Renée Rigdon - Visual Editor & Cartographer, CNN Digital Data & Graphics
Renée Rigdon
Visual Editor & Cartographer, CNN Digital Data & Graphics
Renée Rigdon is a visual editor and cartographer on CNN Digital's Data and Graphics team. Using data analysis, cartography and data visualization, Rigdon finds and creates stories that can't be told with words alone. She is involved in coverage across the newsroom, from climate to politics to breaking news.
Featured Work
Latest
It’s not just Democrats — Republicans are working to Trump-proof their climate money
Nov 15, 2024
President Joe Biden’s climate law is on the chopping block as Republicans prepare to have full control in Washington.
Maps and charts: Visualizing Milton’s historic impact across Florida
Oct 11, 2024
Hurricane Milton slammed into Florida’s western coast on Wednesday night, making landfall as a powerful Category 3 storm. The intense hurricane spawned tornadoes, dumped rain across much of the state, left millions without power and claimed at least nine lives, including five people in St. Lucie County.
Why an election for 330 million-plus people may still come down to so few votes
Aug 31, 2024
The 2024 election, which will pick a president for a nation of more than 330 million people, could be decided by a small number of voters in a few key states.
What happens if there’s a tie in 2024? Be ready for a ‘contingent election’
Aug 23, 2024
With two candidates fighting over a mere 538 Electoral College votes, a tie scenario is more than possible. It’s actually kind of surprising there has only been one tie election so far, in 1800, between Thomas Jefferson and Aaron Burr.
Hurricane damage will increase in surprising new places in the coming decades. See where it’s trending higher
Aug 5, 2024
More people and properties will be exposed to damaging hurricane winds in the next 30 years, according to a new report from nonprofit organization First Street Foundation.
Minute-by-minute: Visual timeline of the Trump assassination attempt
Jul 26, 2024
Through videos, maps and photos, CNN pieced together what occurred from the start of the rally to the moments when gunshots erupted to when Trump landed in New Jersey.
Of 49 US VPs, only 4 accomplished what Harris is attempting
Jul 23, 2024
The ascension of Vice President Kamala Harris to become the presumptive Democratic presidential nominee in less than 48 hours is an unprecedented occurrence in American politics.
The biggest winners of Biden’s green climate policies? Republicans.
Jun 16, 2024
When President Joe Biden’s massive climate bill passed Congress in 2022, Republican Rep. Richard Hudson of North Carolina complained it was boondoggle.
Mapping Red Lobster locations: Which restaurants are still open?
May 20, 2024
The ubiquitous seafood chain still operates more than 540 locations, while another 97 are now listed as “temporarily” closed, according to its website.
Map: Where university protesters have been arrested across the United States
May 10, 2024
CNN is tracking where arrests have been made in a wave of pro-Palestinian campus protests rippling across US universities.
Visualizing the Baltimore Key Bridge collapse
Mar 28, 2024
CNN visualizes how a cargo ship crashed into the Francis Scott Key Bridge in Baltimore, leading to its collapse, with maps and illustrations.
Mapping the torrential rainfall in California
Feb 6, 2024
Rain continues to fall in Southern California from an atmospheric river, raising the risk for additional mudslides with more than 120 reported so far in Los Angeles.
Record turnout and no surge of independents. These maps explain Trump’s win
Jan 24, 2024
A record number of New Hampshire voters – more than 320,000 when all votes are counted, according to CNN’s estimate – turned out to choose between former President Donald Trump and former South Carolina Gov. Nikki Haley in the state’s Republican primary.
What happened after the Alaska Airlines flight took off, in 5 charts
Jan 9, 2024
Two US airlines are scrambling to deal with cancellations and newly mandated inspections in the wake of the mid-flight blowout aboard an Alaska Airlines flight.
Visualizing the Israel-Hamas war
Dec 1, 2023
As fighting intensifies across Gaza and Israel, CNN is visualizing the war through maps, charts and more.
Maps show the extreme population density in Gaza
Oct 11, 2023
The urban area around Gaza City is home to nearly 2 million people living in an 88-square-mile expanse, which is about 21,000 people per square mile.
The 77 places where extreme heat will break or tie records through Monday
Aug 25, 2023
A brutal heat wave that baked most of the central and southern US this week will slowly shift its most intense heat southward through the weekend.
It’s hot. And it’s going to stay hot for millions of Americans. These graphics explain the trend
Aug 11, 2023
It’s been a scorching summer for many Americans, with millions living in areas under extreme heat.
Here’s how much Lake Mead could rise after an epic winter and new water cuts
Jun 25, 2023
Lake Mead’s additional water from a good winter and conservation efforts will be a drop in the bucket for a reservoir that has dramatically declined in the past two decades.
MAP: Track the air quality across the US
Jun 9, 2023
Millions of people across the country are under air quality alerts as wildfire smoke originating from Canada wafts over major US cities.
What’s your earthquake risk? Use this map to find out
May 23, 2023
The US Geological Survey creates earthquake shaking models designed to inform municipalities about building codes and insurance companies about the risk of seismic events.
The world’s rivers are drying up from extreme weather. See how 6 look from space
Aug 20, 2022
To be stuck “up a river without a paddle” is an expression for a sticky situation you just can’t get out of. But if that river happens to be in the northern hemisphere this summer, it’s likely the paddle won’t be helpful, anyway.
About
Renée Rigdon is a visual editor and cartographer on CNN Digital’s Data and Graphics team. Using data analysis, cartography and data visualization, Rigdon finds and creates stories that can’t be told with words alone. She is involved in coverage across the newsroom, from climate to politics to breaking news.
Before joining CNN in 2020, Rigdon was a graphics reporter and cartographer for The Wall Street Journal, contributing to visual news coverage in all areas of the newsroom. She was part of a team of Pulitzer finalists and Loeb award winners that investigated PG&E’s role in California wildfires.
Rigdon is an Ohio native and graduated from Ohio University with Bachelor’s degrees in Meteorology and Applied Mathematics, and a Master’s degree in Geography with an emphasis in GIS and Cartography.
