Overview of Project

Meteorology Project

Group Members: Emilee Hunt, Gail, Monica, and Heather Stallman

Topic: the tornado that struck Pittsburgh on June 2^nd, 1998

Finished Infographics:

1.     Comparison between the tornadoes on July 4^th, 1878; January 9^th, 1889; and June 2^nd, 1998

2.     Comparison between Fujita Scale and Enhanced Fujita Scale

Structure and Format of the Infographic:

Color:

For the first infographic, the color of choice was a neutral yellow and the neutral orange for the second infographic.  I chose these colors because they were two of the colors of the sky that Gail saw before the tornado struck Pittsburgh.  Gail actually witnessed the tornado in Pittsburgh on June 2^nd, 1998.  I also chose these colors so there weren’t be too much chaos between the background and the data.  A white, orange, and black gradient was added to the Fujita Scale and Enhanced Fujita Scale columns of the second infographic to indicate that as the scale gets higher, the faster and more destructive the tornado gets.  The texts was colored black so the data stands out, is readable, clear, and doesn’t blend with the background

Font:

1.     Infographic 1

a.     For the first infographic (Comparison between the tornadoes on July 4^th, 1878; January 9^th, 1889; and June 2^nd, 1998), the three tornado dates were centered and put in Wide Latin font, size 14pt with 18pt leading.  Under the dates was the description of each tornado.  The row titles (Location, Time, Sky, Temperature, Precipitation, Damage Cost, and Other Effects) were put in Uppercase 67 Bold Condensed Universal font, size 12pt with 24pt leading.  The data was put in 47 Light Condensed Universal font, size 10pt.  Under the description, there were pie graphs indicating the number of people killed and injured after the tornado struck. This was for a hierarchy; so the most important information would be seen first.

2.     Infographic 2

a.     No title was included for both infographics because they are comparison infographics and a title would corrupt the purpose of the infographics.  For the second infographic (Fujita Scale vs. Enhanced Fujita Scale), the column titles (Fujita Scale, Enhanced Fujita Scale, Wind Speed, and Type of Damage) were centered in Rockwell Extra Bold font, size 12pt with 16pt leading.  In the column title box, created by Professor Fujita in 1971 (Fujita Scale), introduced in 2007 (Enhanced Fujita Scale), and mile per hour (Wind Speed) were put in 47 Light Condensed Universal font, size 11pt with 16pt leading.  The data for the four columns were centered and put in Minion Pro Bold font, size 18pt with 21.6pt leading.  The resources label was placed on the bottom of the four columns.  The resources label was put in Rockwell Extra Bold font, size 12pt with 14.4pt leading; while the websites were put in minion Pro Regular font, size 10pt with 12pt leading.  This was for a hierarchy; so the most important information would be seen first.

Software Used:

            For the infographic layout, adding images and text I used Adobe InDesign CS5.  To make the graphs of the number injured and killed, I was Microsoft Excel.  The drawings of the tornados for infographic 1, I drew by hand with black marker and then scanned.  The lines of the tornado were smoothed using Adobe Illustrator CS5.

Layout:

The layout for both infographics was landscape and size was 8.5 x 11 inches.

References:

1.     Infographic 1:

a.     http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/1998_Eastern_tornado_outbreak

b.     http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/List_of_tornadoes_striking_downtown_areas_of_large_cities

c.     http://www.erh.noaa.gov/lwx/Storms/Frostburg.htm

d.     http://www.spc.noaa.gov/publications/mccarthy/torn1998.htm

e.     http://pittsburgh.about.com/library/bltornado.htm

f.      http://www.angelfire.com/pa/pawx/060298/060298.html

2.     Infographic 2:

a.     http://gdadeblog.blogspot.com/2009/11/remembering-dr-fujita.html.

b.     http://wxbrad.com/the-ef-scale-explained/.

Two finished Meteorology Infographics

Tornado Comparison

Fujita vs Enhanced Fujita

1st Comparsion Finished

The infographic for the comparison of the three tornadoes is done, now I working on the comparsion on the Fujita and Enhanced Fujita Scales.

Examples of Comparison Infographics

1. <http://mashable.com/2010/06/24/iphone-4-droid-x-infographic/>
2. <http://www.techthebest.com/2011/10/20/httpwww-techthebest-comp1980/>.
3. <http://www.emergency-response-planning.com/news/bid/44417/INFOGRAPHIC-Hurricane-Comparison>.
4. <http://www.emergency-response-planning.com/news/?Tag=Emergency%20Preparedness&BBPage=8>.
5. <http://www.treehugger.com/corporate-responsibility/massive-cyclone-yasi-stronger-than-hurricane-katrina-threatens-northern-australia-updated.html>.

Data for Meterology Project

Heather’s Part

 Comparing Tornados:

June 2, 1998  vs. January 9, 1889

·       January 9, 1889 tornado  had 14 people die from this event over 85 people were injured

·       June 2, 1998, no died  few were injuried

·       January 9^th tornado, stayed in just the downtown area

(http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Downtown_Pittsburgh)

·       June 2^nd tornado did not hit the downtown area, actually stayed west of the city

·       The first time that Pittsburgh received a direct hit was in January 1889 and the last was in June 1998.

·       Both tornado had a lot of damage associated with them

·       Cost of damage over $13 million dollars

·       Both events happened in the afternoon

·       Both tornados made people lose power for two weeks

Now comparing July 4^th 1878 tornado with June 1998 and January 9^th 1889

·       July 4^th 1878 caused great damaged but no fatalities

·       July 4^th 1878  great amount of rain and lightening

·       July 4^th 1878 warm and partly cloudy

·       July 4^th 1878 in the afternoon very destructive thunder, rain and wind storm then leads into a tornado

·       July 4^th 1878  2.8 inches of precipitation fell

·       July 4^th 1878 the countable cost was from fire due to the lightening and which was over 25,000 dollars in damage.

·       July 4^th 1878  killed 7, 18 injured

Comparing the Fujita Scale with the Enhanced Fujita Scale

The Fujita Scale is a scale that rates tornado wind speed intensity and the damage they cause.  On February 1, 2007, the Fujita Scale was revised to better reflect tornado damage examination and renamed the Enhanced Fujita Scale.  The new scale accounts for wind speeds that are closely associated with storm damage and modern structure design.

***NOTE TO HEATHER:  This image is an example and provides the correct information for both scales.  You don’t have to use this image but it just shows the comparison between the two scales**

Last Thursday's Meeting

During last Wednesday's class, Dr. Mata, Emilee Hunt, and I had a discussion and agreed that Emilee Hunt should be the contact.  Emilee Hunt then would let my know about the meeting dates.  On Thursday at 10:45 am, I told Monica about Emilee Hunt being the contact and she agreed.
On 4/25/12 at 3:30pm, Emilee Hunt and I have a meeting with Monica and Gail in Caputo Hall.

Meeting with Monica and Gail

Today I am meeting with Monica and Gail to talk about the project after class.  We were also planning to meet on Thursday at 10:45am, but Emilee Hunt can't attend (I got an e-mail from Gail saying so).