Weather Central, Inc.

David N Erickson

Victor W Marsh

John S Moore

Terence F Kelly

Richard T Daly

Randall T Wiggins

A system and method for preparing and manipulating a weather display including accurately displaying the current position of a weather storm cell and predicting and displaying a future path of the cell is provided. Various operator tools and functions are provided in a graphical user interface to allow an operator to prepare a weather display for broadcast, and to manipulate the display during a live weather presentation. A position and predicted track of a storm cell may be determined based on weather information from a first weather information source, e.g., NEXRAD, and displayed on a weather display. The displayed position of the storm cell and track is updated between the receipt of NEXRAD information updates to maintain an accurate display of storm cell position. Updates of the displayed storm cell position may be provided periodically between NEXRAD updates based on storm cell speed and heading information contained in the latest available NEXRAD data. Preferably, the displayed storm cell position and track is updated between the receipt of NEXRAD updates based on weather information received from a second weather information source, e.g., live radar data. Thus, integration of detailed NEXRAD weather data information with live radar data to provide an enhanced ability to predict accurately the movement of severe weather cells and to provide an accurate warning to those in the path of such cells is provided.

Weather tracking and display system and method

A virtual three-dimensional presentation in accordance with the present invention includes three layers, a three-dimensional background layer, a two-dimensional video insert layer, and a three-dimensional foreground layer. A surface, the Z-sphere, is defined in the virtual three-dimensional space of the three-dimensional scene with reference to the aim point of a virtual camera looking at the three-dimensional scene being created. The three-dimensional foreground layer scene may include a key which defines the transparency of objects in the foreground layer. The two-dimensional video insert layer may be generated by positioning a presenter, or other object, in a chroma-key set. The two-dimensional video insert layer may be distorted before being composited with the background and foreground such that elements of the two-dimensional video appear to move across a three-dimensional floor of the three-dimensional scene.

Growing community of inventors

Madison, WI, United States of America

David N Erickson