These are the current requirements for the format of KMLs that are submitted to us – please read them thoroughly before submitting. They are still subject to change, so please use the ‘Contact Us’ form if you think something could be improved!
The image below shows a sample outline for the file format as it appears in Google Earth.
Tornadoes are separated into individual folders. Each folder must contain exactly one path; polygons are optional but nice to have if available.
The name of each polygon must be a single number corresponding to its rating1 (F, EF, JEF, IF, or similar; TORRO-ratings should be converted to Fujita).
The folder name must be a comma-separated list of links to sources that you used (if your track was based only on NCEI event descriptions, just name the folder NCEI).
The image below shows the proper format in use for a real tornado.
When you’re done creating your track, use the data explorer to find the tornado you want to submit a track for. Click on it, copy the ID shown in the popup box, go back to Google Earth, right-click the folder, click “Save Place As“, and paste the ID as the file name. Make sure you save it as a KML, not KMZ. An example filename would be “SPC44267_NCEI5361343-5361344.kml”.
Now, your track should be ready for submission. If you are creating a lot of tracks (say, tracing a map of an entire outbreak), you are allowed to put all the KML files in a folder, compress it, and submit the .zip file instead if that is more convenient for you.
Thank you for contributing to Tornado Archive!
1 To maintain style consistency with the DAT, if there is only one level of damage available, it is given the same rating as the tornado. See images below: the tornado on the left has more than one level of damage, so the polygons are labeled with their actual ratings. Since there is only one level of damage for the tornado on the right, its polygon is labeled with the tornado’s rating.