I am of the strong opinion that the next great phase of basemap mapping will be maps that update with the weather and seasons in real-time. A map is merely an abstraction of reality, but for many cases, the closer it mimics reality the more useful the map becomes. I image a day, in the near future, where the map will animate rain falling, snow squalls, dust storms, in real time, just as it does with traffic (beyond what you see in weather maps). The basemap will become a truer reflection of reality. You can see hints of it, with changing building shadows, day and night modes, but soon maps will change appearance with seasons and weather events.
To prepare for that, I thought I would dress up a map reflecting the different seasons. I would LOVE a map that changes with the seasons. I want to see trees budding, turning green, losing leaves, and going dormant. I like all sorts of maps, but seeing where maps go next is an area where I am really fascinated. I think showing seasons on a map is something under utilized.
The seasons be a changing
