| [Info] Need of a good weather radar program I need a good weather radar that displays information about the severe cells including hail, wind, lightning, ETA of storm. Is there any program out there that does all of this, hopefully down to street level? I have seen GR2's site with GRAnalyst but I'm not good at computer stuff and don't know if I have to add alot after getting it.
thx |
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Reviews:
 ·Frontier Communi..
| »www.wunderground.com/wundermap/?···eports=0 |
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 Hayward K A R - 1 2 0 CPremium
join:2000-07-13
Key West, FL
kudos:1 | There is only like hundreds of them, most do the job just fine.
The one I use most is an i app called rain radar. Live last 30 min loop anim.
Not a lot of reason to use it at home except for an impending hurricane. When again hundreds to choose from where I go to the NWS EYW 2 blocks down the street, or the local Navy weather.
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»haywardm.com (Hayward's Key West)
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 lilhurricaneCrunchin' For CuresPremium,Mod
join:2003-01-11
Purple Zone
kudos:51 | reply to wxguy1364
From our forum links:
»BBR Members WX Web Sites
..and some additional from the forum FAQ: »Weather forum FAQ |
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 burner50Helping Darwin WINPremium,VIP
join:2002-06-05
Cowtown
kudos:1
 ·inmotionhosting
| reply to wxguy1364
said by wxguy1364:I need a good weather radar that displays information about the severe cells including hail, Those are all level III Radar attributes.
Would be additional software, and in the case of lightning, additional cost.
said by wxguy1346 :Is there any program out there that does all of this, hopefully down to street level? I have seen GR2's site with GRAnalyst but I'm not good at computer stuff and don't know if I have to add alot after getting it.
thx
There is free solutions on the internet, like the wundermap, but they are severely limited, and if you're going to be using this for anything safety sensitive (Like spotter coordination), you really need a standalone program.
There are many things that you need to decide before making a decision.
The first is reliability. Do you absolutely have to have this data? Are you going to be relying on this data for something important?
The free options work well, but when things really start going south and thousands of people are focusing on one radar site, the free servers go down. It doesn't happen often, but it is something to think about.
The second is the radar attributes.
You listed that you want data on Hail, Lightning, Wind, and storm tracks with ETA's.
Hail can be accomplished with any regular Level 3 radar software. The radar interprets the data to give an estimate of the presence and probable size based on the available data.
Lightning would take an additional subscription based service
Wind could be accomplished with free mesonet / CWOP placefiles
Storm Tracks are another Level 3 radar attribute and are again based on a computer algorithm. ETA's would be additional free software.
The third thing to thing about is resolution.
Level 2 data is so much more in depth than Level 3 data
Here is a quick comparison between GRLevel 3 and GRLevel 2
Big difference.
Now, here is a problem. With the Level 2 data, you dont get the radar algorithms that come with the level 3 data. However, there are placefiles that will overlay them.
I guess the first question that needs answered is What are you going to do with this software?"
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I'm tired of killing stupid people just trying to do my job and go home! |
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| Thank you for replying, I have my own weather consulting firm, and have been getting away with weather underground for awhile and other free sites but I want something more proffessional. I like that I can get hail information on weatherunderground and the picture of cells is really good. But I need better storm tracking that I can click on for eta's in different areas. One of the most important things I need and is hard to get is lightning data. I forecast and advise in areas where I don't live so to have a detector at my house doesn't help. Any ideas on companies that have a network of lightning sites that are pretty "live" instead of "within the last 30 min."I guess I'm looking for something like tv stations have. I will pay, but I can't afford thousands.
thanks |
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 ropeguruPremium
join:2001-01-25
Mechanicsville, VA | For lightning data you might try »www.vaisala.com/en/products/thun···LDN.aspx
Not sure of the cost.
Lightning Data Delivery Mechanism
The NLDN® provides the fastest delivery of high quality lightning data over the continental United States. The NLDN® data can be delivered in real-time (less than 15 seconds latency), near real-time (>1 minute bins) or in archive format (>24 hours). The delivery mechanism is via satellite, secure shell Ethernet/internet (TCP/IP), FCP, or ‘NOAA’ port.
Maybe try these folks too: »www.weathertap.com/ |
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burner50Helping Darwin WINPremium,VIP
join:2002-06-05
Cowtown
kudos:1 Reviews:
·inmotionhosting
1 edit | reply to wxguy1364
said by wxguy1364:Thank you for replying, I have my own weather consulting firm, and have been getting away with weather underground for awhile and other free sites but I want something more proffessional. I like that I can get hail information on weatherunderground and the picture of cells is really good. But I need better storm tracking that I can click on for eta's in different areas. One of the most important things I need and is hard to get is lightning data. I forecast and advise in areas where I don't live so to have a detector at my house doesn't help. Any ideas on companies that have a network of lightning sites that are pretty "live" instead of "within the last 30 min."I guess I'm looking for something like tv stations have. I will pay, but I can't afford thousands.
thanks
»www.allisonhouse.com/storm_chaser.php
Has lightning data that can be overlaid on top of several different programs.
Personal preference: I shy away from web browser based solutions.
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I'm tired of killing stupid people just trying to do my job and go home! |
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chandom
join:2001-05-23
Tallahassee, FL | reply to wxguy1364
Weather Defender might be a good no brains needed, all-in-one type solution.
Only down side is cost, $21.95 a month.
For me, I've been happy with GRLevel3 plus Allison House "Storm Tracker" subscription. Plus a ShapeFile or two. |
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| Thanks everyone for the suggestions. I will contact AllisonHouse and see what they can do for me. |
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burner50Helping Darwin WINPremium,VIP
join:2002-06-05
Cowtown
kudos:1 Reviews:
·inmotionhosting
| reply to chandom
said by chandom:Weather Defender might be a good no brains needed, all-in-one type solution.
Only down side is cost, $21.95 a month.
For me, I've been happy with GRLevel3 plus Allison House "Storm Tracker" subscription. Plus a ShapeFile or two.
weather defender sucks and rory groves is a crook.
AllisonHouse provides data. You need something that is capible of displaying that data.
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I'm tired of killing stupid people just trying to do my job and go home! |
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chandom
join:2001-05-23
Tallahassee, FL | Agree, I was not overly impressed by WD.
Never went beyond a few hours during the trial. Top it off was a monthly cost for use.
The only real thing it had going was the data being available without having to do much in the way of setting it up or getting any subscriptions (from what I recall).
On a side note, the next day was when I finally registered/bought GRLevel3. I would much rather buy a program with a one time fee, plus third party subscription for extra data. Than pay an ongoing cost for the same thing. |
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burner50Helping Darwin WINPremium,VIP
join:2002-06-05
Cowtown
kudos:1 Reviews:
·inmotionhosting
| I am a member of a volunteer organization that does communications support for various emergency service groups.
I inquired about getting three licenses from WD for our organization.
Rory Groves saw the word "Government" and the price tag skyrocketed.
$1800 One time "set up" fee and over $100/mo for three licenses....
I couldnt believe it. He had a good product with swiftWX, but flew off the deep end with weather defender. It is dumbed down, expensive, and so processor/graphics/memory intensive, It wouldnt even run on my laptop at the time. (old laptop for spotting stuff)
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I'm tired of killing stupid people just trying to do my job and go home! |
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chandom
join:2001-05-23
Tallahassee, FL | That is crazy and I don't blame you one bit.
Many do see the word government and think instant payout. |
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