Question for you weather gurus out there 🌞 ⛈️. When you look at the radar map in a weather app and you see the clouds in all these pretty colors, is this a prediction or is this what already happened? Am I looking at a forecast or what happened earlier with the clouds?
@jtr it depends of the app you are using. Unless it is specifically stated “prediction” or “forecast”, this is generally a rendering of radar stations with the most recent data. Animation comes from gathering past observations and creating a sequence of frames.
@jtr I can tell you what they do in Australia. The radar images are generated from observed precipitation from doppler radar, so what you’re seeing is what’s happening at the moment or in the past. I don’t believe the Bureau of Meteorology is generating forecast radar images themselves. Apps might but I’m guessing they’re just interpolating the visualisation based on what the predicted precipitation for the area.
@lmika I think that's what the makes the most sense... my app doesn't specify it, but I think what I'm seeing is the timeline throughout the day
@jtr In most apps, it is a representation of the current conditions. Some apps will let you play a 2-3 second history of the radar (or 2-3 second prediction) so you can see the storm’s movement. I highly recommend paying for RadarScope. It’s the best weather radar app out there.