Originally posted by: bthorny
I live in south-central Missouri and some scattered storms are starting to pop up just south of here....man the sky is really odd and the wind is just whipping around...the temperature has gone up in the last couple of hours....I bet some really bad storms are brewing near me....
BTW Mill what kind of software is that?
I just use weatherundeground and zoom in as much as possible but you have some pretty nifty stuff there....
Gibson Ridge Products
Check out that site. There are tons of screenshots there, and I would be happy to provide you with more.
GRLevel3 uses level3 data, and the software costs about 75 dollars. The data is free through the NWS. However, somone like me pays extra to get a 99.9% uptime feed from
www.allisonhouse.com. He not only has radar data, but also METAR/AWOS data, realtime lightning, and a plethora of other options.
GRAnalyst is about 250 bucks, and I would NOT say you should get that. It provides higher detail in the data (you wouldn't really notice it, I promise, but I do), but requires a Level 2 data subscription from Allisonhouse (NWS does not provide realtime for free on Level 2 data). The benefits of Level 2 data are higher resolution, quicker update times (basically live), and various products like VILD and others that you really won't have a use for unless you seriously watch a lot of storms, or have some prior experience/interest. GRLevel3 is the best bang for the buck, and 98% of people have no need for the Analyst edition that uses Level 2 data. Level 2 data is about 20-25 a month, so you better have a need for it if you want to use it.
My recommendation would be to pay the 75 bucks for the GRLevel 3 software and use the free NWS servers.
All of the GR software will allow you to smooth images (so you can get that cool look like I have), customize colors and sites, etc. Adding Allisonhouse for METAR/AWOS, lightning, Storm Reports (like the funnel cloud report you saw popped up), etc is worth it too. You can get that plus 99.9% uptime level 3 data for 10 bucks a month.
I am in no way affiliated with GRLevelX or Allisonhouse.com. I am simply a very very very satisfied user of their products. IMO, it is the best radar suite out there (minus the million dollar BARON or WSI packages that TV stations use). Believe it or not, but some small market TV stations DO use GR products as their onscreen radar graphics!!!
I have tried many different programs and suites of products. 95% of people will prefer GR products.