handle on the “Select a Count of Events:” filter on the dashboard to the right, the top two airport weather stations with the highest counts of fog manifestations are recognized as relating to KHAF and KBKD airports with 5,332 and 4,413 total fog instances. The KHAF airport weather station is in Half Moon Bay, California, and the KBKD airport weather station is in Breckenridge, Texas. Both Half Moon Bay, California, and Breckenridge, Texas, are places in the United States with the extreme potential for fog, and creative ways to maneuver a fog-filled atmosphere should be thought of to constructively maintain life around these areas.
Which Areas Did Rain Events Happen in the Most Extreme Frequencies in the Contiguous United States Between 2016–2020?
Rainfall seems to happen the most wherever there is a coastline in the United States. The lake, ocean, and sea waters that encompass the coastlines of the United States most likely influence great quantities of water in the air on the coasts. By dragging the left handle on the “Select a Count of Events:” filter on the dashboard to the right, the top two airport weather stations with the highest counts of rain episodes are found to be situated with the KUIL and KHST airport weather stations with 6,368 and 6,194 total rain instances. The KUIL airport weather station is in Forks, Washington, and the KHST airport weather station is in Homestead, Florida. Both Forks, Washington, and Homestead, Florida displayed extreme quantities of rain, and actions should be taken in these locations to safeguard the lifestyle of the residents living in and around these locations.
Fun Fact: Forks, Washington, is where Stephenie Meyer’s Twilight book series take place. The downpours of rain are often mentioned in her novels.
What Locales in the United States Experience Extreme Amounts of Unusual Weather?
Weather affects the daily life of everyone regardless of whether the choice is made to acknowledge its influence or not. Weather allows people to partake in all kinds of events (both good and bad) that impact the way that life is structured. Weather can even decide whether humans thrive on the planet. For this reason, when extreme amounts of unusual weather occur, taking note of where the special weather events are happening and comprehending how to deal with these weather occurrences is particularly important. In this blog, I discussed three types of weather events of snow, fog, and rain, that can be considered uncommon weather behavior, to help recognize where unusual weather often occurs. The intention of identifying the unusual weather events is to understand the life of these weather events better and minimize their negative influences on human life. My analyses revealed the following locations had extreme amounts of unusual weather. They need to be acknowledged for their abnormal weather to allow for the greatest quality of life of the people that live in those regions or plan to travel to those regions. My analyses are as follows:
- The “Count of Snow Events Per Airport Weather Station” sheet on my dashboard revealed that most snow occasions happen in the northern United States. Both McCall, Idaho, and Leadville, Colorado, were portions of the United States concluded to produce the most snow events around their airport weather stations out of any contiguous U.S. location with an airport weather station between 2016–2020 in the Kaggle weather dataset I utilized. Actions should be taken in these areas to manage the extreme snowfall.
- The “Count of Fog Events Per Airport Weather Station” sheet on my dashboard unveiled most fog events happen on the western coast of the United States and the eastern half of the United States. Half Moon Bay, California, and Breckenridge, Texas, were distinguished as cities in the United States with the most extreme fog potential between 2016–2020 from the Kaggle weather dataset of which I obtained data. Arrangements should be made to control the effects of fog in these areas.
- The “Count of Rain Events Per Airport Weather Station” sheet on my dashboard showcased rainfall events as most apparent at locales in the United States where there was a coastline. The airport weather stations by Forks, Washington, and Homestead, Florida, recorded the greatest number of rainfall events of an airport weather station between 2016–2020 in the Kaggle weather dataset I made use of. People in the extreme rainfall regions I just mentioned should be mindful of great rain potential at their locations and work to prevent the rainfall from destroying value in life there.
Weather does determine how life is lived to an extent, but by becoming aware of where weather has potential to be extreme allows for precautions to be enacted to prevent massive damage to a person’s quality of life. The undesirable impacts of weather can be diminished. Go out and be prepared for the weather. It is there just for you!
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