It is always quite refreshing to stumble upon new applications of 3D printing. It is like a constant reminder to inform that the technology is here to stay. This time 3D printing technology has been used to create a model of a hurricane named Julio.

Hurricanes are one of the most terrible natural phenomenons that have the power to change face of the earth. Most people are terrorized by these natural calamities but for meteorologists these could prove to be a very enthralling topic of study. Something of this genre happened with Francis Reddy; a science writer who was recently contacted by the NASA’s Goddard Space Flight Center and asked to 3D print hurricane Julio.

Hurricane Julio was one of the least damaging hurricanes when compared to cyclones such as Iselle which when struck the Island of Hawaii took many lives and caused damaged amounting $80 million. Julio as many computers predicted would hit the island without rendering any damage.

How the model was made?

Francis Reddy has spent quite some time in finding the right images needed to 3D print the model of Julio. These perfect images were taken from the shots that were generated by the GOES 15 satellite. After the right images were found he merged a couple of images together and edited them a little, then the work of simplifying the mesh and sending the picture to the printer was done. The grey elements of the pictures were translated into height and the sunlight that fell on the cloud created a false elevation in the 3D design software.

Print your own model:

All you need to do is to download the .STL file from the website of NASA and use a printer to print the 3D model of the hurricane. The default size of the model is 5.3 inches/ 135mm.