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A Clearer Start.

Select ProbSevere between NWS Alerts and Layers, then turn on ProbSevere · Storm Guidance. Rank by Any Severe, Hail, Wind, or Tornado. Select a storm in the list or a purple dashed polygon to open its probabilities and history in the ProbSevere sidebar. Selecting a storm from the list also focuses its area. The explanatory guidance is below the storm list. Closing the sidebar does not turn off enabled guidance.

NOAA/CIMSS ProbSevere v3 provides next-hour storm guidance for the contiguous United States: severe hail at least 1 inch in diameter, severe wind gusts at least 50 knots (about 58 mph), tornadoes, and any of these hazards. ProbTor is the Tornado probability in this panel. These are storm-level probabilities, not a forecast for every point inside the polygon, confirmed impacts, or NWS warnings. Low probabilities do not rule out dangerous weather.

History builds while guidance is enabled in this page session, up to 60 minutes. The first reading shows Collecting history. A later distinct published timestamp adds a chart sample. List arrows and sidebar changes compare adjacent readings in percentage points: 2% to 5% is an increase of 3 points. Duplicate updates do not add samples; missing probabilities stay unavailable. Gaps over six minutes are not connected or compared. A gap over ten minutes or a new storm ID starts a new history; storm merges and splits are not stitched together. Reloading clears the history.

Not yet. The map shows the latest storm polygons independently of radar playback. The chart records probabilities collected during your session; it does not replay polygon movement or load the preceding hour when first opened.

Updates are checked every two minutes, with bounded retries and reconnect/resume recovery. After ten minutes, guidance is marked stale and its polygons turn gray; after thirty minutes it is hidden. Read the valid timestamp. Missing probabilities are labeled Not available. Source or browser interruptions can delay updates.

Storm Operations is the opening page. The Common Operating Picture button beside Map Products opens a national overview with warning counts, top and secondary weather priorities, a regional weather overview, recent FEMA declarations, and today’s SPC outlook text. Use Storm Operations for interactive radar and analysis. Return using the Storm Operations button in the dashboard header.

The map combines available SPC outlooks and discussions, NWS warning areas, significant reported impacts, tropical tracks and development areas, radar, and lightning. Labels summarize risks or reports; tropical development labels show the published formation probability and period. Radar is a refreshing still image, not an animated loop. Each source has its own time and update cadence; inspect source status and valid times. Priorities are automated summaries, and FEMA declarations do not represent current response readiness.

Enable Scanner Radio and select an available feed. Up to four feeds can be monitored, each with its own OpenMHz playback controls and attribution. Select Volume to enlarge a player’s audio controls, then use its speaker control; slide to zero to mute. Embedded feeds may require a click to start audio.

Use the minus button to collapse it to the scanner icon at the bottom right. Select that icon to restore the player. Minimizing preserves the open players and volume. Closing a feed or reloading may reset playback settings. Scanner service-area markers are not incident or transmitter locations, and radio reports may be unverified.

Red is environmental temperature, green is dew point, and the dashed yellow line is the lifted surface parcel. LCL marks its approximate condensation level (cloud base). LFC and EL mark buoyancy levels using virtual-temperature correction, consistent with the surface CAPE/CIN calculation: bottom LFC, top EL. Red/blue shaded regions illustrate warmer/cooler parcel temperatures within those level bounds; they are not the numerical CAPE/CIN integral. Wind barbs use knots with spacing along the logarithmic pressure axis. AGL heights are interpolated in log pressure. Missing levels remain unavailable. These are HRRR model profiles, not balloon observations.

Open Map Products → Future Mode → Surface Analysis. The provider selector changes to WPC. WPC fronts uses the nearest official analysis or forecast chart within three hours of the HRRR frame, displays its own valid time and any offset, and never interpolates boundaries. Blue marks cold fronts, red warm fronts, alternating blue/red stationary fronts, purple occluded fronts, and dashed brown troughs or other boundaries (WPC does not distinguish all boundary subtypes in this bulletin). Toggle WPC fronts independently. Pressure lines and wind barbs remain NOAA HRRR data, credited separately. Pressure lines are spaced every 4 hPa. H and L mark automatically identified centers in a smoothed model sea-level-pressure field, not official analyzed fronts. Toggle 10 m winds to show earth-relative wind barbs in knots: half barb 5, full barb 10, triangular flag 50. The run and valid time follow the HRRR timeline. First-time frames may take a minute to process; cached frames load faster. Coverage is the contiguous United States. This is forecast guidance; smoothing and spacing omit small-scale features.

NWS Alerts, ProbSevere, Layers, and Settings open attached sidebars below the header. Only one sidebar opens at a time; choosing another closes the previous one. Click the selected button or its close button to return to the full-width map. The Map Products dropdown at the upper right changes map views. The button beside it opens Common Operating Picture. The full-width bottom bar places playback above layer buttons on the left, product and station controls in the center, and drawing tools on the right. In split view, both product selectors stay in the center. Help and the other site links are under Settings → Help & Site Links.

In Radar mode, select the split-screen icon immediately beside Show Radar Stations. Reflectivity opens on the left and Storm-Relative Velocity on the right. Use the normal station buttons on the bar to select the shared radar site. Choose each side’s product in the expanded bottom bar, including Satellite · GeoColor. Satellite uses the closest available GOES image; its actual observation time appears above the selector. The left product supplies the shared timeline. Moving or zooming either map moves both; drawings and undo are shared. The normal playback controls and timeline drive both panes. The right product follows the closest available scan time; the Left Product and Right Product headings show each scan’s actual time and status. If no scan is available within 10 minutes of the selected time, the right radar is hidden and labeled. Select the split icon again to restore your previous product at the currently selected radar site. Other weather modes close split view. NWS warning polygons and ProbSevere polygons appear on both maps; selecting them opens their details. Other weather overlays may remain on the left map.

The rotating beam is a simulated visual effect centered on the selected radar station. Its length uses the loaded scan’s range (230 km for Storm-Relative Velocity). Its movement does not show the actual antenna position, scan timing, or a new radar update. Check the observation time for data freshness. The sweep hides automatically when the side panels are closed for a full-width radar view, without changing your saved preference. Switch it off in Settings → Map & radar settings → Simulated radar sweep; sign in optionally to save your settings, including the sweep color.

Open Map Products at the upper right to choose a view. Radar follows an individual station. MRMS shows broad radar coverage. GOES shows satellite imagery. Future Mode contains the model forecasts. SPC Outlook, WPC Rainfall & Flood, and WPC Winter Severity show forecast outlooks; they are not the same as an active warning.

Start with Reflectivity to see radar echoes and precipitation patterns. Base Velocity shows motion toward or away from the radar; Storm-Relative Velocity uses native Level II velocity gates with NOAA storm motion from the matching radar volume. The bar labels this Calculated SRV. If matching data is unavailable, it uses the coarser N0S standard fallback and labels it accordingly. This is motion aloft, not surface wind; velocity folding may remain. Storm-Relative Velocity adjusts for storm motion. Velocity colors do not represent rain intensity. All available radar products are free.

Echo Tops estimates echo height; Correlation Coefficient helps compare the consistency of radar targets. Use them with official warnings and analysis.

Use the round Play/Pause button. Previous and Next step through scans; drag the timeline to inspect a time. Earlier and Latest mark the available history. Frame 3 of 4 means the third of four available scans—not three minutes ago. Check the displayed observation time before interpreting the map.

The station image feed can appear while detailed NOAA Level 2 scans load. The selected scan is prioritized; recent decoded scans are cached within the page session and reused when available, including across panes. Changing sites or products cancels obsolete queued work. This reduces repeat downloads but cannot remove upstream delays. The source label identifies which is visible. Available frame counts differ between feeds. You can adjust smoothing in Settings; it does not add detail to the source data.

Open NWS Alerts, then select a warning to focus the map and read its details. The card separates Area, Hazard, Source, and Severity. Read the expiration time, impacts, and instructions; the official source link provides the full product.

Both use translucent fills. Warnings have an outlined border and may flash briefly when they first appear. Watches and advisories use fills without an outline. Open NWS Alerts to confirm the alert type, affected area, and expiration.

Source describes the warning’s detection or reporting basis. Radar Indicated is not the same as a confirmed sighting. Severity describes the alert’s seriousness; it is a separate field. Read the complete official warning for context.

Read selected warnings in the Active Alerts side panel. For optional warning popups and their sounds, open Settings → Active Alert Settings → Stream Warnings & Sounds. Turn on Warning Popups and/or Warning Sounds. Use Enable Audio if the browser blocks sound, then Test Preview to check your setup. Test cards are labeled clearly. A preview is not a real warning; sounds require browser permission and an active page.

Layers groups options under Watches & Warnings, Storm Analysis, Seasonal, and Tropical. Search Layers to find an overlay. Turn off layers you do not need to keep the map readable. Future Mode and outlook views can temporarily suspend incompatible overlays. Previously enabled layers are restored when leaving that mode, subject to the next mode’s supported layers.

Select an SPC mesoscale discussion or WPC precipitation discussion on the map to read its details in the attached left sidebar. Check its issue and expiration times and use the official discussion link for the source text. Discussions describe evolving conditions and are not warnings.

Storm Operations uses a single slate gray base map with white place labels. Browsers that cannot display the main map may show a simpler terrain background.

Select the information icon (ⓘ) at the lower left of the map to expand the provider credits and links. Select it again to collapse them. The Terms of Use link is in the bottom strip.

Turn on Lightning Density in Layers. The layer uses NOAA GOES satellite observations of total lightning, including flashes within clouds. New observations pulse briefly as they arrive. Satellite reports can arrive in batches, and the markers do not pinpoint ground strikes. Check the lightning status for freshness.

Turn on NHC Tropical Cyclones in Layers. The white cone shows the likely path of the storm center; impacts can extend outside it. The black line and labeled forecast points show the official forecast track. The red cyclone symbol marks the current advisory position.

Settings includes radar opacity, smoothing, colors, sweep color, and other appearance options. These affect the display, not the underlying measurements.

No. This site will remain free for everyone with support through donations and YouTube. All public weather tools are available without registration. Create an optional account to save and sync preferences; guest settings reset on reload. Donations do not unlock features. Private trials and operator workspaces still require authorization.

Available products include reflectivity, temperature, wind gusts, precipitation, CAPE, and CIN. These are forecast guidance, not observations.

Right-click model reflectivity for the selected forecast sounding, or radar/MRMS reflectivity for the latest available model profile. Check run and valid times; it is a model estimate, not an observed sounding.

Use the magnifying-glass Search button to find a camera feed, or enable Live Cams in Layers. Open a camera for its view and use Add to Monitor where available. Select two to four available cameras for a multi-camera monitor and choose grid, horizontal, or vertical layout. Selected-warning details also list nearby cameras when available. Camera feeds may be delayed, offline, or still images; check their status and timestamps.

Select Pencil for a freehand mark, Straight Line, Arrow, Circle, or Tape Measure for distance and bearing. Drag from the start point to the end point. Select the active tool again to exit drawing mode. Undo removes the latest drawing or measurement; repeat to remove earlier ones. The trash button clears them all. Drawing appearance settings include animated dashed lines; these are annotations, not measured weather movement.

Open Settings → Help & Site Links → Help for the same quick tips—no hover needed. Close panels when you need more map space. On a computer, hover over supported controls or reach them with Tab to read a short tip; press Escape to dismiss it.

River gauge readings, buoy observations, and storm report details open at the upper right. Gauge charts distinguish observed and forecast data; check units and timestamps. Scanner and transient impact cards share this area and are arranged to reduce overlap.

Recoverable feed failures are handled within the affected feature, with retries and refresh on reconnect or returning to the page where supported. Cached or older data must still be checked for freshness. If a feature remains unavailable, use its Retry or Refresh control and check Settings → Data Sources & Status. Export diagnostics when reporting a persistent error; include the time and affected product.

A red control can indicate a failed data request. Read the source/status message near the timeline or Settings → Data Sources & Status. A red control is different from red weather colors on the map. Use Retry when offered; if it continues, note the station, product, time, and error message.

Refresh Delayed means a refresh failed and a previous successful image may remain visible. Stale means the displayed observation is older than the freshness threshold. Older frames within a historical loop can also be marked stale. A visible image is not proof that the feed is current.

One available scan cannot show storm movement. Wait for more history, try MRMS for broader coverage, or select another nearby station. Check the source and timestamp. If the problem persists, share a screenshot showing the controls and station name.

No. Keep official weather and local emergency notifications enabled. FishaCat Live provides situational awareness and can experience feed delays, outages, or browser audio restrictions. Follow official warning instructions.