Decent Radar Software (That's Free)

[Ryan Giroux]

Hey all,

Does anybody know any good radar software that is comparable to Radarscope but is free? I've been wanting to get Radarscope for quite some time now but can't come up with the money. And does anybody know where the HRRR and the NWS velocity is? Also, does anybody know if Canada has velocity data publicly available? I have a windows 10 pc and an Iphone 5s for compatibility.

 

[rdale]

No, RS costs $10 because it's good. You won't get good and free at the same time

HRRR is a computer model. That is unrelated to radar maps.

Velocity Maps are radar imagery.

Canadian radars are available from their website or RadarScope.

 

[Gary Latimer]

Hey all,

Does anybody know any good radar software that is comparable to Radarscope but is free? I've been wanting to get Radarscope for quite some time now but can't come up with the money. And does anybody know where the HRRR and the NWS velocity is? Also, does anybody know if Canada has velocity data publicly available? I have a windows 10 pc and an Iphone 5s for compatibility.

You can download CAVE / AWIIPS for free... works on Windows / Mac / LINUX ... just Google AWIIPS and you will easily find it.

For mobile, you can grab wXL23 for either iOS or Android... it pulls in the same exact Level II data that RadarScope does. That said, RadarScope does what it does VERY well...

 

[Ryan Giroux]

You can download CAVE / AWIIPS for free... works on Windows / Mac / LINUX ... just Google AWIIPS and you will easily find it.

For mobile, you can grab wXL23 for either iOS or Android... it pulls in the same exact Level II data that RadarScope does. That said, RadarScope does what it does VERY well...

Thanks AWIPS is a process to install

 

[Gary Latimer]

Thanks AWIPS is a process to install

In fact, I had a few extra minutes, so let me post a few screen shots since I think wXL23 is one of the most underrated apps out there. wXL23 provides you with literately every tool from the NWS / SPC / WPC that you could possibly want. From local forecast to local forecast discussion, mesoscale discussions from the SPC to full NEXRAD dual Pol data and GOES16/17 satellite data (in at least a decent resolution), it’s one of my first go-to apps usually at the start of the day. When the weather gets really active, I switch primarily to Radar Omega, and then finally RadarScope once its game time... because RadarScope is just much more intuitive and stable during active events (it doesn’t lag or crash ever).

It also has all of the forecast tools and observations made available in one easy place, from again the NWS / SPC / NHC... and I believe a few of the bigger Universities that provide weather forecast model data.


Anyway, just thought folks should know there is a really robust alternative to the paid apps available out there.

 

[Gary Latimer]

Thanks AWIPS is a process to install

It shouldn’t be too bad... but yeah, it’s not just a “push install button & go” app... but once you install it, you won’t regret it... I use CAVE to monitor satellite data because it’s just awesome... and it has model data as well... but yeah, it’s a little bit tricky initially

 

[Gary Latimer]

Here is a side by side of RadarScope vs wXL23 on a severe TStorm over Louisiana right now: The one advantage wXL23 has over RadarScope is a 4-Pane window (RadarScope mobile only allows 2 on the Pro version / 4 on desktop).

 

[rdale]

Thanks for pointing out wXL23 - I hadn't touched that since the initial release and am impressed by what it offers!

(I'll pay extra to have someone incorporate storm motion or a manual vector for velocity )

 

[Ryan Giroux]

wXL23 is not available in canada. I tried downloading on ios but it said it it wasn't available in my country. I even tried a VPN. I might just stick to windy and environment canada until I can afford RadarScope or a good free alternative

 

[Todd Lemery]

Quite honestly, radar is great and when you’re sitting at home it gives you a pretty good idea what’s happening in a storm. If you’re chasing, any radar should do because nothing the current radar shows will be better than your own eyes. In other words, radar is great when you are looking at a broad area to see where the most robust storms are, but rely on your own eyes when the rubber meets the road.
For chasing purposes, once you’ve latched onto a storm, using Scope or any free radar available won’t really matter at that point because you’ll most likely be using your eyes and not relying on radar.
Almost any free radar can get you pointed in the right direction when you’re in chase mode. Reading the storm in front of you will take you the rest of the way.
PS. I’m NOT saying that you shouldn’t keep tabs on other storms in range, just that you shouldn’t rely on any radar instead of what you can see with your own eyes

 

[Michael Towers]

@Todd Lemery to an extent I agree but I appreciate being able to utilize recent radar scans of the storm I'm already chasing, while your eyes can tell you a lot I find radar to be an invaluable tool when tracking a storm. I've been on a lot of classic & HP storms where radar helped immensely in identifying existing and developing areas of circulation, changes in speed and/or direction and potential hazards that were not apparent to the naked eye. Some storms are easy to track visually but others not so much, even to the experienced eye. I agree, don't rely strictly on radar but give yourself the benefit of its usefulness to maximize your chances of executing a successful chase and minimizing your risk of getting into trouble. For me the only product I rely on is GR3 on laptop with Radarscope a redundancy on iphone. As for free stuff wXL23 looks great and I did install it but likely wouldn't use it on a chase.

 

[Todd Lemery]

@Todd Lemery to an extent I agree but I appreciate being able to utilize recent radar scans of the storm I'm already chasing, while your eyes can tell you a lot I find radar to be an invaluable tool when tracking a storm. I've been on a lot of classic & HP storms where radar helped immensely in identifying existing and developing areas of circulation, changes in speed and/or direction and potential hazards that were not apparent to the naked eye. Some storms are easy to track visually but others not so much, even to the experienced eye. I agree, don't rely strictly on radar but give yourself the benefit of its usefulness to maximize your chances of executing a successful chase and minimizing your risk of getting into trouble. For me the only product I rely on is GR3 on laptop with Radarscope a redundancy on iphone. As for free stuff wXL23 looks great and I did install it but likely wouldn't use it on a chase.

Very good points. What I did a poor job of conveying was that if someone has a real tight budget they can do well with a free radar. Not going to the next level, but well

 

[Joshua Tee]

Can you elaborate on what you are looking for? Storm tracks are there but have a feeling that's not what you have in mind ..
Storm Tracking Information (NST/58)

thanks
Josh

[EDIT to include radar product]

Thanks for pointing out wXL23 - I hadn't touched that since the initial release and am impressed by what it offers!

(I'll pay extra to have someone incorporate storm motion or a manual vector for velocity )

 

[Joshua Tee]

Ryan,
I have an Apple Test Flight beta program and if you want to be a part of that it won't matter where you are. Feel free to email me @ [email protected] if you want to try the app out.

FYI - from your original post, unlike the NWS - you need to pay money to the Canadian govt if you want to access the "raw" radar files. That's why my stuff doesn't offer CA radars in the same was as US, etc. Every year or so I check in on this:

Radar Data - Open Government - Canada.ca
https://open.canada.ca › suggested-datasets › radar-data


[edit typo in email]

wXL23 is not available in canada. I tried downloading on ios but it said it it wasn't available in my country. I even tried a VPN. I might just stick to windy and environment canada until I can afford RadarScope or a good free alternative

 

[rdale]

Storm-Relative Velocity L2 instead of just base velocity.

 

[Marc R. O'Leary]

I hate to be the one to say this, but if you can't afford $10 for a year of RadarScope, you may want to reconsider your chase range and funnel some of that gas money to support. Or don't chase.

 

[Ryan Giroux]

I hate to be the one to say this, but if you can't afford $10 for a year of RadarScope, you may want to reconsider your chase range and funnel some of that gas money to support. Or don't chase.

I can't chase till covid is over and I'm out of college. I need to get financialy stable after that and then I might take the plunge to the midwest. I'd love to chase but It will be about a decade until I'm able to. Where I'm at in Ontario we get 1 -2 tornados a year and lots of thunderstorms. I do love tracking and forcasting weather.

 

[James K]

I tried Awips/Cave last year, it did look pretty cool, but the system I put it on really couldn't handle it, so I gave up.

That wXL23 shown above looks very similar to the android wX app I use ( see this thread )
There's so many different options of stuff to view that you'd really need a bunch of time & a long multi-page manual to use it all.
Some of the stuff has never worked, and a few others have quit working fairly recently...but for the price I certainly can't complain.


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I personally won't pay for *any* downloads/streaming/etc , so gotta with the free stuff if I want a weather app .lol.

 

[Ryan Giroux]

I tried Awips/Cave last year, it did look pretty cool, but the system I put it on really couldn't handle it, so I gave up.

That wXL23 shown above looks very similar to the android wX app I use ( see this thread )
There's so many different options of stuff to view that you'd really need a bunch of time & a long multi-page manual to use it all.
Some of the stuff has never worked, and a few others have quit working fairly recently...but for the price I certainly can't complain.


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I personally won't pay for *any* downloads/streaming/etc , so gotta with the free stuff if I want a weather app .lol.

I tryed Cave also. My computer turned into a power point while running it

 

[B Bogdon]

I have AWIPS2 (CAVE) installed on my computer (Windows 11). It was working great until this last week when it decided to stop working. It constantly crashes now. I do not know how to fix it let alone get in touch with the programs creator. In my opinion, AWIPS is useless junk now.

 

[rdale]

AWIPS II is clearly the best overall weather analysis tool available these days.

I'd classify that as a slight step above "Junk."

Did you uninstall and reinstall? Are you using the old version or the latest beta? Does your PC meet the minimum requirements? What server are you using?

 

[B Bogdon]

AWIPS II is clearly the best overall weather analysis tool available these days.

I'd classify that as a slight step above "Junk."

Did you uninstall and reinstall? Are you using the old version or the latest beta? Does your PC meet the minimum requirements? What server are you using?

I said in my comment that I uninstall and reinstalled it, but to no avail. I had downloaded the lastest beta and I have Windows 11. I can't remember what the server is.

 

[rdale]

I have AWIPS2 (CAVE) installed on my computer (Windows 11). It was working great until this last week when it decided to stop working. It constantly crashes now. I do not know how to fix it let alone get in touch with the programs creator. In my opinion, AWIPS is useless junk now.

I said in my comment that I uninstall and reinstalled it

Could you help me see where you commented about uninstalling it?

In any event - AWIPSII is running 24/7 on my machine and it's working wonderfully.

 

[B Bogdon]

Could you help me see where you commented about uninstalling it?

In any event - AWIPSII is running 24/7 on my machine and it's working wonderfully.

I am also getting an EDEX NOT INSTALLED message. I have never used EDEX. I don't know why I would now anyway. EDEX is for Linux and don't have that. AWIPSII has become useless for me.

 

[rdale]

That means you are trying to connect to the EDEX server on your machine. Don't do that, since you don't have EDEX installed.

Do connect to the EDEX server that it defaults to, and that the instructions tell you to.