6/29/2014
Building weather radar in Tableau in under 1 minute
UPDATED WMS SERVER - 9/28/2015
Here is an image of the weather radar in the midwest from WCPO Weather Radar and the same weather radar view from Tableau.
We can build this in just a few clicks in Tableau. Before opening Tableau, copy this list of states (with header) into the clipboard (Highlight them and hit CTRL-C).
Building in Tableau in under 1 minute:
Step 1: Open Tableau. Select Data from the Menu and select Paste Data.
Step 2: Remove State from Rows
Step 3: Add State to Details. There should now be a map of the US with circles in the middle of each state.
(Size the circles to the smallest size if you feel compelled to do so.)
Step 4: Select Map from the Menu, then select Background Maps and then select WMS server...
Step 5: Click Add, copy and paste the URL below into the box and click OK and click Close http://nowcoast.noaa.gov/wms/com.esri.wms.Esrimap/obs?
Updated 9/28/2015
http://nowcoast.noaa.gov/arcgis/services/nowcoast/radar_meteo_imagery_nexrad_time/MapServer/WMSServer?
Step 6: Select Map from the Menu, then select Background Maps and then select OGCWMS
Step 7: Select Map from the Menu, then select Map Options
Step 8: Under Map Layers check the box for Image
Step 9: Change the Marks card to "Filled Maps"
Step 10: Change the color to a light gray with 20% transparency (this will give a faded US state map)
You should now have a weather radar map for the United States in about 1 minute (it took me 52 seconds to follow the instructions and to copy and paste the URL). You can zoom in on any part of the country. Filter out Alaska and Hawaii if you would like a Continental US map.
By repeating steps 1-3 on a new sheet, we can create a navigation map. Add a dashboard action to control the weather map and we can explore the weather in any part of the country with a click of the mouse. Example Viz below.
I hope you find this information useful. If you have any questions feel free to email me at Jeff@DataPlusScience.com
