Quality Weather Data Integrated into Department’s ESRI Platforms

The Maryland Department of Emergency Management (MDEM) selected Baron Weather, the worldwide leader in superior weather intelligence, to provide actionable GIS weather data. The MDEM Risk Analysis team uses Baron’s accurate and high-resolution weather data and National Weather Service data to pinpoint areas of impact where lives and property could be at risk during a significant weather event.

Their analysis compiles event-specific briefing packages shared with other state agencies, local-level emergency managers, private sector businesses, and private disaster relief organizations to coordinate comprehensive action plans to protect people and property.

Baron delivers weather data in native GIS formats and provides for seamless integration into the ESRI platforms MDEM utilizes, such as ArcGIS Pro and ArcGIS Online. The GIS platform features Web Map Services (WMS), allowing MDEM to view weather data as a map layer. Other data for power grids, transportation networks, vulnerable populations, and more can be seen simultaneously, giving a better understanding of the impact of a weather event on communities and potential relief efforts. The Web Feature Services (WFS) assigns geometry and attributes to features that can be used in geospatial analysis and to perform spatial and quality queries on the data. This valuable function can provide the distance between a weather cell and a location of interest and identify areas that meet specific weather criteria, such as inches of rain or snow received.

Baron hosts a vast portfolio of value-added weather products and solutions in GIS formats and MDEM-selected products that deliver more in-depth knowledge about weather conditions that concern their state. The data products it chose include:

  • Precipitation Accumulation
  • Hi-res Surface Wind Gusts
  • Hi-res Hail Forecast
  • Forecast Road Conditions
  • Flash Flood Risk
  • Storm Surge
  • Lightning
  • Future Radar

Dangerous weather events that often occur in Maryland include tropical storms and hurricanes that impact the coastal region, flooding, severe thunderstorms, winter weather, and even tornadoes that can strike all areas of the state.