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Comparing the weather radars

Discussion pertaining to Detroit, Ann Arbor, Port Huron, and SW Ontario
km1125
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Comparing the weather radars

Post by km1125 » Fri Aug 30, 2019 12:02 am

Seems like quite frequently I see a big delay in what the local tv weather radars are showing vs what is really happening. Tonight as the storm was moving through, I had the WDIV radar up. Seemed like the storm was about 5-10 miles still away on the radar when the rain started hitting. That by itself wasn't too bad but usually it seems the radar will show precipitation even though it might not be hitting the ground. When the lightning and thunder started, again looking at the radar it looked quite far away... more than 5 miles. I checked WXYZ and their radar was pretty much identical to WDIV.

However, then I went to Nexrad from intellicast. It showed the storm right on top of me and a rain pattern that was 5-10 miles farther advanced than either the WDIV or WXYZ radar.

Do they do some kind of processing at the station that might create delays in what they display?? This is not the first time I've noticed this, but it doesn't always seem to happen.



thatonedude
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Re: Comparing the weather radars

Post by thatonedude » Fri Aug 30, 2019 9:33 am

km1125 wrote:Seems like quite frequently I see a big delay in what the local tv weather radars are showing vs what is really happening. Tonight as the storm was moving through, I had the WDIV radar up. Seemed like the storm was about 5-10 miles still away on the radar when the rain started hitting. That by itself wasn't too bad but usually it seems the radar will show precipitation even though it might not be hitting the ground. When the lightning and thunder started, again looking at the radar it looked quite far away... more than 5 miles. I checked WXYZ and their radar was pretty much identical to WDIV.

However, then I went to Nexrad from intellicast. It showed the storm right on top of me and a rain pattern that was 5-10 miles farther advanced than either the WDIV or WXYZ radar.

Do they do some kind of processing at the station that might create delays in what they display?? This is not the first time I've noticed this, but it doesn't always seem to happen.
Those interactive maps use a mosaic which usually updates every 5-15 minutes, and isn't always in sync with the volume scans (sweeps) of the NEXRAD radars. Any processing to them that needs to be done is usually done at the weather graphics vendor's end (TWC/WSI or Baron). That can explain why it appeared to not be near you, when it clearly was.

If you want close to real-time radar, get RadarScope on your phone. Best $10 I ever spent. It's got a bit of a learning curve, but it's a great way to look at NEXRAD data, and it's easy to use once you get the hang of it.


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km1125
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Re: Comparing the weather radars

Post by km1125 » Wed Sep 11, 2019 2:24 pm

So, as the storm is rolling over my house right now, I went to check the radar to see how long it's going to last.

Fox2 has what appears to be YESTERDAYs radar image showing. I was looking at it about this time yesterday and the image is exactly (or near as I can recall) what it looked like at this time yesterday... NO STORMS. I pulled it up on a different browser too just to see if it was somehow cached in my machine. Nope, same thing. Pulled it up on a completely different PC and get the same thing. WXYZ was showing the storm, but as noted before, a bit delayed from reality.



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MWmetalhead
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Re: Comparing the weather radars

Post by MWmetalhead » Wed Sep 11, 2019 4:21 pm

TV station weather radar apps are complete garbage.

RadarScope Pro is good; I recommend it.



Deleted User 3751

Re: Comparing the weather radars

Post by Deleted User 3751 » Wed Sep 11, 2019 5:30 pm

And so is the National Weather Service Radar. It seems that every time we have severe weather moving through the radar doesn't update. As I'm writing this the radar hasn't been updated for over 35 minutes, and we pay for the shit!



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MWmetalhead
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Re: Comparing the weather radars

Post by MWmetalhead » Wed Sep 11, 2019 7:02 pm

The Detroit/Pontiac radar seems to have more outages than just about any other NWS radar in the Midwest! It is frustrating for sure.

That's compounded by the fact the TDTW radar in Huron Twp has less bells & whistles and is weaker than the NOAA radars, and the fact the Environment Canada radar in Exeter, ON (near London) has been offline for many weeks if not months.



km1125
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Re: Comparing the weather radars

Post by km1125 » Wed Sep 11, 2019 8:47 pm

What I also noticed was that on the Fox2 weather site (not their app), they have two maps below the radar for "weather advisories" and "watches and warnings". Under the Weather Stories, they had an article about the entire area being under a Severe Thunderstorm Watch, but neither of the maps showed anything highlighted to indicate that.

Also, just noticing now, they have been updated but all the "warnings" are listed on the Watches Map. The Warning Map has three counties highlighted, but no notes on what those areas are highlighted for. It really looks like someone's messy desk rather than a well organized presentation of the current conditions.



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MWmetalhead
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Re: Comparing the weather radars

Post by MWmetalhead » Wed Sep 11, 2019 9:04 pm

SE Michigan has missed out on most of the action so far this evening...

Pretty significant severe weather event occurred in portions of the Grand Rapids over the past 90 minutes. Also some potent storms affected portions of Montcalm, Ionia, Clinton, Gratiot and Eaton counties.

I suspect one or more brief tornado touchdowns occurred in the townships immediately east of Grand Rapids. There was a healthy couplet on the radar for about a ten minute stretch, and a couple scans even showed a debris signature.

There's been more wind shear on the west side of the state today.



fuzzpower
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Re: Comparing the weather radars

Post by fuzzpower » Wed Sep 11, 2019 9:31 pm

I ran into heavy rain and lightning driving to Dearborn earlier this evening. Nothing too major.



paul8539
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Re: Comparing the weather radars

Post by paul8539 » Sat Sep 28, 2019 3:15 pm

Have you tried the National Weather Service site? Their page for DTX has a link for a radar loop. That seems to be a lot better than the ones of the TV stations.



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