MAP LAYERS
STORM
VELOCITY▸
One radar at a time: the nearest, or tap a radar dot to choose. Green to cyan is wind toward the radar, red to pink and yellow away; strong rotation is a tight pair of opposite colours side by side. Grey is wind crossing the beam.
LIGHTNING▸
Lightning data © Blitzortung.org contributors
STORM MOTIONShows near zoom, or for a selected warning
DUAL-POL▸
What the radar beam sees: rain, heavy rain, big drops, hail, graupel, snow, ice crystals,
birds and insects, ground clutter, in NOAA's colours (the colour key, bottom right, names them).
Differential reflectivity: the shape of what the beam hits. Big flat raindrops read high
(yellow to pink); tumbling hail reads near 0 (grey), so a grey core in a strong storm is a hail sign.
Specific differential phase: how much liquid water the beam passes through. High KDP is
torrential rain, and hail melting into rain.
One radar at a time; follows the loop.
DEBRIS▸
0.20.70.91.0
DebrisMixedRain
HAIL TRACKS▸
The largest hail NOAA's radar mosaic estimates fell at each spot (MESH), over the window. An estimate from the radars, not reports on the ground.
ROTATION▸
The strongest spin the radars measured at each spot over the window (MRMS rotation tracks). A long bright streak is a rotating storm's path; low-level tracks are where tornadoes are most likely.
STORM ODDS▸
NOAA/CIMSS ProbSevere: for each storm, the chance of severe weather in the next hour, every 2 minutes. Outlined by its highest chance; tap a storm for tornado, hail and wind odds and its setting.
FUTURE RADAR▸
The HRRR model's simulated radar, from its newest run, in 15-minute steps. A model's guess, not radar: storms often form earlier, later or elsewhere.
STORM TOPS▸
Echo tops: how high the radar sees 18 dBZ (NOAA MRMS), in thousands of feet; tall tops are strong updrafts. VIL: how much water and ice a storm column holds; high VIL often means hail.
STORM SETUP▸
From the HRRR model. STP above 1 is where tornado ingredients come together; CAPE is fuel, shear organises storms, low-level spin (0-1 km helicity) helps them rotate. Pick a spot on the map for its sounding in the forecast panel.
STORM CELLS▸
NEXRAD storm attributes via NWS / Iowa Environmental Mesonet
STORM REPORTS▸
Local Storm Reports via NWS / Iowa Environmental Mesonet
TROPICAL▸
IMAGERY
SATELLITE▸
RAINFALL▸
SMOKE▸
OUTLOOKS
SEVERE OUTLOOK (SPC)▸
Storm Prediction Center categorical risk of severe thunderstorms, from general thunderstorms (TSTM) to high (HIGH).
EXCESSIVE RAIN (WPC)▸
Weather Prediction Center: the chance that rain will be heavy enough to cause flash flooding within 25 miles of a point.
WINTER OUTLOOK (WPC)▸
Weather Prediction Center. Days 1–3: the chance of at least that much snow or ice. Days 4–7: the chance of at least 0.25″ of liquid falling as snow or sleet. Mostly empty outside the cold season.
FIRE WEATHER (SPC)▸
Storm Prediction Center. Days 1–2: elevated, critical and extremely critical areas; days 3–8: probabilities, with SPC’s critical area outlined.
HAZARDS OUTLOOK▸
Days 3–7 from the Weather Prediction Center, days 8–14 from the Climate Prediction Center. Areas overlap; tap one for its dates.
TEMP / PRECIP OUTLOOK (CPC)▸
Climate Prediction Center: the chance the period ends up above, near or below normal. Not clickable, so taps keep zooming the map.
ANALYSIS
WEATHER MAPS▸
Temperature and gusts from the HRRR model, hourly; snow and ice totals for the next three days from the National Weather Service forecast.
SURFACE▸
PUBLIC STATIONS▸
DROUGHT MONITOR▸
U.S. Drought Monitor (National Drought Mitigation Center, USDA, NOAA), updated Thursdays. Not clickable, so taps keep zooming the map.
FIELD
CAMERAS▸
ROAD CONDITIONS▸
ALERT POLYGONS
WITHIN
No location set.
Limits the alerts below to warnings near your saved spot. The map and alert log stay national.
Announces new tornado and severe thunderstorm warnings aloud.
Pops a system notification for new tornado and severe warnings, even when this tab isn't focused.
Alerts for your saved places the moment they're issued or change — by push, Discord, ntfy and more, even with the site closed. Email gets warnings right away and the rest in a summary.
--:--
--:-- UTC
Rain, snow and haildBZ
5152535
45556575
- LightDrizzle, light rain or snow
- ModerateSteady rain or snow
- HeavyDownpours
- IntenseStorms, flooding rain
- HailHail likely
Radar velocityStorm-relative velocity · IEM backupknots
−100−50050100
Toward the radar
Away
Grey is wind crossing the beam.
RF, range folded: echoes the radar can't place.
Strong rotation is a tight pair of opposite colours side by side.
Live
Not live right now
Pick a stream under Live now, or check back during severe weather.
Live now
TARGETING POINT: STANDBY
COORDINATES: NONE SELECTED
NEAREST NWS RADAR: N/A
LOCAL ZONE / CITY: N/A
ACTIVE BULLETINS: 0 IN EFFECT
INBOUND CELL: NO POINT SELECTED