Radars which one do you prefer?

[MatthewCarman]

Alright my qustion is which radar do you prefer best? The NWS Radar,Grlevel3,SwiftWX or a different radar like weatherunderground? How many of you chase the old fashion way and still see tornadoes? Is it better to have a better radar when chasing or will this not increas your chances of seeing a tornado? Is it worth it to pay for radar or just use the free versions? After discusion on another site about this I am just wondering what you all think on the topic? For me I am happy with the NWS radar but that is me.

 

[Jason Boggs]

GRLEVEL3 WITHOUT A DOUBT!!!!

 

[J Kinkaid]

Gr3 for now untill Stormlab 4.0 comes out

 

[Josh Richardson]

LOL, I was apart of this discussion at another site and Matthew already knows Im gonna say GR Level 3 but I would love to have ThreatNet.

 

[Dustin Wilcox]

Do I think its possible to chase the old fashioned way and see tornadoes; of course. I However think it is not only slightly safer to chase with radar I think one can be more successful as well with the use of radar as it allows for a little more margin of error in chooseing a target. I think Baron is very usefull, esspecially the hour before and the very beggining of initiation as it will not only allow you to get to the storm early often before it begins to precip using the cloud tops feature it will also help you choose as to which storm to be on when several go up at once.

 

[Dick McGowan]

http://www.stormtrack.org/forum/showthread.php?t=9918


Darin Brunin and I rarely have radar. We have excellent nowcasters, who seem to put us on the right storms, time after time. But GR3 would be so nice to have on the road. Maybe next year.

 

[John Diel]

IMHO GRLevel3 (or any of the series) is one of the best viewers IF you have an active data connection. Remember, the radar data is from NWS. You're only choosing what you see and what colors you want for your criteria.

If you don't have an active internet connection, then the Threatnet would be my next choice. This goes on the theory the something is better than nothing.

 

[Mickey Ptak]

While chasing, the only thing I use is WXWorks. Not because it is the best but because the data stream is reliable. On top of that the only time I really utilize it is at initiation and or storm interception. If I am on a storm I don't need radar at all. Eyes are the best in this situation.

I am not the type that likes to watch storms on radar. I don’t care if there is a meso showing up on radar and I don’t care what the shear is. So I guess that is why I have not bought any of the other software apps out there.

With that said, if WXWorks is the option you choose I would take its data display in a judgmental fashion because there is a delay in what you are seeing visually and what the radar display is showing. Also WxWorks is not very detailed like the GRLevelx software is.

I guess it all depends on what you want to do with it. If you want to really chase I would recommend WxWorks for its data stream reliability. If you are an arm-rest chaser (nothing wrong with that) than GRLevelx is your best bet.

It all depends on what you want it for.

Mick

 

[Dustin Fan]

LOL, I was apart of this discussion at another site and Matthew already knows Im gonna say GR Level 3 but I would love to have ThreatNet.

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I am all for Grlevel3 as it seems to have great features, I just use NWS at the moment but hope to get gr for christmas.

 

[Jayson Prentice]

I have both GR2 and GR3, simply as I enjoy looking at things on radar no matter where there are at in the country. And those products do a great job at providing features that you can't find too many places... Also, using GR3 out on the road is very helpful, as long as you have that internet connection. There have been plenty of times though, where I and I'm sure many others never had time to stop for radar and that is where a nowcaster plays in! Either way, a product like this is much better than dealing with wunderground or just the plain NWS radar they have available on their websites.

 

[David Drummond]

For the last two years, I have been using both internet radar and WxWorx. I started using GRL3 this year (used the COD radar previously). When I have Sprint data coverage (about 80% of the time depending on where I am chasing, sometimes not so much so) I use GRL3 exclusively. WxWorx just fills in the gaps.

I have to say I don't recall using a nowcaster since I have been using this combination. My good friend Tom Tackett made an EXCELLENT nowcaster, but now I have to get him out to chase whenever possible since I haven't been bugging him for info on the road.

I'm no purist. I chased in the days without squat for data, and nowdays with more than enough of it AND I LOVE HAVING IT! Seeing the actual storm in person while seeing the radar at the same time has increase my reading of the finer radar details ten fold. A few friends that have chased with me that are either NWS mets or on-air mets said the same thing.

Having the radar and other data sure helps on those really hazy days or grundge chases as well.

 

[Dan Robinson]

I can afford only one mobile radar solution, and in that case WxWorx is the clear choice. Good data with coverage everywhere beats excellent data with unpredictable coverage.

Closing in on a storm in the last 30 minutes before an intercept and needing to choose which road to take, WxWorx is always there. In times like that the best internet-based data stream will be worthless if there is no cell signal.

Having chased with friends who have cell data (Cingular, Alltel and Sprint), I can say that it is definately nice to have it to get the 1630z and 2000z Day 1 outlooks on the way to the target, but when it comes to getting radar on final approach to a storm, it is not something you can rely on.

 

[Dan Cook]

GR3 is the best imo. I used Storm Lab but it doesn't have nearly as many features that GR has. Plus the support forum for GR can't be beat!

 

[Dean Baron]

i personally use GRlevel3, but i have chased with someone who uses both GR and either wxworks or mobile threat net, which ever one doesnt need the internet to update is the one we had.