Western Maryland Regional GIS Center

07/30/2026

07/18/2026

Saturday, 8am

07/17/2026

From https://www.airnow.gov/aqi/aqi-basics/

What is the U.S. Air Quality Index (AQI)?

The U.S. AQI is EPA’s index for reporting air quality.
How does the AQI work?

The U.S. Air Quality Index (AQI) is EPA's tool for communicating about outdoor air quality and health. The AQI includes six color-coded categories, each corresponding to a range of index values. The higher the AQI value, the greater the level of air pollution and the greater the health concern. For example, an AQI value of 50 or below represents good air quality, while an AQI value over 300 represents hazardous air quality.

For each pollutant an AQI value of 100 generally corresponds to an ambient air concentration that equals the level of the short-term national ambient air quality standard for protection of public health. AQI values at or below 100 are generally thought of as satisfactory. When AQI values are above 100, air quality is unhealthy: at first for certain sensitive groups of people, then for everyone as AQI values get higher.

The AQI is divided into six categories. Each category corresponds to a different level of health concern. Each category also has a specific color. The color makes it easy for people to quickly determine whether air quality is reaching unhealthy levels in their communities.

07/16/2026

Canadian Wildfire Map
https://ciffc.ca/

07/15/2026

Current US air quality and smoke coverage. Wow!
https://fire.airnow.gov/ #4.52/42.14/-82.77

07/04/2026

Interactive US Power Outage map

Power outages are more than an inconvenience — they are a reminder of how connected our communities are to infrastructure, weather, emergency response, and geography.

This national outage map provides a quick look at reported electric outages across the United States. It is a useful tool for seeing where outages are concentrated, how widespread an event may be, and how conditions change over time.

Maps like this show why GIS matters: location-based information helps people understand patterns, respond faster, and make better decisions.

View the live outage map here: https://poweroutage.us/

07/04/2026

Please join us in welcoming Dr. Shadow JQ Robinson, who officially begins his tenure as Frostburg State University's president today!

With deep Appalachian roots and a commitment to student success, Dr. Robinson brings a vision focused on expanding experiential learning, strengthening community partnerships and preparing students to make an impact from day one of their careers.

Welcome to the Bobcat family, President Robinson! 🐾

Read more: https://www.frostburg.edu/news/2026/07/shadow-robinson-new-president.php

07/04/2026

Another gem for the size comparison fans out there. Mt Everest is tiny in comparison to Olympus Mons on Mars. HT

06/05/2026

WV native creates online state school closure tracker; 70% of closures impacted elementary schools

"A team at the University of Michigan has created an online tool to track school closures and consolidations in West Virginia as the state is grappling with population decline and widespread school financial issues.

The project was led by Roane County native Christina Weiland, who is currently professor of education and social policy at the University of Michigan.

Since 2011, 139 public schools have closed in West Virginia, and 62% of counties have closed at least one school. Many of the closures impacted elementary schools, and Weiland noted it has created long bus rides for little children across the state.

She created the tracker with the help of her students after finding it difficult to keep up with the number of school closures and where they were happening.

The public data “hadn’t been kind of presented in a way where people could see what was going on in their county, what was happening over time, where was this hitting and what were those patterns,” Weiland explained."

Read more here: https://tinyurl.com/e3xz839h
Visit the School Closure Tracker: https://tinyurl.com/3c7ank5s

05/11/2026

“So, what do you do at the GIS Center?” 🤔

Today, we’re highlighting our student intern, Katy Logsdon, who just finished up her last day with us before she graduates next week! Local to the Greater Cumberland Area, Katy is an FSU senior graduating with her bachelor’s degree in Earth Science with minors in Geography and Chemistry. She has been interning at the GIS Center since January 2025, and in that time, she’s been working in collaboration with the Potomac Riverkeepers Network to research pollutants and other threats to local watersheds. But I’ll let her tell you a bit more about what she says when asked what she does at the GIS Center:

“From the start of my internship, I have been asked this question too many times to count.
Ironically, I had a hard time answering this question until my time was over.

This is my complicated answer – I am a student, researcher, data analyst, teacher, equipment manager, drone pilot, environmentalist, historian, artist, graphic designer, communicator, ArcGIS fanatic, teammate, and friend. The Western Maryland Regional GIS Center works behind the scenes of our community doing great work in the most fascinating ways. From studying old, archived maps to generating state-of-the-art drone imagery, the GIS center is comprised of an impressive array of talents and skills. It has been such a privilege to learn from the experts in the office and out in the field. My time has come to an end at the GIS Center, but what I have learned will stay with me for a lifetime.

Oh, and my simple answer – I make maps." 🗺️📍

Pictured is a small collection of the many maps Katy made during her time with us, along with field work, conferences, and more. Much like geography itself, working at the GIS Center is an interdisciplinary pursuit!

It has been an absolute pleasure to work with Katy, and we wish her the best as she does on to complete her teaching degree! Congratulations and good luck! 🥳🎓