× Radar HD (high-definition radar)

This data is gathered from over a hundred radar towers located across the US. This is the highest resolution radar data available which enables you to see features such as sea breeze or outflow boundaries that standard resolution radar entirely misses. There is a notable constraint to radar data though. Because the earth is round and the radar beam is flat, the farther away from the radar tower the beam (energy) travels, the farther removed from the ground becomes. To see this in action, imagine a circle (earth) with a straight line emanating from some point on the circle if you continue this line out into space, it will gradually get farther and farther from the circle. Because of this phenomenon, the radar beam will only see precipitation falling through the mid levels of the atmosphere. A lot can happen between 0 and 5,000 feet and therefore the depiction of precipitation given by radar may differ some from what’s actually happening on the ground. Use radar data with caution especially if your area of interest is far from the nearest radar location!

We currently have two types of radar data available with plans to add more soon. The first type of data currently available is reflectivity. This is your standard radar data that shows precip or other solid/liquid particles in the atmosphere. A few tips on reflectivity data: