County Populations of Northern Michigan

In my map above, the populations of 30 counties in the northern part of Michigan's Lower Peninsula ("The Mitten") are mapped. 26 out of the 30 counties have populations less than 50,000. Along the coast of Saginaw Bay, Bay County has the highest population within the mapped region. According to the United States Census Bureau, the source for population data featured in Google's Public Data Explorer service, the population of Bay County is more than 100,000. With more than 8,600 residents, Oscoda County has the lowest population in the region. Listed below are the top five counties featured in the map above with the lowest and highest populations. Most of the population data is from July 2011.

5 Highest Populations
1. Bay County - 107,110
2. Grand Traverse County - 88,349
3. Midland County - 84,063
4. Isabella County - 70,622
5. Emmet County - 32,848

5 Lowest Populations
1. Oscoda County - 8,608
2. Montmorency County - 9,653
3. Alcona County - 10,800
4. Lake County - 11,539
5. Presque Isle County - 13,155

This is the Google Public Data dataset that I used for making this map.

Indiana Weather Alerts

The following weather alerts have since expired.
As of 7:52 P.M., the Severe Thunderstorm Warning has been added to Benton County, Indiana, the southern parts of Jasper and Newton Counties in Indiana, and for Berrien County, Michigan. Check NWS Northern Indiana for the latest updates.

Some Facts about Tuvalu

A country with coral atolls and islands in the South Pacific Ocean, TUVALU is situated north of Fiji and Wallis and Futuna (belongs to France), south of the Gilbert Islands in Kiribati, east of the Solomon Islands and Vanuatu, and west of Tokelau (island belonging to New Zealand). Funafuti is the capital and located on a coral atoll, particularly on the islet of Fongafale. Tuvalu produces special stamps and commemorative coins of various metals. These are bought by stamp collectors (philatelists) and coin collectors (numismatists). The collectors are essentially providing a needed source of revenue for the impoverished country.

Visit my original Tuvalu post for more information!

Lesotho's Districts

Being the southernmost landlocked country in the world, the mountainous kingdom of LESOTHO is an enclave country completely surrounded by South Africa. It is administratively divided into ten districts. The districts are Berea, Butha-Buthe, Mafeteng, Maseru, Mohale's Hoek, Leribe, Mokhotlong, Qacha's Nek, Quthing, and Thaba-Tseka. The district capitals are Teyateyaneng (Berea District), Butha-Buthe, Mafeteng, Maseru, Mohale's Hoek, Leribe (Hlotse), Mokhotlong, Qacha's Nek, Quthing, and Thaba-Tseka. The capital of Lesotho, Maseru, is a city with a population greater than 200,000 in the western part of Maseru District.

The shapefiles used to make this map in ArcGIS 10.1 came from the website Global Administrative Areas, located at www.gadm.org. Click on the map above to view it larger.

Reporting Weather Situations

Do you have interesting, important weather information that you wanted to share after storms occurred in your area? The GeoFact of the Day Blog allows you to do that! Information can include rain total amounts that you found in a rain gauge, approximate wind speeds at your location, damage, and reports of weather phenomena (example: large hail, rainbow, funnel clouds, etc.). To submit, you can post a comment by clicking the link below that says [#] Comment(s). The location (City, State) of the weather report is appreciated. Anonymous comments are okay - I always accept them!

Thank you for your participation in this weather-reporting initiative! You can also post weather reports with your local National Weather Service office (especially on their Twitter and Facebook pages). Of course, stay indoors when there is dangerous weather - do not go out into storms just to send reports or photos to the NWS!

Another Weather Update | 11:30 P.M. Eastern Time

Update: The following warnings have now expired.
The Tornado Warning that was in effect for the counties of Adams, Jay, and Wells in Indiana - that stretched over communities like Berne (southern part of the city), Ceylon, Geneva, Linn Grove, Bryant, Jay City, Portland, and Salamonia, Nottingham, Petroleum, and Reiffsburg - has now been eliminated after the rotation in the storm weakened.
The Tornado Warnings that affected counties like Cass, Fulton, Marshall, Pulaski, Starke, and White in Northern Indiana, as well as countless Severe Thunderstorm Warnings of Northern Indiana, have been expired and no longer active. Now, flooding is a main concern for the overnight hours and into the day tomorrow.

SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNINGS are still in effect for counties in Central and Eastern Indiana, Southern Michigan, Ohio, and Northern West Virginia. Of course, check the National Weather Service's website (www.weather.gov), your local TV stations, weather radios, and other resources to see if there are any weather alerts that are newly issued or have expired.

Weather Alerts for Midwest

The following warnings have now expired.
Updated 5:00 P.M. Central Time

TORNADO WARNINGS
Parts of the counties of DeKalb in Northern Illinois; Black Hawk, Bremer, Butler, and Clayton in Iowa; (no longer issued for Cerro Gordo, Franklin, and Wright in Iowa); and Grant and Iowa in Wisconsin

SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WARNINGS
In the states of Idaho, Montana, and Wyoming; and Illinois, Iowa, Minnesota, and Wisconsin. Click the link at the bottom of the post to see if your county is under any sort of weather alert.

TORNADO WATCHES
Northern Illinois, Eastern Iowa, Fillmore, Houston, & Mower Counties in Minnesota, and SW Wisconsin

SEVERE THUNDERSTORM WATCHES
Northern Illinois, Northern Indiana, Southern Michigan, Central Montana, NW Ohio, and Southern Wisconsin

Visit www.weather.gov for the latest severe weather updates.

Andorra's Parishes

Located south of France and north of Spain, the small principality of ANDORRA is found amongst the high Pyrenees Mountains in Western Europe. The country is administratively divided up into seven parishes, known as parròquies in the Catalan language. The parishes are Andorra la Vella, Canillo, Encamp, Escaldes-Engordany, La Massana, Ordino, and Sant Julià de Lòria. In the parish with the same name, Andorra la Vella is the capital of Andorra.

The shapefiles used to make this map in ArcGIS 10.1 came from the website Global Administrative Areas, located at www.gadm.org. Click on the map to view it larger.

Basics About El Salvador

Located in Central America to the east of Guatemala and south and southwest of Honduras, EL SALVADOR is a small country with access to the Pacific Ocean on its southern coast. San Salvador is the capital, which is located near central El Salvador and has well over 1 million residents. The former currency was the Salvadoran Colon; the currency used now is the United States Dollar. A vast majority of people are Roman Catholics, and there are some Protestants. Spanish is the official language, while Nahuatl and other languages are also spoken. Visit my El Salvador post!

By the way, happy first day of June!