Storm Radar: Weather Tracker by The Weather Channel Interactive (2024)

FAQs

How accurate is storm radar? ›

The National Weather Service's 148 WSR-88D Doppler radars can detect most precipitation within approximately 90 mi of the radar, and intense rain or snow within approximately 155 mi. However, light rain, light snow, or drizzle from shallow cloud weather systems are not necessarily detected.

Blue and green colors represent light-to-moderate rainfall. Yellow and orange colors show moderate-to-heavy precipitation, while red is very heavy rainfall and pink colors inside the red color represent hail of different sizes.

For example, a Doppler radar transmits a signal that gets reflected off raindrops within a storm. The reflected radar signal is measured by the radar's receiver with a change in frequency. That frequency shift is directly related to the motion of the raindrops.

Due to changes in our business, there are no current plans to bring Storm Radar back on Android. The Weather Company continues to support weather science, products and coverage, so users can access the same great storm tracking features and news via The Weather Channel app.

The WSR-88D is one of the most powerful and advanced Weather Surveillance Doppler Radar in the world. Since first being built and tested in 1988, it has been installed and used operationally at over 160 locations across the United States, including Alaska and Hawaii.

On a weather radar map, a tornado is usually indicated by a smaller area of red surrounded by a larger area of green. However, modern radar systems can also indicate debris balls, a sign of a tornado on the ground.

Different radar image sources use different color scales. Here's the one from NOAA that shows colors for different rain intensities in inches per hour: As you can see, purple represents the highest intensity, 16+ inches (400+ mm) per hour. NOAA does not use black in its scale.

Shades of blue represent lighter precipitation while red and purple indicate heavier precipitation. The example radar image above shows extensive precipitation from Kansas into Ohio associated with showers and thunderstorms that developed during the late afternoon hours of August 15, 1995.

The greens indicate light or moderate rainfall. Yellow, orange, and red indicate moderate to heavy rainfall and can also indicate hail. Whites or blues mean snowfall and pink indicates freezing rain, sleet, or a wintry mix.

Can the Police Determine Whether You Have a Radar Detector? Based on our observations, police can detect the presence of a radar detector in your vehicle using a device known as a radar detector detector (RDD). This device picks up their frequencies, indicating the presence of a radar detector in a vehicle.

How to tell if a storm is coming? ›

Keep an eye on the sky. Pay attention to weather clues around you that may warn of imminent danger. Look for darkening skies, flashes of lightning, or increasing wind, which may be signs of an approaching thunderstorm.

While analyzing radar data, if rotational couplets are seen at multiple levels in a storm and they persist for 10 or more minutes, tornado formation is possible, and a tornado warning is imminent.

Weather Underground is known as one of the best fully-featured weather apps for both Android and iOS devices. The weather alerts you receive are fully customizable to fit your needs. Plus, hour-by-hour forecasts make it easy to plan your day and track current severe weather conditions in your area.

NOAA National Hurricane Center

The National Hurricane Center (NHC) is the trusted source for hurricane information.