Weather Radar
Weather Radar otherwise known as Weather Surveillance Radar (WSR88D) is the type of radar used by the National Weather Service to locate precipitation (such as raindrops and hail stones) in order to determine the severity of incoming storms.
The use of weather radar should not be used to give a report- NWS personnel are seeing the same radar image as you and are much better trained to interpret the data. Our mission is to give ground truth to what the NWS forecasters are seeing on the radar. That said, radar can be very useful for knowing what is coming your way, especially when you are away from your home. knowing what is coming, and where it's going can give you time to get into a better (safer) location from which to observe, as well as give you a heads up when it's time to just get out of the way!
If you are going to rely on radar for pretty much any reason, it would be good for you to know what all of those maps mean. Attend advanced spotter training for a basic understanding about what you are seeing. The folks at NWS Tucson do a very thorough and excellent job of demystifying the basics of weather radar. Click here to watch a very good video from the NWS in Norman which gives you a good fundamental understanding, and will help reinforce the training provided by our NWS Tucson forecast center.
There are two basic ways to receive the data produced by NEXRAD. The first way, seen on most weather apps, are images or animations that derivatives of the NEXRAD data and are usually simplified and "smoothed" for public consumption, but have limited usefulness in forecasting or identifying specific storm features. Examples of this are , the weather radar maps you see on your local TV weather report and most basic weather apps. The second are software that receives the Level 3 data directly from the NWS WSR88D radars and renders the data on your screen. There is definitely an advantage to viewing the NEXRAD data as opposed to the rendered data, but it comes with a price. For spotting most of the weather we have here in southern AZ, you will be well served by either as you should have your eyes on the sky rather than on your radar screen. Net control operators should consider the latter as you lack the ability to see what the spotter sees.
IMPORTANT NOTICE: Weather Radar can help with tracking dangerous storms, but a good understanding of weather radar fundamentals is required to make the most use of it. You can have a good basic introduction to weather radar interpretation by attending an advanced SKYWARN® spotter course put on by the NWS. That said, it is crucial that you do not rely upon weather radar alone for your safety! Weather radar is a delayed picture of what the storm was doing and where it was when it was last scanned (and could be as much as 5 minutes old.) Situational awareness is your best bet for safety during severe weather.
Recommended Software for Spotters
NOAA Weather Pro (Android - Free, iOS - $3.99)
A robust app with lots of great features and an excellent UI. Just about all the information you need at the tip of your fingers along with a simple radar map (derived). There is a small cost associated with the iPhone version, but well worth it.
1Weather (Android, iOS free)
A clean, striking interface with a wealth of weather data, has quick summaries, current weather conditions and forecasts. Also has some interactive radar maps (derived) , widgets and severe weather notifications (where available).
Recommended Software for Advanced Spotters and Net Control Operators
GRLevel3 (Windows PC- $79.95)
The Cadillac of weather radar software used in the NWS forecast centers as well as professional meteorologists and storm chasers. This application takes the actual NEXRAD data from the NWS radar sites and presents it graphically. View all radar data as it is fed from the NWS. This is ideal for home stations and Net Control Stations monitoring incoming storms. See what the forecast center is seeing. Fully customizable, create your own color tables, supports placefiles (to add roads and other features to your maps). Integrates with subscriptions from Allison House and Caprock services (see information below) for greater reliability of radar feeds as well as additional products and forecasting.
PYKL3 (Android - $11.99)
A $12 android app? You bet! And worth every penny! PYKL3 (pronounced "pickle") is like having GRLevel3 in the palm of your hand and then some because it comes with CONUS satellite and all NWS text products . A Fully customizable NEXRAD viewer, (you can pretty much take your custom color tables from GRLevel3 and import them into PYKL3 and you're good to go). The developer, a forecaster for the NWS in Texas, is very responsive to the user community and the app is constantly being improved upon. Also works with Allison House and Caprock subscription services for increased reliability. By far the most powerful radar app for mobile devices. Requires a strong fundamental understanding of reading weather radar (as covered in the advanced Skywarn® spotter training course) . PYKL3 is only available for Android devices.
Radarscope (Android and iOS - $9.99, Mac OS - $29.99, Now available for Windows $23.95 for a limited time!)
Another NEXRAD rendering app that does not just serve up derivative radar images, it uses actual NEXRAD data for viewing on your phone or PC. View the latest reflectivity, velocity, dual-polarization, and other products from any NEXRAD radar site in the US, Guam, Puerto Rico and South Korea. Integrates with both Allison House and Caprock service to provide an additional level of reliability during severe weather events. While not as customizable, this is not a basic weather app, rather a full - featured forecasting tool used by many professional storm chasers. Again, this is not for basic level storm spotting it is intended for those who have a strong fundamental understanding of weather radar. Pricey but worth the cost. Also this is the only professional grade radar app available for Mac.
Weather Radar Subscription Services
Weather Radar from the National weather service comes through more than one feed. When weather gets severe, it is fairly common for NWS weather radar public servers to get overwhelmed, and the feeds can be delayed by 90 minutes or more! These 3rd party services provide an alternate server which has separate access to the same data and allow you to acquire your NWS radar feed as well as additional products (i.e. lightning strike mapping, and sever weather warning information). Though not required, GRLevel3, Radarscope and PYKL3 can take advantage of these services.
Allison House
Caprock Weather
Weather Radar otherwise known as Weather Surveillance Radar (WSR88D) is the type of radar used by the National Weather Service to locate precipitation (such as raindrops and hail stones) in order to determine the severity of incoming storms.
The use of weather radar should not be used to give a report- NWS personnel are seeing the same radar image as you and are much better trained to interpret the data. Our mission is to give ground truth to what the NWS forecasters are seeing on the radar. That said, radar can be very useful for knowing what is coming your way, especially when you are away from your home. knowing what is coming, and where it's going can give you time to get into a better (safer) location from which to observe, as well as give you a heads up when it's time to just get out of the way!
If you are going to rely on radar for pretty much any reason, it would be good for you to know what all of those maps mean. Attend advanced spotter training for a basic understanding about what you are seeing. The folks at NWS Tucson do a very thorough and excellent job of demystifying the basics of weather radar. Click here to watch a very good video from the NWS in Norman which gives you a good fundamental understanding, and will help reinforce the training provided by our NWS Tucson forecast center.
There are two basic ways to receive the data produced by NEXRAD. The first way, seen on most weather apps, are images or animations that derivatives of the NEXRAD data and are usually simplified and "smoothed" for public consumption, but have limited usefulness in forecasting or identifying specific storm features. Examples of this are , the weather radar maps you see on your local TV weather report and most basic weather apps. The second are software that receives the Level 3 data directly from the NWS WSR88D radars and renders the data on your screen. There is definitely an advantage to viewing the NEXRAD data as opposed to the rendered data, but it comes with a price. For spotting most of the weather we have here in southern AZ, you will be well served by either as you should have your eyes on the sky rather than on your radar screen. Net control operators should consider the latter as you lack the ability to see what the spotter sees.
IMPORTANT NOTICE: Weather Radar can help with tracking dangerous storms, but a good understanding of weather radar fundamentals is required to make the most use of it. You can have a good basic introduction to weather radar interpretation by attending an advanced SKYWARN® spotter course put on by the NWS. That said, it is crucial that you do not rely upon weather radar alone for your safety! Weather radar is a delayed picture of what the storm was doing and where it was when it was last scanned (and could be as much as 5 minutes old.) Situational awareness is your best bet for safety during severe weather.
Recommended Software for Spotters
NOAA Weather Pro (Android - Free, iOS - $3.99)
A robust app with lots of great features and an excellent UI. Just about all the information you need at the tip of your fingers along with a simple radar map (derived). There is a small cost associated with the iPhone version, but well worth it.
1Weather (Android, iOS free)
A clean, striking interface with a wealth of weather data, has quick summaries, current weather conditions and forecasts. Also has some interactive radar maps (derived) , widgets and severe weather notifications (where available).
Recommended Software for Advanced Spotters and Net Control Operators
GRLevel3 (Windows PC- $79.95)
The Cadillac of weather radar software used in the NWS forecast centers as well as professional meteorologists and storm chasers. This application takes the actual NEXRAD data from the NWS radar sites and presents it graphically. View all radar data as it is fed from the NWS. This is ideal for home stations and Net Control Stations monitoring incoming storms. See what the forecast center is seeing. Fully customizable, create your own color tables, supports placefiles (to add roads and other features to your maps). Integrates with subscriptions from Allison House and Caprock services (see information below) for greater reliability of radar feeds as well as additional products and forecasting.
PYKL3 (Android - $11.99)
A $12 android app? You bet! And worth every penny! PYKL3 (pronounced "pickle") is like having GRLevel3 in the palm of your hand and then some because it comes with CONUS satellite and all NWS text products . A Fully customizable NEXRAD viewer, (you can pretty much take your custom color tables from GRLevel3 and import them into PYKL3 and you're good to go). The developer, a forecaster for the NWS in Texas, is very responsive to the user community and the app is constantly being improved upon. Also works with Allison House and Caprock subscription services for increased reliability. By far the most powerful radar app for mobile devices. Requires a strong fundamental understanding of reading weather radar (as covered in the advanced Skywarn® spotter training course) . PYKL3 is only available for Android devices.
Radarscope (Android and iOS - $9.99, Mac OS - $29.99, Now available for Windows $23.95 for a limited time!)
Another NEXRAD rendering app that does not just serve up derivative radar images, it uses actual NEXRAD data for viewing on your phone or PC. View the latest reflectivity, velocity, dual-polarization, and other products from any NEXRAD radar site in the US, Guam, Puerto Rico and South Korea. Integrates with both Allison House and Caprock service to provide an additional level of reliability during severe weather events. While not as customizable, this is not a basic weather app, rather a full - featured forecasting tool used by many professional storm chasers. Again, this is not for basic level storm spotting it is intended for those who have a strong fundamental understanding of weather radar. Pricey but worth the cost. Also this is the only professional grade radar app available for Mac.
Weather Radar Subscription Services
Weather Radar from the National weather service comes through more than one feed. When weather gets severe, it is fairly common for NWS weather radar public servers to get overwhelmed, and the feeds can be delayed by 90 minutes or more! These 3rd party services provide an alternate server which has separate access to the same data and allow you to acquire your NWS radar feed as well as additional products (i.e. lightning strike mapping, and sever weather warning information). Though not required, GRLevel3, Radarscope and PYKL3 can take advantage of these services.
Allison House
Caprock Weather
