Ground-based scanning — precipitation mosaics, high-resolution NEXRAD products, the storm reports running ledger, and the lightning, fire, and aviation tools that pair with active weather. Satellite imagery (sectors, specialty channels, research-grade tools) lives on its own page now; this is the radar-and-related-phenomena view.
National radar composite from 160+ NEXRAD sites, updated every 5 minutes. Storm-based warnings overlay automatically. Zoomable to individual radar stations, filterable by reflectivity, velocity, and precipitation products. The default radar reach for any active severe weather.
Multi-Radar Multi-Sensor — the NOAA NSSL-developed mosaic that blends NEXRAD with satellite, lightning, and surface observations. Higher resolution and more product variety than the standard NWS radar. Where researchers and severe weather specialists go.
The academic radar viewer forecasters cut their teeth on. Individual radar sites, regional mosaics, legacy-style display with every reflectivity and velocity product. NEXLAB is old-school in the best way — built by meteorologists, for meteorologists.
Preliminary storm reports from the Storm Prediction Center — tornado touchdowns, hail, wind damage. The running ledger of what actually happened today, compiled from NWS offices and trained observers as the reports come in.
Real-time global lightning detection from the Blitzortung volunteer network — 1,000+ receiver stations worldwide, updated in under 30 seconds. LightningMaps is the faster, more responsive interface to the same underlying data. Where nerds watch thunderstorms half a world away.
Real-time lightning flashes detected from space by GOES satellites, overlaid on visible and infrared imagery. Covers the entire continental US and ocean basins simultaneously. The operational lightning product that changed how forecasters anticipate convection.
High-Resolution Rapid Refresh model with integrated fire and smoke component. Forecasts smoke transport, surface concentrations, and optical depth out to 48 hours at 3 km resolution. Essential during Western US fire season for air quality, aviation, and marine visibility.
National Interagency Fire Center's operational portal. Active large-fire incidents, perimeters, evacuation orders, and national fire-weather outlooks. The authoritative source for what's burning where in the United States.
Real-time US air quality observations and forecasts — PM2.5, ozone, AQI by location, plume forecasts during fire events. Critical during fire season when smoke travels hundreds of miles from the source. Joint EPA and NOAA product.
National Weather Service fire-weather portal. Red Flag Warnings, Fire Weather Watches, spot forecasts for active incidents, and fuel moisture conditions. The operational picture incident command reads every morning during fire season.
NOAA's Aviation Weather Center — the operational portal pilots, dispatchers, and flight planners use. Radar, satellite, METARs, TAFs, prognostic charts, turbulence, icing, and PIREPs all in one interactive map. The canonical starting point.
Graphical Airmen's Meteorological Information — areas of moderate icing, turbulence, IFR ceilings and visibility, mountain obscuration, and surface winds. Issued every 6 hours with 3-hour updates. Standard pre-flight review product.
Significant Meteorological Information advisories — severe turbulence, severe icing, volcanic ash, widespread dust or sand, thunderstorms. Issued as needed for immediate aviation hazards. The advisory that reroutes flights.
Graphical Turbulence Guidance — 3D forecasts of clear-air, mountain-wave, and convective turbulence at flight levels from the surface to 45,000 feet. Updated hourly. What pilots check before crossing the jet stream.
Radar products from the National Weather Service, NOAA National Severe Storms Lab, the Storm Prediction Center, and College of DuPage (academic). Lightning from Blitzortung (crowd-sourced) and NOAA GOES GLM. Fire and air-quality data from the NOAA Earth System Research Lab, National Interagency Fire Center, EPA, and NWS Fire Weather. Aviation weather from NOAA's Aviation Weather Center. Geostationary sector imagery and research-grade satellite tools live on the Satellites page.