With monsoon season under way, ASU students and Tempe residents may find themselves seeking a way to navigate efficient ways to travel through storms.
Film and media studies junior David Aguero, who commutes to school from Avondale, said it took him three hours to get to class during last week's storms.
“The reason it took so long is because of the route I was taking,” said Aguero. “If I knew what routes were affected, I could’ve avoided being late to classes.”
To solve this issue, a team of developers created a new medium that tracks storm damages in the Valley.
The app is called Monsoon Central, and it’s a geographical information system mapping tool that is now available through the City of Tempe's website.
Monsoon Central is an application that allows users to submit photos of storm damages and locate areas that have been affected by storms.
ASU meteorological instruments professor Nancy Selover said last year’s monsoon season was very rare and was a result of hurricanes in the eastern Pacific.
Monsoon season takes place between June 15 and Sept. 30, when there is a shift in air circulation, Selover said.
The circulation comes from the west, specifically the Pacific Ocean, moves through California and eventually makes its way into Arizona, Selover said.
“Every year you have a one-in-800 chance to have storms that big,” she said. “We had three of them (last year).”
Selover said this year’s storms have not been as bad as last year’s, but they are still wetter than what Tempe is used to.
Monsoon Central launched in the beginning of August.
Tempe spokesperson Melissa Quillard said the app is an answer to the severe monsoons that caused major delays in the city’s response times last year.
“It’s a tool for our operations side to use to help build their response strategy,” she said. “On the other side, it helps residents see where the hardest hit areas are.”
The GIS team is the one responsible for developing the Monsoon Central app and said they are dedicated to improving storm relief in an email.
“We believe the app is here to stay,” the team wrote. “It will help us manage our storm response more efficiently and it provides documentation of storm damage that is helpful during storm cleanup.”
Reach the reporter at jpmorri5@asu.edu or follow @jp_morris35
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